Table Of ContentM Page 1
The first
‘Stobart offers significant new material and, bringing the interpretive T
approach of a geographer, throws a different light upon the debates
h
concerning industrialisation.’
e
Pat Hudson, Cardiff University industrial
fi
r
This is a book about the geography of economic growth and the influence
s
which geography had on economic growth during the early phases of t
industrialisation in England. Its innovative analysis examines the role of the
i
urban system in structuring economic development, showing how the n region
growth of towns served to integrate industries and promote economic d
change. The central argument is twofold: first, that a proper understanding u
of the national economy can only be gained through closer regional analyses; s
t
and second, that regional integration effected through towns was crucial to
r
national development as it facilitated the spatial and sectoral specialisations i
a
which were the key to the wider economic growth in this period.
l North-west England c. 1700–60
Drawing on a wealth of original research, these arguments are developed r
e
through detailed examination of the manufacturing and service economies in
g
the world’s first modern industrial region: the north-west of England in the
i Jon Stobart
first half of the eighteenth century. Building on a wide-ranging review of the o
literature on economic development, it places the region within a set of n
broader conceptual and geographical contexts. It offers a theoretically
informed discussion of textile, mineral and service economies within the
north-west and argues that these need to be viewed as part of a regional S
t
economy that became increasingly consolidated through a variety of urban- o
b
based activities and linkages.
a
r
This book has much to offer second- and third-year undergraduates, t
postgraduates and researchers in economic, social and urban history, and
historical geography.
Jon Stobart is Senior Lecturer in Geography at Coventry University
Cover illustration:
Eighteenth-century farmhouse and
weavers’ cottages, New Tame in
Saddleworth, Yorkshire.
M
A
N
MANCHESTER C
H
UNIVERSITY PRESS
E
S
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk T
E
R
t h e f i r s t i n d u s t r i a l r e g i o n
To my parents
The first
industrial region
North-west England, c.1700–60
jon stobart
MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
Manchester and New York
distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave
Copyright © Jon Stobart 2004
The right of Jon Stobart to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Oxford Road, Manchester m13 9nr, UK
and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Distributed exclusively in the USA by
Palgrave, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
Distributed exclusively in Canada by
UBC Press, University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall,
Vancouver, BC, Canada v6t 1z2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
isbn 0 7190 6462 7 hardback
First published 2004
11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Typeset in Sabon
by Carnegie Publishing, Lancaster
Printed in Great Britain
by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow
contents
contents
Contents
List of figures page vii
List of tables ix
Acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction: shifting the economic development agenda 1
2 Economic development and the urban system 9
3 Uneven development: geographical specialisation
and inter-dependency 32
4 An advanced organic economy: the textile industries 64
5 A mineral-based energy economy: coal-using industries 103
6 The service sector and urban hierarchies 138
7 Spatial integration and the urban system 175
8 Conclusions: the integration of local, regional, national
and international economies 219
Appendix 1 Sources of urban population totals for north-west England
in the 1770s 227
Appendix 2 Probate records as sources of occupational information 229
Bibliography 234
Index 254
v
list of figures
list of figures
Figures
3.1 Rank-size distributions: England and the north west, 1660–c.1750 38
3.2 Geographical specialisation in north-west England, 1701–60 44
3.3 The transport infrastructure of north-west England, c.1780 51
3.4 Change in counties’ rank order of wealth, 1693–1843 54
3.5 Urban growth in north-west England, 1664–1780 57
4.1 Specialisation in textile production in north-west England,
1701–60 68–69
4.2 Felt- and hat-making in north-west England, 1550–1800 73
4.3 Textile-finishing industries in north-west England, 1701–60 77
4.4 Crofters and whitsters in the Manchester area, c.1773 78
4.5 Fustian and check manufacturers in the Manchester area, c.1773 81
4.6 Warehouses of fustian and check manufacturers in
Manchester, c.1773 82
4.7 Textile dealing, 1701–60 84–85
4.8 The cotton-linen putting-out system 92
4.9 Spatial structure of the textile industries 97
5.1 Coal and salt resources and production in north-west
England, c.1750 105
5.2 Major mineral works built before 1760 110
5.3 Geographical specialisation in the mineral energy economy,
1701–60 114
5.4 Watchmaking in south-west Lancashire, 1701–60 116
5.5 China and earthenware manufacturing in Liverpool in the
mid-eighteenth century 120
5.6 Business contacts of Peter Stubbs 129
5.7 Spatial structure of the mineral energy economy 132
6.1 Retailing and leisure infrastructure in Chester, c.1780 155
6.2 Urban centrality in north-west England, 1701–60 160
6.3 The central place hierarchy of north-west England, 1701–60 163
6.4 High order functions in the central place system, 1701–60 165
6.5 Externality ratings within the central place system, 1701–60 167
7.1 Debt patterns of selected tradesmen 180
vii
viii list of figures
7.2 Origins of apprentices to Chester tradesmen, 1700–53 181
7.3 Buyers and sellers at the Chester horse markets, 1660–1723 182
7.4 Overseas debts of Richard Houghton 183
7.5 National and regional debts of Richard Houghton 184
7.6 Inter-urban coach and carrier network in north-west England,
c.1790 187
7.7 Coach and carrier links from north-west England, c.1790 189
7.8 Executorial contact patterns in north-west England, 1701–60:
a simple typology 198
7.9 Bonds owing to Edward Davenport of Stockport 200
7.10 Interaction within the urban system of north-west England,
1701–60 201
7.11 Spatial structure of the economy of north-west England 214
list of tables
list of tables
Tables
2.1 Growth of different categories of towns in the eighteenth century 17
3.1 Population estimates for England and north-west England 35
3.2 The English urban hierarchy, 1600–1801 (populations in 000s) 35
3.3 The urban hierarchy of north-west England 37
3.4 Male occupations in England and Wales, 1688–1811 40
3.5 Male occupations in north-west England, 1701–60 41
3.6 Male occupations in north-west England, 1701–60: urban
and rural specialisation 48
3.7 Estimated output of coal in England, 1700–1830 55
4.1 Textile occupations in north-west England 1701–60: urban and rural
specialisation by cloth type 67
4.2 Occupational specialisation in textile production in north-west
England (cloth type), 1701–60 71
4.3 Textile occupations in north-west England, 1701–60: rural
and urban specialisation by stage of production 79
4.4 Textile dealing occupations in north-west England, 1701–60:
urban and rural specialisation 83
5.1 Geographical change in coal production in south-west Lancashire 107
5.2 Salt production in Cheshire and Lancashire (tons) 109
5.3 Urban and rural distribution of coal-using works in north-west
England, 1701–60 111
5.4 Urban and rural distribution of coal-using trades in north-west
England, 1701–60 115
5.5 Location of ironmongers in north-west England, 1701–60 126
6.1 The urban–rural balance in the service industries of north-west
England, 1701–60 141
6.2 Stock-in-trade of Robert Wilkinson of Nantwich, tailor 144
6.3 Exports of salt and coal, and imports of tobacco and sugar
from Liverpool 148
6.4 Leisure and improvement in eighteenth-century north-west England 151
6.5 ‘Luxury’ tradesmen in north-west England, 1701–60
(selected trades and services) 156
ix
