A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE beginning of the last century three silk manufacturers had establishments in the town. One was for spinning and two for weav- ing. Hatbands, ribbons, watch-strings, shoe- strings, sarsenets, figured gauzes for ladies' dresses were made here. The spinning and twisting mill was worked by one horse, which turned a large horizontal wheel, that com- municated with others, and set in motion 432 spindles, in a very spacious apartment over the machinery. These manufactories were at that time fairly flourishing and increasing, and employed nearly 100 persons of all ages. The men earned 30^. a week, but women and children were chiefly engaged, the former earning 8/. to los. a week, the latter 5*. The produce was sent weekly to London. Until the middle of the last century the trade of silk throwing was carried on in the town. The silk was imported in bales, and opened into separate hanks and sorted. The coarsest was used for plush poplins and handkerchiefs, the finest for black silk, velvets, satins and serges. The silk was washed or soaked in order to dissolve the gum, and then dried by hanging on poles, reeled and wound on bobbins by women and children. The singles were then doubled and 'thrown,' the strands being twisted in a direction reverse to that in which it had been doubled, and so strengthened for weaving purposes. The factory where this process was carried on was situated in Peach Street. In 1830 it was owned by Mr. John Gower. Mr. Wescott bought the premises about the middle of the last century, and recollects that there were looms in the upper storey for weaving silk. According to the evidence of old inhabitants of the town a number of silk-weavers lived in Rose Street and wove silk handkerchiefs. Soon after the purchase of the old factory by Mr. Wescott it was burnt down. On its site Mr. Wescott erected his saw mills and timber stores, which are now owned by Mr. G. T. Phillips, and the silk industry in Wokingham disappeared from the town. The Cyclo- paedia published by Abraham Rees in 1819 records that the inhabitants of the town ' are chiefly employed in agriculture, throwing silk, sorting wool, and making shoes. The gauze manufacture was some years ago introduced.' In 1700 the silk stocking manu- facture was still carried on in Wokingham. The manufacture of silk was also carried on in Reading. In 164.0 the first notice of the manufacture appears when Robert Smart, a silk-weaver, was allowed to use his trade with- in the borough. 1 At the beginning of the 1 Rec. of Reading, iii. 520. 396 eighteenth century it was fairly flourishing. In that home of all trades, the Oracle, plain and figured silk dress materials were manu- factured, some of which were from 1 8 to 60 inches broad. 2 Mr. Man tells us that this manufactory ' had suffered a good deal by the American embargo and non-importation Acts.' That Reading was considered a convenient place for the trade is shown by the fact that a London silk manufacturer established about the year 1816 a branch business in the town, and employed as his agent one Deedy, who lived in East Street. This action offended the journeymen silk-weavers of Spitalfields, London, who brought an action against their master for starting the business in Read- ing. They were successful in this litigation, 3 but the connection between the trades of London and Reading did not cease, as a few years later, in 1830, we find that Thomas Simmonds was carrying on the manufacture of silk in Minster Street, and had also works in St. Paul's Churchyard, London. 4 An- other firm which had works both in London and Reading was that of Messrs. Williams & Simpson, who were silk manufacturers in the old centre of the industry at Spitalfields and also made ribbons in the Oracle at Reading. At the same time Matthew Green manu- factured ' shag ' or rough silk in East Street, and Messrs. Reynolds and McFarlane had works in some part of the abbey buildings. Twyford was also provided with a village in- dustry, and for several years silk-throwing was carried on there in houses which still exist. In 1830 Mr. George Billing and Mr. Thomas Billing employed several workpeople in this trade. They had also a considerable silk mill, which has now been converted into a corn mill. The Billings came to Twyford from Macclesfield, a great centre of the silk indus- try, about the year 1800, and George Billing, the last of the Twyford silk manufacturers, died in 1835. At the same period there was a small silk manufactory at Kintbury carried on by Jonathan Tanner. There are still some few persons living who worked in this factory when children. Their recollections of it are not very pleasant. They worked thirteen hours a day for six days in a week and earned one shilling, and frequent thrashings with a leathern strap from a somewhat brutal over- seer. Little girls from seven years of age and upwards were employed there. The factory came to an end in the forties, and the 2 Man, Hist, of Reading, p. 161. a Reading Seventy Tears Ago, p. 48. Pigot's Commercial Directory, Berkshire, 1830.
