The English Sewing Cotton Company Scrapbook

  The top advertisement is from 1880, the bottom one from 1890. Neither mention the Sylko brand name, but the second refers to the Three Shells logo (taken from the Dewhurst family crest).  Obviously Dewhursts were travelling far and wide to promote their cotton and winning medals around the world.

 Dewhursts moved their cotton business into Skipton in the 1820s, but the first mill wasn't to last long before succumbing to fire.  Here's extracts from the report in the Albion and The Star newspaper, 8th January 1831 (read in the British Newspaper Archive): Another mill destroyed - On Sunday morning last, the newly erected worsted and cotton mill at Skipton belonging to Mr John Dewhurst was discovered to be on fire. Prompt assistance was rendered by a multitude of persons...had there been even one fire engine in the town...but there was none. Messengers were despatched to Keighley and Leeds, and though the Keighley engines were on the spot in 44 minutes...they arrived too late for nearly the whole of the valuable machinery and stock was destroyed...and the fine building a blackened ruin. The damage is estimated at 14,000 or 15,000, only about 8,000 of which is insured. How the fire originated no-one can precisely say,  but we add, with pain, that there is too much reas...

 An account of my trip to Skipton,  written for the April edition of the Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Tinnitus Support Group newsletter: Having been a collector and enthusiast of Sylko cotton reels for so long, it seemed to be the natural next step to visit the place where they had come from. The cotton had been dyed, processed, reeled up and packed at the Belle Vue Cotton Mill in Skipton, North Yorkshire, for many years until the demise of the British cotton industry. I knew that the mill was still standing, and had been converted into council offices and flats, so where better to head for on a summer day out?  Skipton is the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales and a popular tourist destination, so there is plenty to do besides track down old cotton mills! I am a nervous driver and never go anywhere long distance by car. I love trains, so whenever I need to go anywhere outside Derbyshire I always go by rail. I took the Cross Country train from Chesterfield to Leeds (abou...

 The amalgamation of the various companies into the English Sewing Cotton Company in 1897 was meant to improve profits for all concerned through a pooling of resources. However, external forces made sure that this was not as easy as perhaps was initially expected. As early as August 1901, there were difficulties. The Derby Daily Telegraph reported on an ESCC shareholders meeting that was described as having a "lively character". The Chairman was Algernon Dewhurst, and under discussion was the falling off of gross earnings to the tune of nearly £70,000. This huge drop was put down to a range of reasons including the cost of raw materials, high prices of coal and other items needed to run the mills along with reduced selling prices. A foray into the USA market had not gone well either, with a lower than expected return on investment. As a result, it was proposed to shake the board up, getting rid of 3 directors and appointing a small executive committee. "Serious criticism...

  A Sylko Story - D317 Brunette They were gone for the day and she was left to her own little routine. The men had eaten their fatty bacon too quickly and she had forced down the slice of burnt toast spread with marg. Time to clear the table, wash the first batch of pots for the day and shake the crumbs from the tablecloth into the back yard. But that first bit of calm was irresistible,  she must just sit and listen to it. A night full of snores giving way to non stop gossip about the mill and the footy and that bloody radio always on...it was enough to drive you to drink. But for now, there was just the clatter of cyclists tackling the corner and the restful brood of the pigeons on the outhouse roof. She decided to allow herself a cigarette. Yesterday's paper still lay underneath the teapot, the horse racing page uppermost. An unfathomable set of numbers were pencilled along the bottom. She moved the teapot and opened the newspaper out, taking care so that when she had finish...

Despite a long history of the colour green being considered unlucky (because it belonged to the faeries and other creatures that it was wise not to "steal" from), by the early 1930s it was an incredibly popular fashion choice. Particularly at weddings. One local newspaper wedding write up  in the early part of the decade observed that the bride and her bridesmaids had eschewed tradition by dressing in the colour. Search the British Newspaper Archive for "Apple Green" and "Eau-de-Nil" throughout the 1930s and it appears in countless wedding write ups as the colour of a gown. In 1933, the Falkirk Herald's "Feminine Reflections" page contained advice on which shade of green to choose. It was titled "Tricky Green" and was written by Violet Dismore. "Superstition about green has in the past saved many women from making some bad mistakes in the choice of colour, because all shades of green were debarred from their wardrobe....compara...

In March 1914, the Evening Despatch newspaper reported on a Birmingham court case. It concerned a young Bromsgrove woman, who was accused of shamming blindness. She had been in receipt of 4s and 6d compensation per week since an accident in 1907 at a company called Guest, Keen and Nettlefold - a maker of metal fastenings - which she claimed had resulted in her loss of sight. However, evidence had been mounting that she wasn't blind at all.  Several witnesses were called in order to put forward their observations on her activities and behaviour. The Birmingham Blind Institution had been surprised at her ability to walk round furniture and learn new skills. Another witness had seen her return to a seat on the bus to collect an umbrella that had been left behind. Then another witness was called - a lady that ran a Bromsgrove draper's shop. The newspaper reported that -  "On one occasion, the girl asked for some Sylko, used for machining. She brought a piece with her to match...

  It comes a surprise to find that Sylko threads were manufactured in Northern Ireland for a time - not a location you would expect of the English Sewing Cotton Company.  The story of the Lisnaskea Mill began in 1952, when the decision to build a brand new, up to the minute mill, was publicly announced. With a floor space of 150,000 square feet, it was projected to provide employment to 180 men and 145 women. It seems that the project had government backing, and was intended to bring a little prosperity to this Ulster backwater. By 1960, local newspapers were being invited in to report on the manufacture of Sylko cotton there.  "With an experienced skill, these workers spin the yarn used in the manufacture of Sylko to the exacting standards of the groups' thread experts." All went well until February 1980, by which time Tootal had control of the ESCC. A modernisation plan was announced for Lisnaskea, with the unfortunate loss of tens of jobs, in order to secure the future...