Migration did nothing to ease an over-abundant urban labour supply. Those who were skilled, or became so, made substantial gains, however, most were unskilled and could not hope to rise above a low subsistence standard. Although wages were higher in industrial areas, it was also more expensive to live in urban areas than in the countryside. Irrespective of the manufacturing process workers were engaged in, they all faced the same challenges. Conditions endured by workers everywhere were much the same - long hours, strict discipline, little attention paid to safety and polluted working environments.
Most factories were very dangerous places in which to work. Often sadistic cruelty, particularly to women and children, occurred at the hands of the factory overseer. He was responsible for maintaining production and many did this by instilling fear and inflicting pain. They thought nothing of beating their workers to keep them awake during the long day, refusing them meal breaks if they disobeyed the regulations and not considering their safety.
When machinery broke down or needed maintenance, because of their small stature, children were forced to repair or replace parts in the heart of machinery whilst production continued. Those who questioned the overseer's authority or supported the victims were usually instantly dismissed or had their already meagre pittance stopped. The overseer was also revered by the factory owners, so they did nothing to see fair play or intervene if someone felt they had been unjustly treated.
Many individuals would be left disabled from accidents, beatings or disease and as such were unable to work. Factory logs and day books usually give useful details. There were few safeguards to prevent them and their families from descending into destitution.
It was normal for workers to labour for twelve to fifteen hours or more, six days a week in hot and physically exhausting workplaces. Life for women and children was particularly difficult. Until the early 1800s, there was no legislation regulating working conditions in factories. As industrialisation grew, the owners did not want to pay high wages because their factories became less profitable and were often unable to compete in the markets, so they frequently employed children as young as eight or nine years old. Most working-class families could not afford to educate their children and were willing to allow their children to work because they needed the income.
Some parents were unwilling to allow their children to work in factories and in order to maintain a cheap labour supply, children were often bought from workhouses and orphanages, usually as pauper apprentices. Local workhouse records may include an apprenticeship register giving full details. Apprentices in effect became the property of the factory owners. Samuel Gregg of Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, housed ninety in his “apprentice house” which cost him £300 to build, whereas to build a “back-to-back” for one family of workers cost him £100.
Women factory or mill workers were expected to work under similar conditions but they also faced the demands to have children. The industrial age gave rise to a rapid increase in birth rates which had a direct effect on the physical capabilities of the women. Most women worked right up until the time of birth and restarted immediately after bthe child had been born. A good insight into conditions of women and children is recorded in select committee records. Your ancestor may have been one of those interviewed.
