Preston mill-workers’ strike

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Domains

Strikes and wages

Dates

Date of occurrence 1847-10-15-1848-04-20

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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During the financial crisis of 1847 workers in Lancashire cotton mills had been forced to accept a ten percent cut in wages. In most cases these cuts were later restored, but the Preston mill-owners obstinately refused to restore wages to their 1847 level. Strike action brewed in the summer of 1853 and eventually the Preston Masters' Association agreed to shut a large number of mills. Some 20,000 men found themselves without work and income. The lock-out lasted for seven months, until April 1854, and attracted national attention: the nascent trades-union movement and the factory owners agreed only in seeing the strike as deciding who would have the right to establish the terms of labour relations. Charles Dickens published an article by James Lowe entitled “Locked Out” in

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212 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Preston mill-workers’ strike". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 January 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5486, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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