When we think of the industrial revolution we generally think of coal and factories producing steel. But there is another type of industry that sprang out of the time and that was the production and manufacture of Cotton. Centred around the North West of Britain the factories and mills that were built saw the increasing size of Manchester, Liverpool and Preston to levels never seen before. People were leaving the fields to come and work in the new towns and cities. Soon cotton was going to provide the clothing for all.
Before cotton, coarse wool was the mainstay of clothing. However, from the sixteenth century onwards cotton was replacing it. It was cheap, easy to wax and make waterproof and extremely comfortable. We still use it today for modern shirts. A good example would be the Farah Shirts that you can get from https://www.ejmenswear.com/men/farah/t-shirt.
Water from the Pennine Hills provided the perfect courses that the factories and mills needed to power their machines. Spinning Jennys were at work day and night to keep up with the demand. An army of underpaid workers aged from 8 to 80, with no health and safety regulations, worked shifts to make sure the supply was never ending. At least they got Sunday off.
