The Domestic System

1. The Domestic System

2. The Domestic System http://library.thinkquest.org/C005121/data/britain2_files/image008.jpg

3. The Domestic System • In 1750, most people lived and worked in the countryside. • They worked as producers of woollen cloth. • They cleaned, combed, spun, dyed and wove the raw material into cloth. • They did this work in their own houses on a small scale combined with farming. • The raw wool was delivered to the cottages. • The finished product was collected from the cottages. • This type of production has become known as Domestic (or Cottage) Industry.

4. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Texclothier.jpg Businessmen

5. Businessmen • They were known as clothiers or cloth merchants. • They organised production. So, their job was to: • bring the raw material to the cottage • and take away the finished cloth to sell at the cloth hall.

6. In the cottages • Entire families worked in their cottages producing cloth with only simple tools and machines. • Everyone who could see and who had nimble fingers played a part. • Work was usually divided up between the members of one family: • Women usually did the spinning. • Men did the weaving.

7. Jobs at home • Spinners • Weavers

8. http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=95658&rendTypeId=4 Jobs at home: Spinners

9. Jobs at home • Spinners • were women and girls. • were responsible for: • cleaning the sheep fleeces, • carding the wool • and spinning it. • were also known as spinsters (=unmarried women) because the job was frequently done by young girls. • used the spinning wheel to do the spinning. • Their finished product was called yarn.

10. Jobs at home: Weavers http://eiu.edu/~cfnek/gifsplus/moll/prentices.jpg

11. Jobs at home • Weavers • were men. • weaved the woollen thread into cloth. • used a handloom. • The weaving was hard manual work and usually left to the men folk. • About seven or eight spinners were needed for one weaver.

12. Machines at home The spinning wheel

13. Machines at home • The spinning wheel: • was often to be found on a ground floor with large windows. • was worked by hand movements. • was in the same room where food was cooked.

14. Machines at home The handloom http://nzphoto.tripod.com/avillagelife/weave/weaver_images/loom.jpg

15. Machines at home • The handloom: • was often to be found on an upper floor with large windows. • was worked by both hand and foot movements.

16. Advantages of the domestic system • Workers could still look after their children. • They did not have to travel any distance to work. • They could also perhaps grow food or keep livestock on a small holding. • They could work at their own speed and rested when they needed to. • Windows allowed for light and ventilation.

17. Disadvantages of the domestic system • People had to work very long hours to make a living often in small, cramped spaces. • The production was very slow. • The finished product was not enough.

18. Bibliography • Photos taken from internet: • http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=95658&rendTypeId=4 • http://eiu.edu/~cfnek/gifsplus/moll/prentices.jpg • http://library.thinkquest.org/C005121/data/britain2_files/image008.jpg • http://nzphoto.tripod.com/avillagelife/weave/weaver_images/loom.jpg • http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Texclothier.jpg • Photos taken by Maria del Roser Pujadas Jubany • City Chambers, Glasgow: slide 9 • Spinning wheel, Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow: slide 12 • Text adapted from: • http://www.cottontown.org./page.cfm?pageid=338 • http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~todmordenandwalsden/cottageindustry.htm • http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/domestic_system.html • http://www.saburchill.com/history/chapters/IR/008.html • SMITH, Nigel: The Industrial Revolution, Serie Events and Outcomes, Evans, 2002, page 10. Maria del Roser Pujadas Jubany Llicència C 2006-2007