Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven Introduction | Materials For Lesson 1 |
Twelve varied sources (written, statistical, visual) used in Lesson 1 | Child Labour and the Industrial Revolution | The Making of the English Working Class | Industrial Revolution Lesson Plans | Objectives for Interpretations for Use with Activity 7.5 | Bibliography

Twelve varied sources (written, statistical, visual) used in Lesson 1

I mage of cholera victim. From the 1831 Sunderland outbreak and so one of the first victims in Great Britain, Sunderland Museum. From Norman Longmate (1966), King Cholera, Temple Smith .

Friedrich Engels, (1892) The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, Swan Sonnenschein and Co., pp. 45, 48–53. Description of the poor living conditions in industrial Manchester.  FromModern History Sourcebook www.fordham.edu/halsall **  

Letter from Leeds cloth merchants (1791) This statement by the cloth merchants of Leeds, a major centre of the woollen trade in Yorkshire, defended the use of machines. FromModern History Sourcebook www.fordham.edu/halsall ** 

Extract from a petition by Leeds woollen workers (1786) This petition by workers in Leeds (a major centre of woollen manufacture in Yorkshire) appeared in local newspapers in 1786. They are complaining about the effects of the machines on the previously well-paid skilled workers . FromModern History Sourcebook www.fordham.edu/halsall **

Lord Ashley (1842) Report on Children Employed in Mining. Prints of young persons. They show young people were used to move the coal to the surface. From the Learning Curve website: www.learningcurve.pro.gov.uk ***

Extract of witness Esther Craven (aged 14). A positive description of her work in mines, its benefits and importance to her family.

Submission from Manchester’s Factory Children’s Committee sent to the House of Commons in 1836. The source also includes a photograph of Manchester Factory children. During the campaign for the Ten Hour Day, a group of factory children in Manchester joined together to support factory legislation. From the Spartacus website: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk  ****

The Ashton Chronicle, 23 June 1849. Interview by J.R. Stephens with Sarah Carpenter, a factory worker from Derbyshire, who gave an account of her life as a child worker at Cressbook Mill, Derbyshire. From the Spartacus website: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk  ****

Report of House of Lords Committee, 1818. Extract from an interview with Dr. Thomas Turner who was the house surgeon and apothecary at the Manchester Workhouse. He was interviewed by Lord Kenyon’s Committee on 1 June 1818. From the Spartacus website: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk  ****

Edward Baines, (1835) The History of the Cotton Manufacture. The author expresses doubts on ill-effects upon and ill-treatment of children in the factories. From the Spartacus website: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk  ****

Speech by Samuel Courtauld against the proposed factory legislation, 1833. He is opposed to government interference and refers to the mills providing employment for the famishing. Also there is a table showing Courtauld and Co Profits (1835–1885). From the Spartacus website: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk  ****

Report of the House of Commons Committee, 1832. Interview by Michael Sadler of Elizabeth Bentley. She was born in Leeds in 1809 and began working in a flax mill at the age of 6. Her interview on 4 June 1832 presents a negative view of work in the factory. From the Spartacus website: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk  ****

Notes

* This site has a particularly good range of pictorial sources on the Industrial Revolution, mainly related to health, cholera and housing (usually the dire housing of the working and poorer classes but there are also useful images here of middle-class and wealthy households too).

** The sources on this site are of immense value, but they are extremely lengthy and challenging, thus the selected sources were substantially adapted and abbreviated for use. It is important to take into account the ability and needs of the class, especially needs related to literacy. If necessary, the Engels extract could be replaced by pictorial sources showing the poor living conditions in towns. See the St. Andrew website cited above.

*** This site probably contained some of the most interesting and less well known sources for pupils. A special feature of the sources here is that they are presented in a format as close as possible to the original sources, with transcripts provided to ensure access.

**** This site is probably the one which is most popular with school teachers. Its selection of sources on the Industrial Revolution, and in particular those related to child labour is particularly comprehensive. In addition, these sources probably require the least amount of adaptation for pupil use.