Llanidloes - the flannel makers
6
All kinds of Welsh flannels
As a result of the eventual adoption of steam power to drive the looms and other machines, the Montgomeryshire flannel industry became concentrated in the towns of Newtown and Llanidloes . The small and scattered mills using water power were abandoned, and all the processes were combined within a single factory.
Some idea of the substantial scale of the manufacture of flannel in and around Llanidloes before the collapse of the local industry, due to overwhelming competition from the textile towns of northern England, can be gained from the images below, used on the billheads of Dakin Brothers, "Manufacturers of Shawls, Turnovers, Shirtings, Hose and all Kinds of Welsh Flannels". These show Severn Side Mills and Glynbrochan Mills in Llanidloes in the 1890's, a time of continuing decline for the industry.
of Cyrus Meredith
In 1850 there were nine factories in Llanidloes employing
up to 800 workers making flannel, tweeds and shawls, but the
modernisation of the industry in the county had taken too long.
There was a public presentation to a Llanidloes flannel manufacturer,
Thomas Jones, in 1867 "in recognition of his services
in having stayed the exodus of the Welsh flannel trade to the
north of England by overcoming suspicions of machinery".
There are 11 pages on the flannel industry. Use the box links below to view the other pages.
