Sub-regional specialization in the Lancashire cotton industry, 1884–1914: a study in organizational and locational change

Locational changes in the Lancashire cotton industry between 1884 and 1914 are re-examined. The concentration of cotton spinning in central and southeast Lancashire and the consolidation of weaving in the northern half of the textile region were caused not only by differential rates of growth in the two sectors but also by the decline of the sub-regionally weaker sector. Single factors such as technological innovation and spatial variations in labour costs are insufficient to account for the deepening segregation of spinning and weaving. Different methods of capital formation led to important changes in the organization of the two sectors. New specialized spinning mills were built by large limited companies in southeast Lancashire whilst in northeast Lancashire a multitude of weaving firms were formed by private entrepreneurs. Throughout the region combined mills declined both relatively and absolutely, but they survived longest in peripheral areas away from the leading centres of expansion and innovation. Divergent processes of sub-regional specialization were related to different labour requirements in the spinning and weaving sectors.