Formerly, all boots and shoes were made by hand only, and consequently there was a great difference in the quality of the work. The operatives used to take their work to their homes. They received so many dozen uppers from the warehouses and returned them finished, and were paid according to quality and quantity. The late Mr. C. Winter first made use of sewing machines, for the uppers of boots and shoes, about 1856. Afterwards American machines were introduced, to sew the soles to the uppers.
About eighteen years since, the manufacturers began to make goods for exportation to Canada, to the Cape of Good Hope, to India, and Australia. This export trade was carried on to a large extent, from 1856 till 1866. Mr. C. Winter sent large quantities of goods to Canada and India, and the other manufacturers to Australia. A number of emigrants, however, went into the trade in Australia, and the local parliament imposed a duty of 25 per cent. on English-made goods, which stopped the trade, so that of late, very few Australian orders have been received in this city. Notwithstanding this drawback, the boot and shoe trade has become a very extensive and important branch of industry in Norwich, and about 3000 hands are employed in the manufacture. Hitherto it has been confined chiefly to women and children’s goods, but men’s boots have been made to some extent, and there is no reason why the trade should not be greatly increased. Machines, as we have said, have been introduced in the various processes of manufacture, and steam power has been applied to the machines in two large factories, where vast quantities of goods are produced. The result has been not to diminish but to extend the number of hands, and to increase the rate of payment.
The hand machines now in use are chiefly those of Thomas, Singer, or Howes. About 400 machines are at work daily in the warehouses, and 200 in private houses. In two factories, large American machines are used for attaching the soles to the uppers at the rate of a pair per minute. By means of these machines, a pair of boots may be cut out, and the uppers, after fitting, sewn together and finished in an hour; and the work, moreover, is better done by the use of machines than it usually is by hand. Three operatives are required for each machine, two fitters and one machinist.
When trade is good, about 3000 men, women, and children, are employed in the manufacture, either in the warehouses or in their own homes. The operatives may be divided into one-third men, one-third women, and one-third children. They will produce, with the aid of machines, about 1000 dozen pairs of boots and shoes daily. The quantity will therefore be 6000 dozen weekly, and taking the average price at 40s. per dozen, the value would be £12,000 weekly. Supposing the trade to continue brisk for fifty weeks in the year, the annual value would be £600,000.
During the year, 1868, trade was very prosperous, and manufacturers received more orders than they could execute. The quantities before stated may be doubled for that year; and at least 6000 men, women, and children, were employed. Their production, with the aid of machines, has been about 2000 dozen pairs of boots and shoes daily, or 12,000 dozen pairs weekly, so that the weekly value has been £24,000, or £1,200,000 yearly. Norwich does not transact a hundredth part of this branch of trade in England, and, therefore, it may be increased to an indefinite extent.
The principal firms in the trade in 1868, were Messrs. Tillyard and Howlett, on St. George’s Plain; Mr. Kemp, in Pitt Street; Messrs. Willis and Southall, who occupy very extensive premises in the Upper Market; Mr. Hotblack, St. Faith’s Lane; Mr. Lulham, Fishgate Street; Mr. Ford, St. George Colegate; Mr. Homan, Theatre Street; Mr. Bostock, Swan Lane; Mr. Steadman, Bethel Street; Messrs. Barker and Gostling, Wensum Street; Mr. Haldenstein, Queen Street; Messrs. Gamble and Davis, Calvert Street; Mr. Smith, Calvert Street; Mr. D. Soman, Calvert Street; Mr. Base, in Prince’s Street; Mr. Copeman, St. Stephen’s; Mr. Horne, Charing Cross; Mr. Worledge, Magdalen Street.
Mustard, Starch, and Blue Works.
The Carrow Works have been greatly extended since the brief notice in the first part of this history was written, and we are now enabled to give a fuller description. Messrs. J. and J. Colman employ about 1200 men and boys in the production of mustard, starch, blue, paper, and flour. By the use of machinery of the most improved construction, and by selecting seed of the finest quality, the firm produces mustard which cannot be surpassed in purity and flavour. This mustard obtained the only prize medals awarded for the article at the Great Exhibition in London, 1862, and Dublin, 1865, and the only silver medal at Paris, 1868. The firm also obtained medals for starch at the Great Exhibitions in London, 1851 and 1862; Dublin, 1865; York, 1866; and Paris, 1868.
Carrow Works are situated just outside of the King Street Gates of the city, on the banks of the river Wensum, which is navigable for vessels of about 120 tons. Lines of railway are laid down in various directions through the premises connecting all the principal warehouses with the Great Eastern Railway at Trowse. Thus Messrs. Colman have every facility for receiving the raw material, and for disposing of the manufactured goods by land or water conveyance. The machinery used is very extensive, and sixteen engines are now employed, amounting altogether to 1000-horse power.
On entering the works we pass the timekeeper’s office, and observe on the right hand a large range of brick buildings. Here is the mustard mill, and amid all the noise within we are shewn the process by which the well-known condiment, mustard, is produced in such immense quantities, and in the greatest perfection. The mustard seed, which is grown extensively in some parts of this country, is crushed between iron rollers, and is then pounded in large mortars, a long row of which stand on one side of the mill. The pestles consist of long wooden rods with heavy balls of iron. They are set in rapid motion by means of steam power, and the mustard seed is speedily reduced to the condition of flour and bran. These are readily separated, and the flour is brought to the requisite quality by means of silk sieves, which vary in fineness according to the quality of the mustard to be produced. These sieves are loosely arranged in frames, and set in motion by means of revolving shafts. Two kinds of seed, the brown and the white, are thus crushed, pounded, and sifted. The brown is far more pungent than the white; but in order to produce a flavour relished by consumers, it is necessary to mix these two kinds, and it is the judicious mixture which gives the fine aromatic flavour of the mustard for which the firm is celebrated.