On this day … 5 July 1882

The Preston Guardian carried an item of local history in its Notices Column. It recalled that the first self-acting spinning mule in Preston was installed in John Paley’s Heatley Street Mill in 1837, and that the man responsible for its fixing was stoned.

This brief mention in one of the four volumes making up a digest of articles from the Guardian written by local historian Henry Kirby opens up a link to a time when new technology was threatening the jobs of the men employed in the Preston cotton mills.

The new technology was Robert’s self-acting spinning mule, invented in 1825. The cotton mill owners soon saw that the new machines could be used to cut costs: they could be operated by women and children, the older technology was seen as a male preserve since it required brute strength to operate.

The men resisted their introduction in Preston, and it would seem from newspaper reports that the dispute resulted in a stoppage of the Heatley Street Mill, with a crowd of more than a thousand trying to prevent workers from entering the mill, including the stoning of the man setting up the new machines.

The disturbances spread that same day, with Thomas Miller, the senior partner in the Horrockses enterprise, assaulted on his way from the firm’s Frenchwood mill across town when he was met by a group of ‘Unionists’.

Several men were arrested and brought before the town’s magistrates the next day. The mayor, who was on the bench, told each of them that it was the ‘firm determination of the magistrates to protect those who choose to work, and to punish severely any one assaulting, or attempting to intimidate them.’

The mayor was Thomas German, a mill owner. John Paley was mayor the following year.

The first up was Thomas Jenkins, who when arrested had declared ‘he had a right to stand up for the rights of the people’. He was committed for trial to Lancaster, and the magistrates set his bail at £40 (roughly a year’s wages for a skilled man at that date).

Next came Christopher Taylor, who was said to have ‘hooted the hands, as they were leaving Mr Paley’s factory’. He claimed he had simply shouted ‘bah’ at them, which he thought he had a right to do. He was given six weeks hard labour in the House of Correction.

Then it was the turn of Thomas Miller’s assailant, Joseph Higham, who told the magistrates that he was pushed against Mr Miller and did not strike him. He was supported by witnesses who were described in the court report as “Unionists”. The magistrates did not believe him and fined him 20 shillings, and if he could not pay, he would two calendar months in the House of Correction.

The next two up, James Melling and William Welch, denied being involved in the crowd and intimidating workers. They were committed for trial at Lancaster. Others summoned failed to appear.

The following week, the magistrates were dealing with another case involving John Paley’s mill. Samuel Whittle was charged with leaving Paley’s employment without giving the required one month’s notice. The court was told that Whittle had been receiving twelve shillings a week while the mill was shut, but on the morning work resumed he left and joined the union.

Whittle was jailed for two calendar months with hard labour.

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Source
Henry Kirby’s Preston Guardian digest: https://prestonhistory.com/sources-2/preston-guardian-digest-introduction/
The Preston Chronicle: freely available on line to anyone with a Lancashire County Library card.