Enterprise in Some Working-Class Communities: Cotton Manufacturing in North-east Lancashire and West Craven, c. 1880 to 1914

This article studies the social origins and careers of 60 cotton manufacturers in two of the towns in which the room and power system was well established in England before the First World War. It demonstrates that most were from working-class and lower-middle-class families and, as new entrants, they benefited greatly from access to room and power. Even so, money was needed for machinery and working capital, and technical, managerial and commercial experience were essential. It was unlikely that an operative would succeed as a manufacturer unless these prerequisites could be met. The room and power system was the operating context for mature businesses as well as for new entrants, and many successful manufacturers became directors of mill companies of which they were also tenants.