back to search results

Weaving Mill

1936 , Halstead (Essex)

Cat no. 579

No video

There’s no web video for this work.

Please do get in contact to discuss other ways you could view this work.

Weaving processes at Town Mill, Halstead

This film opens with exterior shots of the weatherboard mill on the River Colne at Halstead. Inside the mill the film shows many of the processes used in weaving rayon. The yarn is wound from bobbins onto spools. These are placed on the shuttles to form the weft yarn to go in and out of the vertical thread. (Warp yarn, TK.) There are shots of these processes in operation and a shot of the spools. In the bobbin department bobbins are placed on a wooden frame, called a creel. This is used to produce a sheet of warp yarn at a rate of 80 yards per minute. The hand processing required in preparing threads is shown. Two women workers sit at a frame and there is a close-up shot of their hands as they work to show the skill and speed of their work. There is a shot of the machines weaving and then the material passes through a measuring machine. It is inspected by two women workers who pick off the loose threads by hand.

Featured Buildings

Town Mill, Halstead

Keywords

Cloth industry; industrial processes; weaving

Background Information

The first weavers were recorded in Halstead in 1559 when immigrant Flemish weavers set up trade in the town. The Courtauld family opened their first mill in the area at Pebmarsh in 1798. In 1825 they converted Town Mill, a corn mill, and began spinning silk. In 1828 they moved over to steam power. This was partly because a court action regarding water rights was decided against the company. Halstead was an attractive area in which to operate. Firstly, there was a supply of female and child labour. 83% of the labour force at Halstead in 1838 was female. 92% in 1886 and 86% in 1899. Secondly there were many unemployed handloom weavers. Initially they wove the silk cloth that was 'put out' to them at home. By 1838, Halstead had moved over to the use of power looms. Then the men worked in the factory, de-skilled and lower paid. By 1840, there were 240 power looms at work in the Halstead Mill. By 1907, 150 looms at Halstead were weaving viscose fabrics. Automatic silk looms were ordered in 1925, although possibly not installed for several years. Halstead Mill was closed in 1982, causing 216 redundancies along with 42 at Bocking and 20 at the company's Halstead headquarters. Rayon was patented by Joseph Swan in 1883. The idea was not developed by the textile industry until the early years of the twentieth century.

Manifestations

Weaving Mill

  • Barcode
    INV367399
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    DV digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:02:14
    Modification Date
    10/05/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    710750
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV196278
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    master digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:02:14
    Modification Date
    20/05/2008
    Parts
    Reference
    670775
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV??4724
    Canonical Identifier
    A-475
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    9.5mm film
    Identifier
    Image Polarity
    positive
    Modification Date
    25/06/2021
    Parts
    Reference
    656097
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV??4723
    Canonical Identifier
    A-84
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    16mm film
    Identifier
    Image Polarity
    negative
    Modification Date
    25/06/2021
    Parts
    Reference
    656096
  • Barcode
    INV212617
    Canonical Identifier
    VP-385
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Duration
    0:02:00
    Identifier
    Modification Date
    25/06/2021
    Parts
    Reference
    563198
  • Barcode
    INV??1580
    Canonical Identifier
    B-356
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    16mm film
    Has Sound
    Y
    Identification Notes
    Picture: magnetic (data migration 25/06/2021)
    Identifier
    Modification Date
    25/06/2021
    Parts
    Reference
    562455
    Sound
    sound
  • Barcode
    INV??1579
    Canonical Identifier
    B-299
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    16mm film
    Has Sound
    Y
    Identification Notes
    Picture: magnetic (data migration 25/06/2021)
    Identifier
    Modification Date
    25/06/2021
    Parts
    Reference
    562454
    Sound
    sound

Copyright restrictions apply.

Please see our terms of use. Films on this website are provided for personal viewing. Should you wish to use the films in any other way please contact eafa@uea.ac.uk

terms of use
The data for this page was generated on 24/04/2024 20:25:54+00:00. Click to regenerate this page .