LIFE IN 1901 LUDDENDEN

It is an early morning November morning in Luddenden.  And it’s cold! Light is only just beginning to reach the valley, but the village is already awake.

In a small stone house on Duke Street, the Greenwood family is starting their day. The father, George, has already left for work, walking towards Pepper Hill mill where he works as a worsted overlooker. His day will be long, filled with noise, heat, stress and the steady rhythm of machinery.

The older children are getting ready too. The two eldest boys, just twelve and thirteen, are pulling on their clothes. They will not be going to school today, instead, they will join their father at the mill. Their jobs are not easy but their wages are needed to feed the family. The eldest, Samuel, loves machinery and is hoping to become an apprentice engineer.

At home, their mother Mary is busy - there is no time to rest. She prepares food, tends to the younger children, and keeps the household running. She also has a part-time job at the local dress shop.  Her work will last from dawn until night.

The youngest child, Emily, not yet in her teens, goes to school for three hours each day, but then helps her mother. She carries water, watches over the babies, and learns the work skills she will need for her own future.

Outside, the streets are filling with people - men, women, children, and horses - all walking towards their daily work at the mills along the valley.

At the end of the day, as the sun sets, everyone is at home resting but making plans for tomorrow - a day off from work and a celebration!

Tomorrow is Plot Night!  Mary has made parkin, George is collecting wood, and the boys are making a guy for the bonfire!