The Industrial Revolution

Origins of the Industrial Revolution

Many areas of England make claims to have been the place where the Industrial Revolution originated. Manchester and Lancashire can make a very strong case, as does the Black Country, the East Midlands, Sheffield and Birmingham. In a sense all of them are right and it is generally accepted that the Industrial Revolution was actually a massive and widespread process of change which could not have originated in any one location.

The main elements of the Industrial Revolution were:

Large scale production
Steam Power
Use of machinary
Employment of large numbers of people under one roof
Expansion of markets
Urbanization & population growth

Modern historians dismiss the theory that the Industrial revolution was a sudden change and now emphasise gradual change which differed from one region to another. So in Lancashire we had the start of large-scale factories and spinning mills producing wool and cotton goods, but initially driven by water-powered machines, whilst in the Black Country and Birmingham the emphasis was on smaller factories producing metal goods but using more advanced technology such as steam engines.

But it wasn't just the manufacturing towns of England that were crucial to the progress of the Industrial Revolutiuon, as mining and quarrying were also essential for the provision of raw materials, so tiny Welsh villages were just as much a part of the process of massive change as anywhere else, as were coastal cities like Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Middlesborough and Belfast which made the ships to carry the exports or fulfilled the role of ports.

So, if you are visiting the UK and you hear someone claiming that "the Industrial revolution started here"... don't believe it. The great towns and cities of England have all played their role and their industrial heritage is equally important.