Hi Ronnynel, There is a 'History of Duke Street' that I can quote from to give you an idea of how weavers lived and worked in the City of Carlisle at that time. Handloom weavers engaged themselves with one or other of the big manufacturers, who supplied them with yarn newly-spun in the firm's mills to be woven by weavers in their own home. Buyers insisted on 42-43 yard lengths, known as 'cuts' for gingham and 60 yards for 'Union Stripe'. It took a good weaver about a week to weave a 'cut' working 14-16 hours a day for six days if not seven. It had to be done by Saturday or he was not paid. By Thursday many could be behind schedule and they would work into the night, it was said of Duke Street, you could walk through it any time of day or night and you would hear the shuttles working. All this on poor food in ill-lit, stuffy or draughty, noisy low rooms, small, damp, cheaply and badly built, crammed with four to six looms, lit by candles, heated by coal fires. From 1837/8 Messrs. Dixon issued tickets for payment of '1" 0d extra if work approved', but often it was not approved and the shilling was lost'. (This practise was much resented). In 1805 a weaver was paid 28s 0d for a length of gingham, in 1812 this had fallen to 11s 6d. Average pay at Fergusons was 18s 2d. Out of this the weaver had to pay loom rent of 1s, weft winding of 1s 8d, beaming, twisting, pickers,oil 6d, coal and candle 4d, house rent 1s 6d, total 6s 6d. The average family was 6-8 person's, generally living in one room.
In 1848 a report was done by Dr. Henry Lonsdale for the Carlisle Sanitary Association, to jolt the corporation into action. (The report then covers Shaddongate but the conditions everywhere were about the same). Houses let to several familes, one room each, windows wold not open properly. The properties were back-to-back, privies were rare. In all Carlisle there were only 20 baths and 49 w.c.s. supplied by the Carlisle Water Company. Most streets had stand pipes for water at which there were long queues and the water was kept in buckets in properties until used. Carlisle was plagued by 'damp fogs' which rose from marshy places, gathering grounds for filth and diseases.
Usually what weavers did, was dig down on the ground floor to a depth of about a foot or 18 inches, this made the room damp, which would prevent the threads on the looms from snapping. The families lived on the first floor, one family to one room. If you go to
www.familysearch.org, and look up William Keddy, look for the one in Duke Street Carlisle, and see how many different familes were living in one house!! (Go to 'household' and then if you click on next/previous households you will see there are lots of families and lodgers in each property). Next time I am in the library I will look up the sanitation report for Water Street, though I don't think it will be all that different from Duke Street, but I will let you know. Better go it's late, (as usual), See you, Morskaj.
