The searchlight., 1910-04-22

luc SIkulcSulu
century Is one OF the great
epics of industry. the history
Of its amazing growth and the
romance with which 1t Is colored gain
In interest and conciseness when mar
rated. as 1t may be, in the record of
one firm. which had its beginnings in
the spare corner OF quarryman's
shed over century and a quarter ago
and today can claim to be the largest
manufacturer of long cloths and cali
Goes in the world.
In the early days of the cotton in
dustry. almost every Lancashire cot
tage was a factory. The head Of the
family purchased raw cotton. his wife
and daughters carded and spun 1t into
yarn and he himself and son wove 1t
into calico for sale to a merchant.
Even the inventions of the flying
shuttle by John Kay. of the spinning
jenny by James Hargreaves. Of the
spinning water frame by Richard Ark
wright and later Of the spinning mule
by Crompton scarcely affected this do
mestic manufacture of cotton. Thus.
though John Horrocks. one of the IS
children Of smali quarry owner at
Edgeworth. near Bolton, was his IA
theirs assistant in hewing and polish
ing millstones for grinding corn. he
set up spinning frame in corner
of the stone mason's shed and devoted
his spare time to spinning cotton.
His yarn was of such high quality that
he secured a ready sale for 1t. and.
buying more spinning frames. he set
his numerous sisters to the same
work. Then came the time when. in
selling his yarn to a weaver. so vio-
lent a quarrel arose over its price
that Horrocks determined to start the
weaving as well as the spinning of
cotton.
In January. 1891. John Horrocks.
then only 23 years old. established
himself as a cotton manufacturer in
Preston. He bought and carded the
cotton himself: 1t was spun for him
by employees In their own homes and
he similarly gave out this yarn to
be woven into cahcoes and long cloths.
Within l2 months he built premises
which still stand as part of the now
immense factories Of Horrockses.
Crewdson & Co. In less than ten
years John Horrocks had extended his
business to seven mills. Only 13
years elapsed between the time when
he laid down the stone mason's ham,
mer and his death. at the age of SO.
as a great cotton manufacturer. as
Al. P. for Preston and leaving for
tune of e150.000.
1t Is such a career as that which
invests the early development of the
cotton trade with the atmosphere of
romance. But SO well and truly had
John Horrocks laid the foundation
stones and built up the business that
its subsequent history has been one
OF steadily increasing expansion. By
absorption and amalgamation 1t is to-
day the firm of Horrockses, Crewdson
& Co. Ltd. of which Sir Frank Hol-
Inns is chairman. with mills In Pres
ton and Bolton and warehouses in
of the business may be gathered from
the fact that 5000 work people are
engaged in its mills, that its looms ex-
ceed 5000 and its spindles number
nearly a quarter Of million. The
weekly output averages $4,000 pieces
of cotton fabrics in almost infinite va
rieties and makes. Chief among these
are long cloths and calicoes which
have made the name of Horrockses,
Crewdson & Co. familiar the world
over. the sheetings. dannelettes. fine
cambrics and fancy cotton fabrics. Al
lowing for the holidays. the annual
output Of the arm 10 1.450.000 pieces
and as each averages 20 yards in
length the annual production amounts
to over $4,000 miles. The mills at
Preston cover more than so acres and
one weaving shed alone contains 1000
looms.
In striking contrast with the roar of
actual manufacture IL the stiffness OF
the firms great warehouse In Man
chester, where the bales Of fabric are
received from the mills. examined.
stamped. packed and dispatched to al
parts u the world. II IL interesting
to note here the firms adaptabiliQ .