Industrial History
Baking and Bakeries
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 801 9 / Shire Library 156 / 32pp
A staple food in many diets, bread has been baked since ancient times and is considered a basic necessity by many. Baking and Bakeries charts the history of baking, from the ancient breads cooked with grain-paste through the introduction of yeast, to modern day variations. The author describes the different methods used in baking and the range of tools and machinery used. Focusing chiefly on the industrial bakeries of the Victorian era, with a final chapter addressing modern day improvements, this book takes a look at the development of the industry as well as the traditions of baking that have survived for centuries.
Beam Engines
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 544 1 / Shire Library 410 / 40 pp
Over three hundred years ago, the first steps were made towards the use of steam power. Most of the steps went beyond the boundary of available technology. The reliable drainage of metal and coal mines was the incentive. Thomas Newcomen using contemporary technology in his beam engine was the first to achieve success, in 1712. Improved by James Watt, the beam engine became the most used form of steam engine in factories, mines and waterworks until well into the second half of the nineteenth century. Examples were still in use into the 1970s. This book outlines the development of the beam engine and gives some explanation of why it was so successful.
As a boy, Geoffrey Hayes was enthralled by stories of beam engines told by his two grandfathers. His father, as a new starter in a cotton mill, mopped the floor of an 1857 beam engine house every Saturday morning. A gift of Robert H. Thurston’s book ‘A History of the Steam Engine’ intensified the interest in beam engines. Pilgrimages were made to Cornwall to see the surviving engines at he tin mines. Mr Hayes became involved professionally with the restoration of the Leicester beam engines and the Caprington Colliery engine in the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Beers and Breweries of Britain
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 606 6 / Shire Library 434 / 56 pp
This book explores beer's six-thousand-year history and explains how different styles emerged through the use of different materials and processing methods. The story is brought up to date with an insider's expose of the modern brewing process and an account of which processing aids are employed and why.
Bellfounding
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 911 5 / Shire Library 212 / 32 pp
The age-old craft of bellfounding involves specialised techniques and equipment that have been passed down through generations and are still used today. For centuries, the large bells in churches, clocks and public buildings throughout Britain have been cast, hung, and tuned by bellfounders and this book surveys the history of bell production and the development of moulding and casting techniques. To achieve the correct pitch each bell would be hand corrected with a hammer and chisel, an extremely noisy process which continued until the nineteenth century when the mechanised lathe was introduced. This book describes the intricate tuning process and the role of the bellfounder and specially prepared photographs illustrate the production process of some of the most famous foundries in Britain, such as those at Whitechapel and Loughborough.
Cash Carriers in Shops
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 615 8 / Shire Library 438 / 32 pp
Most people born before 1950 can remember visiting or working in shops that had cash carriers - cash balls that ran on wooden rails, wire systems where the carrier was catapulted along an overhead steel wire, or pneumatic tube systems where the carrier was whisked off to the cash office. This title reveals details about these devices.
Chains and Chainmaking
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 561 2 / Shire Library 69 / 32 pp / Now Available
The area of England known as the Black Country has a rich heritage in the chain trade due to its plentiful resources of coal and iron. In the nineteenth century thousands of tons of chain were hand-made here each week. This book explores the long history and gruelling methods of chain production and delves into the experiences of the men, women and children who spent their lives slaving over dangerous furnaces to produce many varieties and sizes of chain.
The late Charles Fogg was awarded a bursary of the Leverhulme Trust under the auspices of Avoncroft Museum of Buildings near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. Its nineteenth-century chainshop, saved from destruction in Cradley in 1970, formed the basis of his study. He was helped by one of the chainmakers in the shop, Clarry Johnson. Practical aptitudes strengthened by five years previous study at art school stood Mr Fogg in good stead and the initial result of his bursary was an exhibition ‘Shutting Chain’ in 1978.
Coal Mining
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 434 5 / Shire Library 349 / 32 pp
This book tells how mines evolved from simple bell pits into extensive networks of shafts and tunnels and extending deep underground.
Clogs and Clogmaking
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 665 7 / Shire Library 113 / 32 pp
Clogs were a popular form of footwear in Britain from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth, when they began to become perceived as unfashionable, utilitarian and a sign of poverty. The craft of clogmaking has since declined almost to extinction and there are very few skilled craftsmen still practising the art of clog sole cutting today. This book examines the origins and development of clogs and the processes used in their manufacture. Jeremy Atkinson, an expert clog maker, discusses the various designs of these unique shoes, and their place in the social structure, which may ultimately have led to their decline.
Coopers and Coopering
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 584 7 / Shire Library 426 / 56 pp
This book seeks to preserve the memory of the coopers skills, tracing the history of the craft and describing and illustrating how a barrel was made.
Framework Knitting
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 668 8 / Shire Library 119 / 32 pp
This book explains how the stocking framed worked, describes the lives of the knitters and illustrates the kinds of buildings in which knitting was done.
Gunpowder Industry
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 393 5 / Shire Library 160 / 32 pp
Outlines the history of the gunpowder industry.
Ironworking
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 391 1 / Shire Library 64 / 32 pp
Iron has been used for about 4000 years; it was essential to the industrial revolution and is still the principal metal of commerce. This book describes how iron and steel have been made from earliest times to the 20th century.
Lime Kilns and Lime Burning
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 596 0 / Shire Library 236 / 32 pp
Looms and Weaving
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 753 1 / Shire Library 154 / 32 pp
Nailmaking
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 606 0 / Shire Library 87 / 32 pp
Today, nails are such an ordinary and widespread object that it may come as a surprise to learn that the range of shapes and sizes available now is but a fraction of those made in the nineteenth century. This illustrated account charts the history of nailmaking, from the Romans, through the middle ages, to the industry of the nineteenth century and the factories of the twentieth, relating the fluctuating demand for nails and nailers to the social and political context of the time, and explaining the types of nail made and the development of nailmaking methods over the years.
Needlemaking
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 563 6 / Shire Library 71 / 32 pp / Now Available
The materials used in needle making can be traced from the thorns of early man, through hand made wood, bone and steel varieties, to the first machine-made needles in 1851. This book traces the history of needles and needle making, touching upon the forces that influenced the development of the materials used, and the skills needed by the craftsmen. The author explores the experiences of the craftsman and their families, and the commercial pressure that moulded their lives.
The late John G. Rollins was born into a family with a long history of needlemaking. He had a lifelong interest in the history of the needle trade and has written a great deal about it. He travelled with his wife in Britain and overseas to search for more information about the craft.
Old Stationary Engines
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 594 6 / Shire Library 49 / 56 pp
The author describes the evolution of the first practical stationary engines and illustrates some of the many designs, with notes on their important features and information on the better-known manufacturers.
Rope, Twine and Net Making
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 918 4 / Shire Library 51 / 32 pp
Since ancient times rope, twine and nets have been used for the essential elements of survival – hunting, roofing and bedding – yet in today’s modern world they are often taken for granted. This book charts the history of the ancient crafts of rope, twine and net making, describing the traditional fibres and techniques used, as well as the modern machines and man-made fibres that took their place. With a detailed explanation of the skills of net fitting and rigging, and a list of places to visit, this Shire classic is illustrated throughout with black and white photographs showing how the methods of rope, twine and net making have evolved over the years.
Shoemaking
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 778 4 / Shire Library 155 / 32 pp
Snuff
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 089 7 / Shire Library 258 / 32 pp
Spinning and Spinning Wheels
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 469 1 / Shire Library 43 / 32 pp
Spinning and Spinning Wheels traces the evolution of the ancient skill of spinning, from the early spindle, through the introduction of the wool and the flax wheel, to the numerous variations of the wheel in Europe and North America. The author surveys these different models and explains the principles of spinning that have essentially remained the same for generations. Providing insight into the mechanics of the U-flyer and the tools and accessories used in the craft, this volume is a timeless and valuable source of information to craftsmen, collectors and historians.
Steam Shovels
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 483 3 / Shire Library 355 / 32 pp
Textile Machines
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 647 3 / Shire Library 103 / 32 pp
The Cotton Industry
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 545 2 / Shire Library 63 / 32 pp
This book tells the story of the cotton industry from its spectacular growth during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to its devastating decline in the twentieth century.
The Salt Industry
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 648 6 / Shire Library 454 / 56 pp
Salt can be obtained by evaporation from sea water or inland from brine springs, and following the discovery of rock salt deposits it has also been mined. This book explains the various processes by which salt is obtained and traces the history of the industry in Britain.
The Slate Industry
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 124 5 / Shire Library 268 / 32 pp
The Victorian Railway Worker
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 451 2 / Shire Library 351 / 32 pp
The Woollen Industry
Price: £4.99
ISBN: 978 0 85263 598 8 / Shire Library 81 / 32 pp
Most places in Britain have had some connection with the woollen industry. This book traces the history of wool in Britain from Prehistoric times, and uses many illustrations to illuminate its story.
Water Supply
Price: £5.99
ISBN: 978 0 74780 608 0 / Shire Library 436 / 56 pp
This book explains how the expansion of towns and cities from Jacobean times necessitated the bringing of water long distances to ensure a supply of pure and unpolluted water and it describes the massive engineering schemes that were required to achieve this.