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Actress Jane Horrocks’ family story is borne out of the Industrial Revolution in the Northwest of England, where cotton was King. Jane was born in the Rossendale Valley Lancashire and generations of her family have lived and worked around the Northwest.
Her great grandmother Sarah, like generations before her, worked in the cotton producing factories. She endured the long-working hours and dangerous conditions of the eighteenth century mills, whilst other lines of Jane’s family tree indicate she is also connected to the mill owners.
An indication of your family’s employment may be obtained from census records, which provide an indication of what they did for a living, although few specify a particular mill or factory.
Census records also record where your ancestor lived, their occupation and whom they lived with. Visit the census websites for more information.
It is possible to narrow down from where they lived what would have been their most likely place of work - bearing in mind they would have only walked a short distance to the nearest mill. Indeed, Jane Horrocks’ family lived in a street built by the owners of the factory, and this in itself can be an important clue.
Factory records may also survive, but they can be difficult to track down because they are records created by private companies. It is rare to find employment records that give the names of individuals, but other documents may also illuminate certain aspects of millwork. The records of organisations set up to improve conditions for workers in times of hardship, such as Co-operative and Friendly Societies, may all prove valuable sources of information.
This material is usually deposited in the relevant county archive, although some specialist collections exist in university libraries. To experience what life was like in a mills or factory, you may also like to visit your local museum – most industrial towns have their own collections relating to life during the industrial revolution.
