Etched in fabric
First, an insight into the conditions endured by a Yorkshire handloom weaver working in his tiny, sparsely-furnished cottage near Hebden Bridge before the rise of the mechanised factory system. Born in 1809, he slept on homemade pillows stuffed with straw and eked out a meagre living in his cold, damp home, into which snow blew each winter.
“Food was monotonous and poor and utensils were scanty,” according to recollections recorded in History of the Typhus of Heptonstall Slack (1843-44), by Robert Howard and Samuel Gibson. “His porridge pan doubled as a frying pan. Owing to a shortage of knives and forks, some of the family ate with their fingers. There were a few broken cups and saucers, an old teaspoon and a jug for fetching milk. The diet consisted of porridge, old milk, treacle, potatoes and oatcake. For dinner he had fried suet with salt and water for gravy. Occasionally he had tea or coffee, but normally drank a brew of mint, hyssop or tansey from the garden. He worked an 11 and a half hour day for 6/6d [32.5p] per week.”
Life changed for the hand-loom weaver – and not necessarily always for the better – when workers moved into factories after George Hattersley took over his father Richard’s manufacturing company in
Keighley and in 1834 built the world’s first worsted power loom, making him a leader in loom-making and design.
Another breakthrough came in 1867 when George Hattersley & Sons created the “Dobby”, a mechanical lifting device allowing weaving of much more intricate patterns on any looms to which it was fitted. Hattersley’s, employing 11,000 workers at its peak, developed other innovative looms, including the successful Hattersley Standard of 1921.
In a story which echoes the demise of many Northern industries, the firm which once had 26 models in its catalogue, closed in 1983 after a decline in loom manufacturing processes.
A unique reminder of the Hattersley heyday will be exhibited at the Pavilions of Harrogate Decorative Antiques and
Fine Art Fair at the Great Yorkshire Showground next weekend in the form of a superb Art Nouveau bronze panel which once belonged to the company, recalling its leading role in the textile business.
The impressive panel was designed by the Italian maker Egido Boninsegna (18691958) and displayed at the 1906 Milan International World Exhibition, where it was presented to the Keighley firm. It is being offered by dealers Brian Ashbee and Wes Wotruba with a price tag of £1,750.
Also on offer at the fair, which runs from October 29-31, are a rare original carved wooden figure of a bishop dating from the late 1500s (£4,500 from Richard Glass Antiques); highly prized post-war German studio art pottery (John Newton Antiques); and a pair of paintings of Knaresborough by Barnsley-born William Mellor (£3,450, from Sutcliffe
Galleries of Harrogate).
Working from home 19th century style... John Vincent delves into the history of the Yorkshire weaving industry.