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24/3/2017 0 Comments The People Behind The CottonWe're spotting daffodils in the hedgerows which means Spring is finally bursting through in Bestwood Village, and what a welcome sight they are! It also signifies the last of our meetings in the Church, and from next month we'll be meeting at Dynamo Cafe again now the evenings are lighter. On Wednesday we welcomed back Stephen Walker, with the second half of his anticipated talk on the Papplewick woods and cotton mills, this time focusing on the people behind the machinery. Stephen is chairman and part of the Millennium Project being undertaken by the parish council at the woods, to excavate and preserve some of the original waterways used by the Robinson mills. In his research into the industrial side of the mills, he discovered that allegations were made in 1907 that Robinson's mills were behind the unmarked graves of around 160 boys buried in Linby, with claims of being 'overworked, and underfed.' This led to many years of Stephen digging around the archives to find out the truth of the 'London Boys.' Image: Top Mill In the 1780's after Robinson's mills were built, he advertised for workers and welcomed their families along with the offer of jobs and houses. Around 80 houses were built specifically for the workers, and schools were located within the mills, as well as a bakery on the Linby site. Robinson was also notorious for poaching workers from other mills in the area. Then in 1790 he began to take batches of 9-11 year old children from St Marylebone workhouse to fill the requirements for workers, each batch numbering approx. 20 children. These children were referred to as 'the London Boys' and usually given apprenticeships until they were 14. In 1808, a batch of children were also brought in from a workhouse in Birmingham. The hours were long - six am to seven pm, with one break for lunch only - and the conditions without doubt would be hot, dirty, and dangerous at times. But the bulk of staff was indeed children, and women, with the average age of a child just nine years old, and responsibilities for jobs like spinning and carding. Records show that at Lower Mill in 1790, staff numbered 100, and included 21 girls, 21 boys, 50 women and 8 men to oversee them all. After apprenticeships, it was usual for the children to move into other mills, and on occasion returned to London. The nature of census taking was at best limited, and around 60% of them disappeared into the 'unknown' category after their time in the mills, leading to the speculation they were the alleged unknown children of the church yard. So does this mean it's true? The general knowledge of mills and working standards would insinuate as much. But surprisingly, only 43 instances of the death of a London Boy was recorded over 20 years of the mills operations, which considering the conditions and the proportion of child workers, is average of the time. Likewise there were less than 20 recorded incidents of London Boys running away from the mills, so despite the hardship they faced, they were not inclined to want to escape. It was also noted that upon inspections, at least 80% of the children in the mills could read and/ or write and they were considered well educated, in good condition and even mentally improving. In 1828, the mills collapsed completely, and were considered old fashioned compared to some. The population of the area dropped off as people went their different ways, and in 1841 the census recorded that the workers houses in Papplewick and Linby remained unoccupied. The bodies remain also unidentified, but it would appear the reason they are there is likely to remain a mystery for a while longer yet...
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