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ABSTRACT
Stockport became one of the leading centres for the British felt hat industry in the 19th century. An archaeological survey of the Offerton Hat Works that was carried out between May 2019 and February 2020 in advance of redevelopment has provided a detailed record of one of the best surviving 19th-century hat works in the town. The Offerton Hat Works was hailed as a state-of-the-art ‘model factory’ when established in 1886 by William Battersby, who emerged as one of the leading manufacturers of felt hats. This article summarises the conclusions drawn from the archaeological survey of this important works, with reference to other surveys and excavations of earlier 19th-century hat factories elsewhere in Stockport and in the neighbouring towns of Oldham, Hyde and Denton that together chart the key stages in the transition of hat production in north-west England from a cottage craft to a specialised factory-based industry of international repute.
Acknowledgements
The historic building investigations of the Offerton Hat Works and Higinbotham & Sons Hat Works by Salford Archaeology and the archaeological excavation at Hollinwood by Wardell Armstrong could not have happened without the assistance of many individual and organisations. Thanks are owed to Lane End Developments at Offerton, Winworth Construction Ltd at Hyde and Langtree Property Partners at Hollinwood for commissioning the surveys and for their logistical support. Thanks are also expressed to the Stockport Local Heritage Library and Stockport Hat Museum for providing invaluable background information. The author is also grateful to Paul Hartley, Conservation Officer for Stockport Council, for his advice and support. The historic building investigations by Salford Archaeology were directed by Ian Miller and Chris Wild, with invaluable input from Lewis Stitt and Richard Ker.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 P.M. Giles, ‘The Felt-Hatting Industry, c. 1500–1850 with Particular Reference to Lancashire and Cheshire’, Transactions Lancashire Cheshire Antiquarian Society 69 (1959): 108–9.
2 Penny McKnight, Stockport Hatting (Stockport: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Community Services and Stockport Libraries, 2000), 50.
3 Edward Baines, History, Directory and Gazetteer of the County Palatine of Lancaster (Liverpool: W.M. Wales, 1825).
4 McKnight, Stockport Hatting, 1.
5 Giles, ‘The Felt-Hatting Industry, c. 1500–1850’, 131.
6 Owen Ashmore, The Industrial Archaeology of Lancashire (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1969), 145.
7 Ashmore, The Industrial Archaeology of Lancashire, 141.
8 Michael Nevell, Brian Grimsditch and Ivan Hradil, Denton and the Archaeology of the Felt Hatting Industry (Ashton-under-Lyne: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, 2007), 11.
9 Giles, ‘The Felt-Hatting Industry, c. 1500-1850’, 131.
10 Nevell, Grimsditch and Hradil, Denton and the Archaeology of the Felt Hatting Industry, 17–18.
11 Ibid., 16.
12 Ibid., 7–9.
13 Richard A. Gregory, ‘Hardman Street, Spinningfields, Manchester: Archaeological Excavation of an Eighteenth Century Hat Works and Late Eighteenth/Early Nineteenth Century Chemical/Soda Works’ (University of Manchester Archaeological Unit Report No. 78, 2005).
14 Mike Birtles, ‘Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester Archaeological Excavation’ (Wardell Armstrong Report No. ST16316/0013, 2021).
15 Michael Nevell and Ivan Hradil, ‘Wilson’s Hat Factory, Denton: An Archaeological Building Assessment of a Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Hat Making Factory’ (University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, 2003); Michael Nevell and Brian Grimsditch, ‘St Thomas’ Hat Works, Stockport: An Archaeological Survey’ (University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, 2005); Steve Tamburello, ‘James Higinbotham & Sons Hat Works, Mount Street, Hyde, Greater Manchester Historic Building Investigation’ (Salford Archaeology Report No. SA/2019/84, 2019) https://doi.org/10.5284/1093033. See also Tom Burke and Michael Nevell, A History and Archaeology of Tameside: Buildings of Tameside (Ashton-under-Lyne: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, 1996), 99–101.
16 Lewis Stitt and Ian Miller, ‘Former Offerton Hat Works, Hempshaw Lane, Stockport: Historic Building Investigation and Evaluation’ (Salford Archaeology Report No. SA/2020/19, 2020) https://doi.org/10.5284/1093010.
17 Christopher John Heal, ‘The Felt Hat Industry of Bristol and South Gloucestershire, 1530–1909’ (PhD thesis, University of Bristol, 2012).
18 Owen Ashmore, The Industrial Archaeology of Stockport (Manchester: University of Manchester, 1975), 36.
19 Ashmore, The Industrial Archaeology of Lancashire, 141–5.
20 Heal, The Felt Hat Industry of Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
21 McKnight, Stockport Hatting, 22.
22 Tracey Holding, ‘An Archaeological Survey of The Hatting Industry in Denton’, unpublished manuscript, 1981.
23 McKnight, Stockport Hatting, 23–4.
24 McKnight, Stockport Hatting, 50.
25 John Thomson, A Treatise on Hat-Making and Felting (London: E. & F.N. Spon, 1868).
26 McKnight, Stockport Hatting, 29.
27 Nevell, Grimsditch and Hradil, Denton and the Archaeology of the Felt Hatting Industry, 25.
28 Edwin Butterworth, Historical Sketches of Oldham (Oldham: John Hirst, 1856), 164.
29 Manchester Courier, June 29, 1839.
30 London Gazette, August 5, 1870.
31 CFA Archaeology, ‘Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester: Archaeological Desk-based Assessment ‘(CFA Archaeology, 2017).
32 Birtles, ‘Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester Archaeological Excavation’, 10.
33 Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, October 18, 1887.
34 Katie Carmichael, David McOmish and David Grech, The Hat Industry of Luton and Its Buildings (Swindon: English Heritage, 2013).
35 Michael Nevell and Brian Grimsditch, ‘St Thomas’ Hat Works, Stockport: An Archaeological Survey’ (University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, 2005).
36 Thomas Middleton, The History of Denton and Haughton (Hyde: J Andrew, 1936), 154.
37 Nevell and Hradil, ‘Wilson’s Hat Factory’, 73–4.
38 Rupert Battersby, Battersby Hats of Stockport: An Illustrated History (Stroud: Amberley, 2016), 6–7.
39 Ibid., 9.
40 McKnight, Stockport Hatting, 63.
41 Ibid., 63.
42 Battersby, Battersby Hats of Stockport, 28.
43 Evening Telegraph, May 23, 1906.
44 Evening Standard, September 4, 1912.
45 Battersby, Battersby Hats of Stockport: An Illustrated History, 59–60.
46 Ibid., 79.
47 Pigot and Slater’s General and Classified Directory of Manchester and Salford including the Adjacent Townships (Manchester: Pigot and Slater, 1841), 54.
48 George Dodd, Days at the Factories (London: Charles Knight, 1843), 138.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Steve Tamburello
Steve Tamburello is an archaeologist with Salford Archaeology within the University of Salford, specialising in the recording of historic buildings, Manchester.
Correspondence to: Steve Tamburello. Salford Archaeology, Peel Building, University of Salford, Salford, M5 4WT. Email: [email protected]