Littleborough from Cleggswood Hill
3 Fullers - 3 different outcomes
Fulling involves cleaning, thickening and felting woollen cloth by various method such as urine, clay, soap and water -
Fulling. Process that increases the thickness and compactness of woven or knotted wool by subjecting it to moisture, friction and pressure until shrinkage of 10 to 25% is achievedÂ
Fulling was undertaken across Littleborough from Rakewood/Longden End Clough and Sladin (Wellfield) in the east to Dearnley and Stubley Mill in the west and at New Mill and Ealees in Littleborough and Higher Shore (c1848). Urine was often collected from local households who would put a pottery jar outside the family home each-morning for collection and later payment of 1 old pence per pot/jar. This which just happened to be the price of a loaf of bread and it was thus said that they became known as Bread Jars. The clay was more commonly known as 'Fullers Earth' and to dry the cloth it was hung out to on Tenters, the traces of which can still be seen near Longden End Mill (and also above Watergrove Reservoir). Thus arose the phrase "hanging on tenter-hooks".
There were, amongst many 3 families whose breadwinners started as Fullers but had very different outcomes.
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The census records show John Clegg as a Fuller at Longden End Mill in 1851 but later, in 1861, John Clegg Junior was operating Rakewood Higher Mill By 1871 he was a Master Fuller employing 12 men. Through the generations the mill modernised with the times introducing modern equipment and new methods of finishing cloth which it still does today albeit in a smaller but more specialist way. See also Industrial History Booklet No 9 Rakewood to Longden End
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In 1881 James Henry Rhodes Whittle (known as Henry) was a Fuller at Rakewood Higher Mill but he disliked the job immensely and was determined that no one else from his family would be so employed. whilst working long days in the mill, he encouraged his wife Jane to bake bread rolls and pies during the day so in the evenings he could sell them to the households in the surrounding are. When his daughters were old enough they too joined their father in selling the families products. In 1893, the family took the plunge into full time baking. The business transferred to the Old Post Office, Featherstall, located on the corner of Featherstall Road and Whitelees Road in Littleborough, next to the Horseshoe public house. Here, as well as selling bread, pies, etc., the shop also sold groceries. The method of delivery also took a turn for the better, with supplies now being transported by hand-cart. This was the start of a proper Commercial Bakery business which Henry and his successors successfully expanded over the next 99 years until its closure as just part of a baking empire (not in the family ownership). See also Industrial History Booklet No 1 Whittles Bakery
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And now to the origin of this page, the marriage of 28 year old John Bamford Horrocks (born 5th July 1893) and 25 year old Florence Gartside (born 10th December 1896) in September 1921. John's ancestor from 1851 was 29 year old James Horrocks who had married Sarah Hardman in 1847. He was a Fuller and he, Sarah and daughter Ann lived in Featherstall. It isn't clear where he worked but the nearest Fulling Mill was James Schofield's New Mill near to where Lidl is today or Stubley Mill run by William Law, just a little further away. By 1891 James (a Widower) was living at 10 Bamford St in Wuerdle and Wardle, which in that era joined up with Featherstall at the eastern end of New Road He was still a Fuller but possibly by now in a more senior role because when he died in 1900 at Couper Cottage, Whitelees Rd, he left £466.15s, worth £51,788 today. James eldest son, John, was also a Fuller and in 1901 he was living at 101 Victoria St with his wife Fanny and three children, one of which was John Bamford Horrocks. John Bamford's father, John Horrocks senior died relatively young at 56. By 1921, John Bamford was a clerk with the Ministry of Labour.
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Before her marriage, Florence Gartside lived with her parents at 13 Oak Street in Ealees (pictured front centre-right, the houses are Odd numbered from left). Florence was the middle of 7 children, living with her mother Mary Elizabeth (born 2nd August 1872) and father James (born 17th Jan 1869) . James worked in the woollen trade moving from a 'Taker -in' in 189, to a Winder-on in 1901 to a Beamer in 1911. It is unclear where he worked but it may well have been at Durn Mill. By 1921, when his daughter married, he was a Hosiery Salesman, a job he retained until he died on his 73 birthday.
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By 1939 Florence and James Bamford were living on Cecil Street in Stubley with their 2 children. the Register shows John B was now a Civil Servant with the Ministry of Labour. The family later moved to Edgeware where he died aged 75. Florence lived to near to her 100th birthday before she died in Hove on the South Coast.
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It is often easier to follow men's career progression but perhaps little thought is given to the thoughts and aspirations of their brides. This of course we can never know (especially for a male author) but amongst many other things it possibly it related to her husband's occupation and that of his family's working history and thus her future. For those marryingÂ
into a business owning family might rightly expect that at some stage her husband would run the family firm, which of course they generally did. For Jane Whittle her future probably law in Textiles but, of course it changed dramatically including move down to London and then retirement in the sunnier climes of Brighton, except for Devon and Cornwall, it was as far south you could go from the cooler climes of Littleborough