ABSTRACT
arising from changing techniques of production and fluctuations in demand, insecurity was one of the major problems of the new urban industrial society. Fluctuations in trade, finance, and industry were exacerbated by the difficulty of accurately forecasting demand in distant markets and by the weakness of financial institutions. The local community was especially vulnerable to cyclical fluctuations, for its members depended for their livelihood upon the export-oriented lace and cotton hosiery industries. 1 Furthermore, the unique character of the town’s staples as articles susceptible to the caprice of fashion also contributed to conditions of unstable employment. The responses to such circumstances by the working classes in Nottingham were similar to those in many other manufacturing centres, and took the form of the proliferation of friendly societies, political protest meetings, the growth of trade unions, and Chartism.
