The English Sewing Cotton Company Scrapbook

  Crafting magazines in the late 60s were embracing man made textiles, emphasising the ease in which they could be turned into clothes, and the subsequent ease in which these garments could be cared for. Not that you needed to look after them that carefully, everything was so cheap you could just make another at the drop of a nylon zip. It had never been so easy to be in fashion.  

  From a 1952 needlework magazine, when ladies were encouraged to make their home as beautiful as possible using their skills. The aspiration was dainty with a slight French accent.

 If you take a trip down the A6 south from Matlock, you can’t fail to miss Masson Mills. Built by Sir Richard Arkwright ‘s company in 1783, the cotton mill was deliberately constructed to stand out. Back then, the majority of Derbyshire buildings were constructed of local stone. Arkwright chose red brick for his new mill – a big sore thumb next to the Derwent. It showed off just how rich he had become on the proceeds of his cotton spinning. There is a ring attached to one of the internal walls which is reputedly where Arkwright tied his horse when he came to inspect the works. They say that if you touch it, you will become as rich as he was! Today, the mill buildings are a museum and heritage centre, and guided tours currently take place on Thursdays and Fridays. I decided to join one of these, as I thought it could be a source of ESCC information. Masson Mills became part of the ESCC combine when the grouping took place in 1897, and remained operational until 1991. I was very plea...

  In 12 years sewing magazine articles went from antimaccassars to beach holidays abroad. Publishers caught up with what women really wanted from life - especially the young. We didn't want to be pretty and becoming so much as having fun with our hair loose. The similarities are that dressmaking projects needed to be quick and easy. By 1968 there were now easy care fabrics available too.

In January 1916, conscription was introduced in order to obtain more front line troops for the trenches. As the war went on, such was the government's desperation to obtain more cannon fodder, the upper age limit was pushed up to 50!  Some occupations were protected and companies (as well as the individuals concerned) could appeal conscription for their workers if they could prove that their work was vital. In November 1917, The Derbyshire Advertiser published an item titled "Belper Tribunal". This was a report into the military tribunals that had taken place to decide whether local workers should be sent for military service. This being Belper, a town dominated by the mills established by the Strutt family, a lot of the men in question were English Sewing Cotton Company employees.  In fact, the military tribunal was chaired by Alderman G H Strutt - the mill owner himself! Perhaps this went in favour of some of the men, if he had a thorough understanding of what their wor...

 3 found poems cut from a 1932 issue of Good Needlework Magazine. The sewing themes of the time emerge - skill with a needle and a beautiful home that you never want to stray from is the only route to happiness for today's woman. Meanwhile I need to find better glue.