much respected. I will here also give the full title and contents of the book, as it may be of use to future Bradford antiquaries.

"DOCUMENTS RELATIVE TO BRADFORD CHURCH:-The Glebe Lands; The Great and Small Tythes; Together with the Allotment of the Pews in the Year 1705, etc., etc. Bradford: Thomas Inkersley, Courier Office. 1827." (Dedicated) "To John Wilmer Field, Esq., of Heaton House." Contents-Bradford Church. Small Tythes. Surplice Fees. A True Note and Terrier. Communion Plate. Benefactions, A Copy of the Deeds of Settlement: Archbishop and Patrons-Confirmation of same. A Copy of Deed of Settlement made by Peter Sunderland, Esq. An Act for Enlarging the Church-yard. Sir John Maynard's Valuation of the Tythes of Bradford, Manningham, Bowling, Wibsey, Bierley, Heaton, Clayton, Allerton.ca. Wilsden, Thornton, Eccleshill, Shipley, Haworth and Horton. 1638. An Ac. count of the Pews, Seats, and Sittings, as Assigned in Pursuance of the Com. mission granted by the Archbishop of York, in 1705: And also of the Allotment which took place before the church was pewed, and was then in Stalls or Stands." The latter is what I have given in the preceeding pages.

In the present year, 1867, the church is being altered, and open pews or sittings erected. "On the removal of the old oak pews, the foundations of the nave pillars on the north side were found to be in such a decayed and unsatisfactory state that it was thought advisable while the restoration was going on to have them taken out and solid ones substituted; whereby to give a stability to that side for future ages. It has been a work of great and tedious labour, as the several columns have had to be supported with huge blocks of timber, and the progress has therefore been slow. This work being now accomplished, the floor solidly laid, and the pulpit being also removed to the north side of the chancel arch, the parishioners may congratulate themselves that by the new year they will again be congregated together within the precincts of the old sacred fane. The removal of the west gal. lery has imparted to the interior an imposing cathedral aspect-the east and west stained glass windows being fully exposed. Descrip tion can scarcely do justice to the richness of the west window when the rays of the setting sun are shed upon it. Its various groups are so harmonious, and its colours so rich, that the effect is superb."

THE RISE, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT (1852) STATE OF THE WORSTED, ALPACA, AND MOHAIR MANUFACTURES*.

BY HENRY FORBES, ESQ.

In the review of the various branches of our manufacture my object is to trace its gradual developement, to mark the successful application of enterprise, of invention, and of science; and to convey some estimate of its present capabilities, and the prospects of its continued advancement.

The term "worsted stuffs" is applied to those manufactures into the composition of which wool enters that has undergone the process of combing, and includes those fabrics in which wool thus combed is combined with cotton and with silk. The name "worsted" is derived from a village in Norfolk, where these goods were first produced. It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that these fabrics are carefully to be distinguished from "woollen cloths," the chief characteristic of which is, that they undergo the wellknown process of "felting" or "fulling." In opening up a number of fleeces, a distinction is easily observable between the wool of short and that of long staple. The short wool, if examined by a microscope, is noticeable for the number of little feathery serrations or imbrications on its surface, which enable the individual fibres to be locked into one another by the felting process; and this wool is accordingly most used for the production of woollen cloths. The longer wool does not possess these serrations to the same extent, and is better suited for combing, the object of which is to unravel all the fibres, and lay them smooth and even. I may be pardoned for calling your attention to this distinction between the woollen and the worsted manufactures, as they have long Deen confounded in popular phraseology and historical records.

From the earliest times of English history, wool has always been regarded as our great national raw material for woven goods. The mother of Alfred the Great is described, like the virtuous woman

* This paper is abridged from a lecture delivered before the Society of Arts, May 5th, 1852, by the late Henry Forbes, Esq.; and what I have chosen relates chiefly, as will be seen, to the trade of Bradford and its manufactures.

HOLROYD'S COLLECTANEA, No. 12.

spoken of in the Book of Proverbs, as busying herself diligently in spinning wool. Of Edward the Elder an old chronicler tells us, that whilst "he sette his sons to schole, his daughters he sette to wool-werke." Nor was wool regarded with less favour by our early sovereigns as a means of replenishing the royal exchequer. No subsidies are more common as granted to the Crown than those on wool, and no articles more frequent subjects of legislative interference than wool and its manufactures. Amongst other instances of the wisdom of our ancestors, I may mention that it was at one time provided that no wool "should be sold to any man of Scotland, or to any other to carry into Scotland," under pain of life and member. A paternal government attempted to regulate the length, breadth, quality, and price of the cloth to be produced, and prescribed the wages and diet of the artificers.

There seems little doubt that the first great impulse to our manufactures from wool of all kinds was given by the prudence and patriotism of Edward III., who encouraged cloth-workers from Flanders to settle in Norfolk, York, Kendal, and other places. It is scarcely to an ecclesiastical writer that we should look for manufacturing details; yet the witty Fuller, in the third book of his "Church History," so pleasantly describes this event, that I am sure you will pardon me for transcribing the passage:

"The king and state began now to grow sensible of the great gain the Netherlands got by our English wool; in memory whereof, the Duke of Burgundy, not long after, instituted the order of the Golden Fleece; wherein, indeed, the fleece was ours, the golden theirs, so vast their emolument by the trade of clothing. Our king therefore resolved, if possible, to reduce the trade to his own country, who as yet were ignorant of that art, as knowing no more what to do with their wool than the sheep that wear it, as to any artificial and curious drapery; their best clothes then being no better than friezes, such their coarseness for want of skill in their making. But soon after followed a great alteration, and we shall enlarge ourselves in the manner thereof. The intercourse now being great betwixt the English and the Netherlands (increased of late, since King Edward married the daughter of the Earl of Hainault), unsuspected emissaries were employed by our king into those countries, who wrought themselves into

familiarity with such Dutchmen as were absolute masters of their trade, but not masters of themselves, as either journeymen or apprentices. These bemoaned the slavishness of these poor servants, whom their masters used rather like heathens than Christians, yea, rather like horses than men! Early up and late in bed, and all day hard work, and harder fare (a few herrings and mouldy cheese), and all to enrich the churls their masters, without any profit unto themselves. But oh, how happy should they be if they would but come over into England, bringing their mystery with them, which would provide their welcome in all places! Here they should feed on fat beef and mutton, till nothing but their fulness should stint their stomachs; yea, they should feed on the labours of their own hands, enjoying a proportionable profit of their pains to themselves; their beds should be good and their bedfellows better, seeing the richest yeomen in England would not disdain to marry their daughters unto them; and such the English beauties, that the most envious foreigners could not but commend them. Liberty is a lesson quickly conned by heart; men having a principle within themselves to prompt them, in case they forget it. Persuaded with the premisses, many Dutch servants leave their masters and make over for England. Their departure thence (being picked here and there) made no sensible vacuity, but their meeting here all together amounted to a considerable fulness. With themselves, they brought over their trade and their tools; namely, such which could not as yet be so conveniently made in England. Happy the yeoman's house into which one of these Dutchmen did enter, bringing industry and wealth along with them. Such who came in strangers within their doors, soon after went out bridegrooms, and returned sons-in-law, having married the daughters of their landlords who first entertained them. Yea, those yeomen in whose houses they harboured soon proceeded gentlemen, gaining great estates to themselves, arms and worship to their estates."

There is no doubt that the manufacture of worsted stuffs was introduced or improved at this time; for in the account of exports in the 28th year of Edward III.'s reign, we find mention of "8061 pieces of worsted, at 16s. 8d. per piece." The county of Norfolk became then, and continued for four centuries, the main seat and centre of the trade. Permission was

given in the 13th year of Richard II. to the merchants and artificers of worsted in Norfolk, "to sell their single worsted to any place or persons being of the king's amity, notwithstanding any inhibition or liberty to the contrary." In 1439, four wardens of worsted weavers were appointed to be chosen yearly for the city of Norwich, and other four within the county of Norfolk, to set down orders for the true making of worsteds within Norwich, Norfolk, and Suffolk. In the 5th year of Henry VIII. an act was passed bearing the title, "An Act to avoid Deceits in Worsted:"- -a very desirable object, doubtless, yet one scarcely attainable by legal enactment. The production of these goods gradually spread into various other counties, although Norfolk still maintained its pre-eminence. In the reign of Queen Mary permission was given, for the first time, to the inhabitants of Halifax to buy wool, and retail it out for the benefit of poor craftsmen there. The cruel persecutions of the Duke of Alva drove over a large number of Dutch and other artisans, who settled both in Norfolk and in Yorkshire, and greatly promoted the growth of the worsted trade. Particular mention is made of the says, camlets, and other fabrics they produced. Bombazines were introduced in 1575, and damasks shortly after. So greatly did all this tend to the prosperity of the city of Norwich, that it was at that period the wealthiest manufacturing town in the kingdom; and when Queen Elizabeth visited it in 1578, we are informed by the city records that a grand pageant was exhibited, representing seven looms weaving worsted, russels, darnic, &c., with various devices; and that her majesty particularly examined the knitting and spinning of the children, perused the looms, and noted the several works and commodities that were made. It was under circumstances like these that the worsted trade first started into existence and importance.

It would be tedious to enter into any details of the progress of this manufacture during the next two centuries; but little alteration was made, either in the fabrics produced or in the methods of their production. The districts of the kingdom where the manufacture was carried on were, indeed, greatly extended, and the amount of fabrics produced considerably increased. I find records of this manufacture as existing from the middle to the close of last century, in eighteen or nineteen different English counties, extending

from Cornwall to Durham.

This extension was particularly noticeable in reference to Bradford, Halifax, and other towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which previously had been celebrated for woollen rather than for worsted goods. The great epoch, however, in the history of the worsted trade was the introduction, about the year 1790, of the spinning machinery, which had already began to revolutionise the cotton trade.

The manufacturing processes at this period were characterised by the most primitive and arcadian simplicity' and a degree of "slowness" which, in these railway times, we can scarcely realise. The work was entirely domestic, and its different branches widely scattered over the country. First, the manufacturer had to travel on horseback to purchase his raw material amongst the farmers, or at the great fairs held in those old towns that had formerly been the exclusive markets, or, as they were called, "staples" of wool. The wool safely received was handed over to the sorters, who rigorously applied their guage of required length of staple, and mercilessly chopped up by the shears or hatchet what did not reach their standard, as wool fit only for the clothing trade. The long wool then passed into the hands of the combers; and having been brought back by them in the combed state (technically called "top"), was again carefully packed, and strapped on the back of the sturdy horse, to be taken into the country to be spun. For this end the West Riding manufacturer had not only to visit the villages in the immediate neighbourhood of Halifax, Bradford, &c., but used periodically to traverse the romantic hills and dales of Craven. Here

at each village he had his agents, who received the wool, distributed it amongst the peasantry, and received it back as yarn. The machine employed was still the old one-thread wheel; and in summer weather, on many a village green, or hill side might be seen the housewives plying their busy trade, and furnishing to the poet the vision of "Contentment spinning at the cottage door." Returning in safety with his yarn, the manufacturer had now to seek out his weavers, who ultimately delivered to him his camlets, or russels, or serges, or tammies, or calimancoes (such were then the names of the leading fabrics), ready for sale to the merchant or delivery to the dyer.

It was in the year 1790 that the first spinning-jenny was put up in Bradford,

in the private house of Mr. Garnett, a spinner, whose family still maintain a deserved eminence in the trade. Of course it was worked by hand. About the same period similar machinery was introduced into Halifax and the neighbourhood. The first factory erected in Bradford was in 1793, and loud and manifold were the predictions of ruin that accompanied it. The extension of machinery and the improvement of mill yarn advanced slowly, but steadily. From a variety of causes, the manufacturers of Norwich did not avail themselves of the improved processes which the inventions of the spinning-frame and the application of steam power brought out; and, consequently, the spinning of worsted yarn passed gradually from Norfolk to Yorkshire. About 1813, Messrs. James Akroyd and Son, of Halifax, who have always been noted for their energy and enterprise, produced the articles known by the names of wildbores and plainbacks, from which sprung the singletwilled merinos. Moreens for hangings were introduced very shortly afterwards. The production of yarn by steam-power soon exceeded the capabilities of the handloom weavers, and about 1825, not without riots and alarms, power-looms began to be made use of in the worsted trade. It is somewhat singular, that just about the same time the duty on the export of English wool (a duty that had formed the subject of almost endless controversy between the farmers and the manufacturers, in which, reversing the present state of things, the manufacturers were protectionists and the farmers were for free trade)! this duty was reduced to the almost nominal rate of 1d. per lb., to be entirely done away in 1844. From 1825 to 1830 a great improvement, introduced by Messrs. Edward Ripley and Son, the eminent dyers of Bradford, took place in the methods of dyeing and finishing; and machinery was introduced into this department also. Amongst these machines may be mentioned the apparatus for "setting" worsted goods, or preventing them from shrinking up; a work previously done by hand, slowly and inefficiently. Up to this time all goods had been dried almost instantaneously, by being caused to pass over cylinders heated by steam. Nearly all the goods made hitherto had been finished with a glazed 'surface. In the year 1808 a county ball was given at York, where the rank and fashion of the district were arrayed in dresses of "tammy, "an article now used only as a lining

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for window-curtains.

But at the time of which I am speaking there was substituted for this glossy surface, in the fabric called " merinos," a finish soft, full, and elastic, that soon made it an article of large demand. A still greater impetus was communicated to the trade in 1834 by the introduction of cotton warps, which created great consternation amongst some of our wool-dealers and manufacturers at first, as threatening the destruction of the old-established fabrics from wool alone. Economy of production was by this means combined with fineness of texture; and the combination of silk warp with worsted weft, which followed shortly after, enabled the Yorkshire manufacturer to exhibit fabrics in which delicacy, softness, and elasticity were united. Nor must I forget to mention that the adaptation of the Jacquard to the worsted manufacture had qualified the makers of damask of Halifax and its vicinity for the production of elaborate and tasteful designs, at a comparatively cheap cost.

It was in 1836 that a new raw material was brought into use in the Bradford trade destined speedily to become one of its most important features. The existence of an animal called Alpaca, half camel and half sheep, had long been known to travellers and naturalists; and, indeed, tradition reports that Pizarro had brought back specimens of its wool on his first return from Peru, together with textures made from it by the natives. But up to the period I have mentioned, this wool, as an article of commerce, had attracted little notice; and to Mr. Titus Salt, of Bradford, belongs the honour of having properly estimated its capabilities, and perfected its adaptation. The animal is of the llama tribe, and is found only in the mountain regions of the northern part of Peru, the table-land about four hundred miles from the sea-coast. It cannot live in the low lands near the sea. It is gregarious, but not kept in large flocks like sheep, and requires considerable care. The attempts to naturalise this animal in England have not hitherto been successful. His late Royal Highness Prince Albert, with his characteristic patriotism and love of science, paid much attention to its culture and adaptation to our climate; but his efforts have not realised the result we could have desired. The late Earl of Derby's flock, now in the hands of Mr. Salt, are thriving; but still I cannot indulge the hope that the alpaca is likely to become a stock animal in this

country. The humidity of our climate is generally believed to be the main cause of our failure. Some years ago, six hundred alpacas where shipped from Peru to Liverpool; but so unskilfully had the arrangements been made for the accommodation, that only six survived the voyage. Alarmed at this shipment, the Peruvian Government issued an edict, prohibiting their exportation for the future; and when, last year, some enterprising Australian colonists attempted to procure a cargo, they were obliged to return disappointed.

The wool, or hair, of the alpaca is of various shades of black, white, grey, brown, &c., and is pre-eminently distinguishable for its brightness and lustre, its extreme softness, and great length of staple. A specimen shown in the Great Exhibition, 1851, by Messrs. Walter Milligan and Son, of Bingley, was fortytwo inches in length; but this must have been of many years' growth. Considerable difficulties were at first experienced in the working up of this material into yarn, but patience, perseverance, and skill, ultimately overcame them; and at the present time, in combination with warps of cotton or of silk, it forms an amazing variety of articles of great richness, softness, and beauty. The advance in its consumption may be estimated from the fact, that whilst in the five years from 1836 to 1840, only 560,000 lbs. per annum were imported, in 1851 the import had reached 27,331 ballots, or 2,186,480 lbs. weight; and the advance in price has been from 10d. per lb. in 1836, to 2s. 6d. per lb. in 1852.

Nearly contemporaneous with the introduction of alpaca wool, was the bringing into general use in Yorkshire of an article similar in many of its propertiesmohair, or goats' mane. This article is of very ancient use in manufactures, having been employed, as we are taught in the Book of Exodus, for the furniture and covering of the Jewish Tabernacle. The wool is grown in the neighbourhood of Angora, in the centre of Asia Minor, and is brought from thence on the backs of camels to Constantinople for shipment. It is singular, that although many attempts have been made to extend its growth beyond this immediate district they have hitherto entirely failed. Formerly yarn was spun by hand in Turkey itself to a large extent, and exported to France; but English-spun mohair yarn has now entirely superseded it. The export of this yarn to France in 1850, amounted to 400,000