In 1860, the Lancashire countryside was littered with industry. Cotton and coal fuelled an impending revolution as the north of England dredged from the earth its own veins to fuel the spindles. At its height, Lancashire’s 2,650 cotton mills produced over half of the world’s cotton. By 1960, the mills, undercut from the east, were closing at a rate of one a week until only a handful remained. Manufacture was moving, and the consequences for local, rural communities were dire.

Driving through the countryside this legacy is still highly visible. Old factories and chimneys interspersed between dry ditches; rolling, artificial heaps divided by scars and pits. A skip stacked with discarded drum shells.

We’d arrived.

Read the full article in Issue Four >

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