Twerton Mills
I am interested in the mills in Twerton in the 1780s. My relations lived in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire and in the 1780s went to Twerton. Why? They had a child in Notts in 1785 but then had one in Twerton in 1788, 1791, 1795, 1798 then had one in Notts in who died in 1801. They would have gone for employment in the mills but Twerton must have been the other end of the earth at that time? Why did they go there, how did they get there and why did they come all the way back to Notts. I beieve from someone else that they worked in a mill owned by Paul Bamford. A water mill converted to a worsted mill. Daniel Comery repaired heavy machinery i.e. an iron turner.
Can you provide any further information?
Somerset by car is a long way but in the 1780s I am surprised they knew it existed. Would they have travelled by road or boat as rail had not been invented and they probably had no money anyway.
Any thoughts will be most appreciated.
Jane
(submitted via email)
The only thing I can think of is that in this period, Tweron Mills were considered “state of the art”. Maybe the relation of yours had specific knowledge of new technology that was being inserted into the plant and therefore would have been hired by one of the Twerton mills to either install it or to run it.
Not much to go on and I’m no historian, but one thing which forced people to travel far afield to find work at that time was the Enclosure Acts.
Areas of land that everyone had a right to use for grazing their animals were suddenly sealed off. This was a direct attempt by Parliament to force people out of subsistence farming and into the workforce needed in manufacturing areas. The effects were extreme.
Again, I’m no expert, but if this family were laid off work with so many children to support, might they have had to return to their home parish to receive the Poor Relief??
Hello Jane
If you havent already read it, then you might find the chapter ” The Cloth Industry of Twerton 1780s to 1820s ” by Nicholas von Behr, useful background reading. It can be found in Volume 6 of Bath History series of books, isbn 0948975-42-3. Your local library should be able to get hold of a copy for you to lend. My local library is very good at getting books from other librarys for me.
The chapter doesnt mention Notts specifically but if your family is like mine then they may have been drawn to Bath mills with the promise of work and somewhere to live.
I am a direct descendant of Daniel Comery. The history of the Twerton Mills was sent to me by a local (to Twerton) historian in 1999. She told me that her researches showed that Samuel Paul Bamford probably took over the existing watermill in 1789. He introduced new machinery including Richard Arkwright’s Waterframe. He is known to have ordered the machinery direct from Richard Arkwright in Nottingham. Bamford would have needed skilled men to install the machinery so it would seem logical that he would have emloyed men who had worked for Arkwright in Nottingham. The dates of Daniel Comery being in Twerton coincide with Bamford taking over the mill. It is not unreasonable therefore to assume Danel was there about Bamford’s business.