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The Workshop of the World
By Professor Pat Hudson
Last updated 2011-03-29
The Industrial revolution promoted the world's first industrial and consumer-oriented society
in Britain. Pat Hudson looks at the forces that made Britain the workshop of the world and
explains why this industrial dominance lasted such a short time.
The transformation of the economy
For a few decades in the 19th century British manufactured goods dominated world trade. Most
mass manufactured items were produced more efficiently and competitively in Britain than
elsewhere. She also had the commercial, financial and political power to edge out rivals at home
and abroad. In some industries, most notably textiles, massive changes took place in technology
and in the organisation of production causing dramatic productivity growth. This in turn brought
a steep decline in prices. In many other sectors more modest organisational improvements
coupled with greater specialisation and the employment of cheap labour brought similar, though
less dramatic, results. An unprecedented range and variety of products thus came within the
grasp of a new mass market both within Britain and overseas. No other country could at first
compete so Britain became the workshop of the world.
The period from the late 18th century to the mid-Victorian years witnessed a major shake up and
change in both the economy and society. This was seen in the organisation and finance of
industry and commerce, the skills and work practices of production and technology, massive
population growth and urbanisation and the development and disciplining of labour. Canal, river,
road and sea transport were all greatly improved. From the 1840s, railways revolutionised the
speed of communication and the transport of passengers and, more gradually, freight. The role of
government on both national and local levels was considerably transformed. The dynamism of
the economy shifted firmly from agriculture to industry and trade. Some regions, notably
coalfield areas, rapidly industrialised. Others saw revolutionary change focused around the
development of trade and ship building in port cities. Some regions concentrated on commercial
agriculture and others stagnated. By the mid 19th century, industrialisation had altered the lives
of women and children as much as those of men. Ideas of gender and ethnicity as well as class
had changed. Industrialisation had affected consumption and commerce as much as industry,
leisure as much as work. It involved shifts in motivations, aspirations, ideologies and aesthetics.
The mixed nature of industrialisation
Cotton machinery displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851
The extent of transformation of the economy in the 19th century can be overplayed, however.
Many sectors and many regions changed only slowly. The growth of national income remained
slow. It did not reach more than three per cent per annum until well into the Victorian period and
then decelerated again from the third quarter of the 19th century. Britain's industrial supremacy
involved the growth of some large firms with thousands of workers under one roof and
employing powered machinery. However, these were exceptions, even in cotton manufacture.
Typical firms in the mid century employed about 50 workers, most of whom were not machine
operatives. Much industry remained small-scale and labour intensive, oriented towards niche
rather than mass markets. Manufacturing, especially in the growing towns and cities, was
founded on the proliferation of back street, unregulated workshops with a preponderance of
cheap female labour. Small family firms dominated over large partnerships or shareholdings.
Such firms drew upon trusted relatives and friends often within religious groupings. Nonconformists, Quakers and Jews in particular, were prominent amongst entrepreneurs. Personal
loans and family finance were often more important than the formal institutions of the capital
market, such as banks and mortgage brokers.
New consumers
A tea service and tray displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851
Demand for goods fuelled the Victorian economy. Though British manufactures dominated
European and transatlantic markets, domestic demand provided a secure bedrock for midVictorian prosperity. Increased demand resulted from rising incomes particularly for the middle
classes and for workers with particular skills such as engineering. Demand was also driven by
the sheer increase in numbers of consumers. This was a product of the population explosion and
coupled with greater wage dependency, landlessness and urbanisation. Increased wage earning
opportunities for women and juveniles boosted family spending, notably in textile districts and in
the towns. More people were buying a greater variety of textiles, clothing, shoes, household and
domestic items - on their list was china, cutlery, mirrors, books, clocks, furniture, curtains and
bedding, as well as a variety of small wares, such as buckles, ribbons, buttons, snuff boxes and
other fancy goods. More beer, butter, bread, milk, meat, vegetables, fruit, fish and all other
foodstuffs were now being bought rather than made or grown at home.
An ornamental clock on display at the Great Exhibition of 1851
It has been argued that this 'consumer revolution' from the later 18th century and into the
Victorian period was also driven by social emulation. This was where each social class aspired to
the habits and patterns of consumption of their superiors. This is difficult to substantiate but in a
period of social flux and transformation there is no doubt that clothing, personal and household
possessions were important ways of communicating one's position in society. Ever-changing
fashions and designs also stimulated demand whilst new forms of marketing and retailing made
products more easily available to the consumer. This was manifest in the growth of urban and
village shops, the use of shop window displays, the development of city department stores (from
the 1880s), and the extension of newspaper and billboard advertising.
The Victorian boom and the Great Exhibition
Exterior of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park
Until the 1840s the success of British industrial expansion rested largely on cotton and, to a
lesser extent, wool textiles and a proliferation of smaller scale consumer goods. The economy
flourished when cotton boomed and exports were high. However, when markets became
overstocked and confidence was shaken, the economy went into recession. This pattern of boom
and slump continued throughout the 19th century. However, the success of the economy came to
rest on much broader foundations by the 1840s with the expansion of railway networks first at
home then abroad. Furthermore, there was growing demand from other industrialising nations
and the range of British manufactures was extended, particularly in iron and steel sectors and in
engineering. Risks were great and bankruptcy rates were high but start up costs in most sectors
were relatively low. Capital and credit were easily available and many individuals and families
became wealthy and successful.
So superior in terms of competitiveness and pricing were most British manufactures of the mid
19th century, that the extension of free trade created a further positive dynamic. Even the much
debated repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, which were laws preventing the importation of foreign
grains until domestic prices reached very high levels, did not have the disastrous impact
predicted by the agricultural lobby. This was because raised investment in the sector, growing
specialisation and rising urban demands for foodstuffs ushered in a period of 'High Farming' and
general profitability. Not only British products but British ships, British capital and British
financial institutions dominated world trading.
The Great Exhibition of 1851 marked the peak of British economic dominance. A huge range of
British products were displayed for foreign and domestic visitors in the monumental visionary
architectural achievement of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. However, the storm clouds were
already gathering. Other countries, particularly Germany, and the United States were catching
Britain up. They had more abundant and cheaper supplies of energy and raw materials. Railways
would soon open up the great granaries of the world in Russia, and north America flooding
Europe with cheap grain. The way ahead lay in retreat into the unprotected and more easily
exploitable markets of the Empire. Growth in the economy was decelerating from the 1870s.
Some sectors, notably arable farming, textiles, iron and steel, engineering and several consumer
goods were entering a more difficult phase. Entirely new industries such as chemicals were to be
pioneered elsewhere, notably in Germany.
Gentlemanly capitalism
It has been argued that Britain experienced a very incomplete
transition to industrial society and that this was responsible for the loss of British economic
supremacy from the later 19th century. The aristocratic land-owning class continued to dominate
in government. Financial and rentier interests, rather than the new industrial entrepreneurs,
tended to guide national economic policy, often at the expense of industry. Industrial magnates
themselves frequently aspired to landed lifestyles. Second and third generations of industrial
dynasties were often sent for classical training at public schools and sought careers in law or
imperial administration rather than in business. It has been suggested that such gentlemanly and
half-hearted attitudes towards industrialism were the Achilles heel of British success. This is an
interesting idea but can be misleading. The rentier and industrial élite were by no means as
separate as the notion of gentlemanly capitalism suggests. The deceleration of growth of the
economy in the late Victorian period and the growing rivalry from competitors can be seen as the
inevitable price to be paid for early pioneering of new and untried technologies. Rival
industrialisers could learn from British mistakes and often received more state assistance,
protection and finance. The conscious policy of following Britain's lead generally made their
industrialisation more forceful and speeded the catch up process.
Industrial and commercial entrepreneurs may not have been dominant in central government but
their influence was keenly felt. This was particularly so in calls for social and political reform
such as with the new poor law of 1834, with suffrage extension and with free trade. By the 1830s
and 40s, in most major industrial towns and cities, entrepreneurial figures gained control of local
and municipal government and had a major impact on urban and regional politics. In the
industrial and social unrest of the 19th century, struggles occurred between the growing force of
industrial employers and the working classes over their working and living conditions. Karl
Marx exaggerated when he saw British society of the mid 19th century riven along class lines.
Paternalism and deference were strong but it was certainly the case that class tensions between
workers and employers frequently conditioned social and political relationships and economic
and social policies. The success of the Victorian economy was accompanied by high
unemployment, poverty, urban squalor and harsh working and living conditions.
Find out more
Books
The Industrial Revolution by Pat Hudson (Edward Arnold, 1992) - Useful on the roots and nature
of industrialisation. Particularly strong on how the industrial revolution has and might be
interpreted.
Progress and Poverty: An Economic and Social History of Britain 1700-1850 by M. J. Daunton
(Oxford University Press, 1995) - The most up to date textbook on the economic history of the
period.
British Society, 1680-1880 by Richard Price (Cambridge University Press, 1999) - A novel view
about how the political and social history, as well as the economic history, of the Victorian
period should be viewed in the context of changes since the 1680s.
The Factory Question and Industrial England, 1830-60 by Robert Gray (Cambridge University
Press, 1996) - Excellent use of variety of sources to contemplate the coming of the factory and
the extension of waged work. Particularly good on shifting constructions of class and gender on
regional variations.
Places to visit
Visit an industrial museum There are a large number of industrial museums containing
machinery from the industrialisation period. Amongst the most interesting for the Victorian
period are: the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester; the complex of museums at
Ironbridge Gorge near Telford; Quarry Bank Mill at Styal near Stockport, Cheshire; the Open
Air Museum at Beamish, Northumberland; the National Railway Museum at York; and the Piece
Hall Museum in Halifax West Yorkshire.
Visit a local history library Most larger town and county libraries have a local history section,
often very extensive. Here can be found books about the history of the area, including the period
of industrialisation. Such libraries also often contain microfilm or microfiche copies of some
primary source materials such as Census returns for the 19th century (detailing the residents of
all households) and local newspapers (try reading these to get a flavour of the period and its
concerns from business and politics to crime and poverty). Sometimes such libraries also have
printed primary sources such as trade directories (listing all firms in a town or region - these
often date from the later 18th century, becoming more frequent in the 19th century).
Visit an archive The most easily accessible, important and varied archive collections are housed
in County Record Offices. These contain most local government deposits from medieval times,
Parish records, estate papers, business records, maps and plans and much more of interest and
use in studying the Victorian period. The main archive for national records is the Public Record
Office at Kew. Much the material is available online http://www.pro.gov.uk.
Do some industrial archaeology You can learn a lot about the Victorian period simply by
studying what remains of the period on the ground. It is fairly easy to date buildings from
architectural features and from old maps and plans (copies of which can often be obtained at
local history libraries) and from old photographs (there are now many published collections).
It's fun to look out particularly for industrial premises and warehouses and to see what function
they serve these days. Using trade directors it's possible to match premises which survive today
to their residents in the 19th century. Much Victorian housing remains, though increasingly this
is middle and upper class housing as back to backs, tenements and courts have been bulldozed to
make way for new developments. By using the Census Enumerators Books it's possible to have
some fun matching a substantially unaltered Victorian house or street to its residents in the
period 1841 to 1891.
About the author
Pat Hudson is Professor of History in the School of History and Archaeology at Cardiff
University. She specialises in the impact of economic and social change within different local
and regional, economic, social and cultural settings. Her books include The Industrial Revolution
(London, 1992).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/workshop_of_the_world_01.shtml