ABSTRACT
The main body of workers in the woollen and worsted trades is organised in a comprehensive Union which also covers bleachers, dyers and finishers and calico printers in other textile industries. The woollen and worsted weavers of the eighteenth century can be counted among the pioneers of Trade Unionism. The worsted branch of the industry is practically confined to Yorkshire, whereas the woollen manufacture is more widely dispersed. Before the Industrial Revolution, the woollen and worsted industry was by a long way the most important British manufacture. The woollen and worsted industries in the West Riding developed rapidly on capitalistic lines, and the older centres in East and West lost ground apace. During the war the woollen and worsted trades passed under State control. There still remain, however, a large number of small Unions in the woollen and worsted trades, chiefly among the skilled craftsmen.
