The women chainmakers of Cradley Heath
During the 19th century the Black Country, in particular the Cradley Heath area, became the centre for chain making in Britain. Heavy to medium chains were produced by men in factories, however the smaller chains (often known as 'hand-hammered' or 'country-work' chains) were often hand-worked by women or children in small cramped forges in outbuildings next to the home. The work was hot, physically demanding and poorly paid.
At the start of the 20th century the campaign to end the exploitation of 'sweated' labour gained increasing popular support. In 1909 the Liberal government passed the Trade Boards Act to set up regulatory boards to establish and enforce minimum rates of pay for workers in four of the most exploited industries, including chain-making. In the Spring of 1910, the newly established Chain Trade Board announced a minimum wage for hand-hammered chain-workers of two and a half pence an hour - for many women this was nearly double their existing rate of pay. At the end of the Trade Board's consultation period in August 1910, many employers refused to pay the increase. In response the women's union, the National Federation of Women Workers (NFWW), called a strike.
The strike lasted 10 weeks and attracted immense popular support from all sections of society - nearly £4,000 of donations were received by the end of the dispute from individual workers, trade unions, politicians, members of the aristocracy, business community and the clergy. The founder of the NFWW, Mary Macarthur, used mass meetings and the media - including the new medium of cinema - to bring the situation of the striking women to a wider audience and the strike became an international cause célèbre. Within a month 60% of employers had signed the 'White List' and agreed to pay the minimum rate, the dispute finally ended on 22 October when the last employer signed the list.
The series of trade board papers in the Trades Union Congress archive includes five files of documents relating to the Chain Trade BoardLink opens in a new window. As part of the Modern Records Centre's 'Sweated trades' digitisation project, we have made a selection of these documents available online, including the items highlighted below. Some additional items can be found through our digital collectionLink opens in a new window.
Illustration: chainmakers' workshops in Cradley Heath, photograph included in 'Sweated Industries', handbook of the Daily News exhibition, 1906.Link opens in a new window
Working conditions and pay
Want to know what a chainmaker earned under the minimum wage? This statistical data, extracted from Trade Board notices, shows how wages rose and fell between 1910 and the early 1920s.
Sweated industries: being a handbook of the "Daily News" exhibition, 1906Link opens in a new window
The book includes an article by George Shann on conditions in Cradley Heath, illustrated with several photographs of women chainmakers.
Social Service Handbooks No.5: Sweating, 1908Link opens in a new window
Book written by Edward Cadbury and George Shann as part of "a series intended primarily for working-men". It includes a chapter on chainmaking at Cradley Heath.
Notes on visit to Cradley Heath, 1910Link opens in a new window
Private notes of the trade union leader Charles H. Sitch, about the state of trade and prospects of a trade board.
Country chain: output and pay rates of individual workers, 1910Link opens in a new window
Brief notes about named Cradley Heath workers, including information about their output, wages and how the proposed new rate would affect their earnings.
Minimum rates in the hand-hammered chain, May 1910Link opens in a new window
Poster or notice of the Trade Board's proposed minimum rates.
General minimum piece-rates for making hand-hammered chain, June 1910Link opens in a new window
Poster or notice of the Trade Board's proposed minimum rates.
Recommendations of the Committee relating to apprentices, May 1910Link opens in a new window
Circular sent by the Office of Trade Boards to Mary Macarthur, summarising the trade board's proposals regarding chainmaking apprentices.
"The greatest mistake we could possibly make", June 1910Link opens in a new window
Letter from Thomas Sitch, Secretary of the Chain Makers' and Strikers' Association, to Mary Macarthur, expressing concern about employers' proposals regarding the apprenticeship of children.
Descriptions of three anonymised cases (Miss A., Miss B. and Mrs C. of Cradley Heath) sent to Mary Macarthur by the Office of Trade Boards.
Objection to the minimum rates in the hand-hammered chain trade, June 1910Link opens in a new window
Objection by Arthur Powell, proprietor of Endurance Chain Works, Cradley Heath, to women receiving higher rates of pay.
Objection to the minimum rates in the hand-hammered chain trade, July 1910Link opens in a new window
Objection from the Withymoor firm Samuel Lewis & Co., Ltd., to the trade board's proposed wage rates, with an outline of the company's alternative plan.
Objection by 14 named chainmakers (13 women and 1 man) to the trade board's proposed wage rates, including case studies.
Agreement to pay unemployment benefit, September 1910Link opens in a new window
Copy of an agreement made between the Executive Committee of the Chain Manufacturers' Association and Mary Macarthur and Charles Sitch of the National Federation of Women Workers. It sets the rate of benefit for unemployed chainmakers at 4 shillings a week.
Minimum rates for making dollied or tommied chain, October 1910Link opens in a new window
Annotated poster or notice of the Trade Board's proposed minimum rates.
Enquiry about an apprenticeship, November 1910Link opens in a new window
Copy of a letter sent to the Office of Trade Boards by Josiah Billingham. Billingham enquired about the case of Joseph Robinson's son, who was thinking of switching trades from bricklaying to chainmaking. The reply is also included in the digital collectionLink opens in a new window.
General minimum piece rates for making hand-hammered chain, November 1910Link opens in a new window
Poster or notice of the Trade Board's proposed minimum rates.
The information circulated by the Trade Board also included brief information about the 10 children who had been granted learners' certificates.
The working of the Trade Boards Act, 1912Link opens in a new window
Article by Constance Smith, published in the magazine 'The Crusade'. It included information about the work of the Chain Trade Board.
The report included a brief review of the work of the Chain Trade Board in Cradley Heath.
The anonymous author of the notes stated that the current rates didn't represent a living wage, and included information about changes in the cost of living between 1910 and 1912.
Summary of report of enquiries in the Cradley Heath district, July 1912Link opens in a new window
The internal Trade Board report looked at working and living conditions for Cradley Heath chainmakers, and examined whether they received a living wage.
The report includes brief information supplied by the Cradley Heath branch secretary about the local chainmakers and hollow-ware workers.
Book written by R.H. Tawney as part of his series of 'Studies in the minimum wage'. It examined the effects of the Trade Board on chainmaking.
Summary of applications for learners' certificates, June 1917Link opens in a new window
Information about apprenticeships agreed by the Chain Trade Board.
Trade Board report on the small number of new learners coming into the chainmaking trade.
The two trade unionists discussed the possibility of increasing the minimum wage from 4 pence an hour.
Trade Board report which looked at the costs and sources of fuel purchased by homeworkers.
Proposed welfare regulations for chainmaking factories and workshops, 1920Link opens in a new window
Proposals submitted by the workers' representatives, including suggestions that a cloakroom, messroom and supply of drinking water should be available.
The 1910 strike
Leaflet advertising a National Federation of Women Workers meeting in Cradley Heath about the proposals of the trade board.
Concern from the hammered chain-making trade female employees, April 1910Link opens in a new window
Copy of a letter written by Mary Macarthur, National Federation of Women Workers, to George Williams, Secretary of the Manufacturers Association, protesting against the employers' stockpiling of goods, before the findings of the trade board were finalised.
'Rouse, ye women', 1910Link opens in a new window
Words of a strike song (against the 'sweaters' and for the trade boards) issued as a leaflet.
Letters of support for the strikers from an employer, August 1910Link opens in a new window
Correspondence between Okell & Owen, exporters of British chains to India, and the trade union leader Mary Macarthur. The representative of the Liverpool firm stated their support for "fair wages", donated £5 towards the strike fund, and dismissed concerns expressed by some manufacturers that higher wages might reduce exports.
Letters forwarded to Mary Macarthur by the export company Okell & Owen. The letters were sent by the Cradley Heath firms Joseph Williams & Sons, William Bannister & Co., and W. Mills & Co., after Okell & Owen had asked the manufacturers to confirm that they would pay the minimum wage.
The letter was sent to Thomas Sitch of the Chain Makers' and Strikers' Association.
Fleet Street telegram, August 1910Link opens in a new window
Request for information about the latest strike developments sent from the Daily News newspaper to J.J. Mallon, Secretary of the Anti-Sweating League.
'Women slaves of the forge', September 1910Link opens in a new window
Press cutting from the Daily Express. It focused on the case of chainmaker Patience Round, aged 79.
Summary account of money paid to unionists and non-unionists, 1910Link opens in a new window
Note of strike pay distributed by the Cradley Heath branch of National Federation of Women Workers on 27 August and 3 September 1910.
Account of the Cradley Heath strike fund on 17 September 1910Link opens in a new window
The account listed money received from various organisations and individuals, including Birmingham Wesleyan Synod, the chocolate manufacturer George Cadbury, Liverpool Clarion Club, the Dean of Worcester, "Mrs E. Attlee and family" (perhaps Ellen Attlee, mother of the future Prime Minister Clement Attlee?) and several trade unions.
Letter of thanks to a supportive employer, September 1910Link opens in a new window
Copy of a letter sent by trade union leader Mary Macarthur to W. Lashford Griffin, thanking him for helping her behind the scenes with technical information during the dispute. Griffin's letters to Macarthur of 5 SeptemberLink opens in a new window, 8 SeptemberLink opens in a new window, 15 SeptemberLink opens in a new window and 30 SeptemberLink opens in a new window are also included in the digital collection - two of the letters have been cut into pieces - removing the heading and signature to hide the name of the author (and protect the employer).
'White list', 1910Link opens in a new window
Names and addresses of employers who had agreed to pay the Trade Board rates.
Resolution passed at employers' meeting, October 1910Link opens in a new window
Copy of an agreement made at a general meeting of employers to only deal with shopmen or middlemen who have been included on the 'White list'.