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Some Special Interests => Occupation Interests => Topic started by: Keith Sherwood on Tuesday 11 July 06 11:06 BST (UK)
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Hi, Everyone,
Have recently discovered family connections to the Wire Drawing industry in Hathersage, Derbyshire in the 19thC. I understand that conditions in the workplace were extremely grim - does anyone know of any links and sources where I might discover more detail on this subject...
Very best wishes,
Keith
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Hi Keith
Have a look at http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DBY/BygoneIndustries/SharpPractice.html
Cheers Dave
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You could also 'google' wire drawing in Hathersage - gives hundreds of results.
Cheers Dave
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Dave,
Thanks very much for all those links. The two pages on "Sharp Practice at Hathersage" very interesting indeed...
Keith
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Didn't think much of the life expectancy of the needle sharpeners. It puts some of our modern 'dangerous' jobs into perspective. Also the villagers were in great danger from what these days is termed pollution.
Cheers Dave
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Keith
On your proposed visit to Hathersage you will doubtless go up the Dale to visit the family house we discussed on another thread. As you go up The Dale you will see a mill chimney on your right with flats in front and Eastwood Cottages on your left. This area was the site of Henry Cocker's wire and needle works in 1840. See p35 - Hathersage Images of the Past - published by Historical Hathersage Millennium Project in 2000.
I was born in Eastwood Cottages!
Pete
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Pete,
How exciting - I can't wait to compare the real-life places to my imagination of what Hathersage looks like!
These COCKER's certainly wielded great influence in the area for many years, it seems. I'm hoping that when a particular 1838 COCKER will arrives from the Lichfield Record Office next week, I'll know for sure about my family connection; there might even be mention of some of these places in the document...
keith
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Hello Keith,
I worked in the US Aerospace industry for 23 years. We manufactured blind rivets for the defense department and also commercially. The rivets are made in horizontal metal presses called "heading machines". They form the rivet into the "mushroom shape" that you might be familiar with. The raw material we used was wire, aluminium, steel, stainless, brass, titanium, copper etc etc. Sometimes the wire we had was too large in diameter for the machines punch and die tooling to handle and we had to draw the wire through a wiredrawer to reduce its size. It is now a relatively clean operation but when I started in the 60's it was a filthy, dangerous job. We used to coat the wire with white lead. Extremely poisonous and it stayed in the body and caused brittle bone disease. Of course the danger to hands, arms and fingers was also always a threat when dealing with moving, very heavy mechanical equipment. I'm healthy at 63 and still have all my fingers...lolol Thankfully, retired now. Hope that helps you understand what the drawing process is. Take Care....Keith (yep, me too)
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Hi, Cullumbo,
What a fascinating read that was! Improvement in the terrible conditions in this manufacture is only a very recent thing, then. So glad you kept all your fingers - not only did the employees lose their digits then, but only had an average life expectancy of ten years from the moment they started as needle grinders...
keith
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and Pete,
Have just arrived home after four wonderful days in Hathersage, discovering those mills the COCKER's ran, and some of the places they lived in...
First of all, I had to go to Sheffield Archives to read Thomas COCKER's will of 1829-34 (including subsequent codicils), and that proved beyond doubt that my gt-gt-gt-grandmother Alice was definitely his daughter (tho' I've still not found a birth or baptism for her c. 1805).
So was able to lay claim to Broom Cottage (lovely situation at the top of Dale Brook); to Rock House, opposite the excellent Scotsman Pack Pub where I ate every night; and to Moorseats, a stunning mansion with amazing views down towards the village. And of course I passed many times your birthplace of Eastwood Cottages - wish I'd known which one, exactly.
Got SO much pleasure over exploring my (recently discovered) COCKER roots, and shall definitely return soon...
Very best wishes,
keith