known the number of hand-loom weavers; for the power-loom, although invented in 1787 by the Rev. Edmund Cartwright, did not become of much use till 1818, nor of general use till 1824.

The principal descriptions of cotton goods woven in this district were cords, velveteens, tabbies, thicksets, checks, and pillows; shirtings, calicoes, nankeens, ginghams, and ticks have been made to a small extent, and occasionally muslins have been manufactured, but only to a limited amount. I have no means of ascertaining accurately the number of cottage weavers in the parish either at this or several subsequent periods, but there is every probability that in the latter part of the last century the number of individuals engaged in weaving and winding, would considerably exceed the total number of cotton mill workers. It required almost twenty years to reverse the relative proportions of the two classes of operatives, and then the weavers were rather rapidly becoming mill hands also.

The manufacture of hats materially extended from 1780 to 1796. The principal hatting concerns in the latter year were those of Messrs. Henshaw and Co., at Hargreaves; Mr. Abraham Clegg, Bent grange; Mr. John Clegg, Lower Bent; Mr. Thomas Clegg, Barnfold; Mr. Edmund Whitehead, Coldhurst lane; and Mr. John Fletcher, Holebottom. The manufacture of fine hats, composed of valuable wool and fur, was now carried to a high degree of skill, particularly by Messrs. Henshaw and Clegg; great expertness was manifested in dyeing and finishing black hats, and much taste evidenced in the manufacture of fancy hats. Previous to 1800, according to Mr. Housman, in his Lancashire Topography, a patent was obtained and a work established to manufacture hats by machinery, moved by water. Mr. Housman omits to name the party who made this attempt, but it was probably the one referred to in page 87, which proved unsuccessful.

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