
in Halifax
Owned and occupied by John Crossley and Sons for the production of carpets and textile machinery.
The buildings at Dean Clough Mills covered an area of 20 acres, and the firm gave employment to 5-6000 people. Its rapid growth in the middle of the 19th century followed the installation of steam power and machinery. The Crossleys acquired patents, and then devised and patented improvements which placed them far in advance of the rest of the trade, and gave them the monopoly of a brand of carpet which was subsequently for many years manufactured in greater quantity than any other. One type of loom, for which they owned the patent, had six times the output of the old hand loom. The possession of this loom and the acquisition of other patents compelled the manufacturers of tapestry and Brussels carpets to abandon their hand looms, and to apply to Crossley for licences to work the firm's patents. Very large sums thus accrued to them from royalties.[1]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Biography of Sir Francis Crossley, ODNB