Presentation about the children of the industrial revolution.

1. Children of the industrial
revolution

2. CONTENTS PAGE
1. What the industrial revolution?
2. Jobs in the Factories
3. Living conditions
4. 4 children’s stories
5. The Domestic system
6. Apprentices
7. Power sources
8. Working conditions
9. Wages
10. Who employed children and why?
11. Reform acts to improve working
conditions
12. Images
13. Glossary
14. End page

3. What the industrial
revolution was?
 The Industrial Revolution was a
period from the 18th to the 19th
century where major changes in
agriculture, manufacturing,
mining, transportation, and
technology and had a huge
effect on the conditions of the
time. The industrial revolution
was a great time for the economy
but a harsh time for the children
and workers.
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4. Jobs in the factories
 Scavenger- The smallest
children in the factories
were scavengers because
their job was to go under
the machines and pick out
any loose threads.
 Doffer-Many young
children were employed as
doffers in textile mills. It
was there job to replace the
filled spindles with fresh
empty spools.
 Piercer-Piercers had to
lean over the spinning-
machine to repair the
broken threads. These
were extremely dangerous
as the children were
expected to carry out the
task while the machine
was still working.
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5. Living Conditions
 The living conditions of
the workers and
surrounding residents
were very harsh. They
lived in very tiny houses
where they had to share
toilet facilities and have
open sewers. They
would only have few
rooms and would
maybe have to sleep on
the floor due to space.
In the 19th century the
housing issues
improved because of
government and local
plans which led to cities
becoming cleaner
places, but life had not
been easy for the poor
before industrialisation.
Page 3

6. 4 Children’s stories
 Hannah Brown-"I began work at the
mill in Bradford when I was nine
years old……we began at six in the
morning and worked until nine at
night. When business was brisk, we
began at five and worked until ten
in the evening.
 Elizabeth Bentley- “I was 6 years old
when I started working in the
factories. All I got was oatcake
which was normally thick, coarse
and horrible. I worked as a doffer. It
was my job to take the full bobbins
of the frame and replace them with
new ones.”
 Samuel Downe- “I have been
working in the factory since I was
8.I work as a piercer, mending the
broken threads. I work from 5 in the
morning till eight at night with 20
minutes break all day.
 David Bywater- “I am a scavenger
and I work from 5 in the morning
until 8 at night. I have a 30 minute
break each day which I take
standing up. I have been working in
the factory since I was seven and its
hard work.”
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7. The Domestic
System
 The domestic system was
a cycle where there used
to be a man called a
clothier. The clothier
would buy wool from a
farmer and then take it
too cloth maker’s houses
too be turned into cloth.
The family would be able
to work as long or short
as they pleased but as
long as it met the
deadline. When then
clothier comes back to
collect the cloth he takes
it pays for it then goes to
a mill in which women
work as dyers so they dye
the cloth and then the
clothier takes the cloth a
sells it to make a profit.
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8. Apprentices
 Apprentices were also
known as parish
apprentices. A lot of the
parents did not want to
send their children to
work in the factories but
to be able to get more
cheap labour the factory
owner had to literally
buy orphans and send
them to work. This
involved the children
signing contacts so the
orphans were virtually
property of the factory
owner. Pauper
apprentices were cheaper
to house than adult
workers. It cost Samuel
Greg who owned the
large Quarry Bank Mill at
Styal, a £100 to build a
cottage for a family,
whereas his apprentice
house, that cost £300,
provided living
accommodation for over
90 children
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9. Power Sources
Page 7
Power What was it? Problems with it?
Hand •Man making the
machines work
•Man made clothes
•Human power
•Hand power wasn’t
enough too power
big machines
•Can’t lift heavy
machinery
Animal •They used animals
to power transport
•The main animal
power used was
horse power
•The animals could
die or pass out.
•They might not be
strong enough
•They maybe
injured
Water •The metal bar
would turn the
other wheel then it
would turn a huge
bar to power the
machines
•Water could freeze
•Factories had to be
built near a water
supply
Steam •Steam engines
produced rotary
power and was very
reliable
•More expensive for
the coal
•It could break
down and need

10. Working Conditions
 The working
conditions of the
factories were
disgusting and
horrible and above all
not safe. Scavenger’s
often lost their
fingers but some of
them lost arms or legs
due to trapping them
in the machines,
Some of the children
got asthma, chest
problems or
breathing difficulties.
Some of the children
often came physically
deformed due to
bending their back to
much when they
grew up.
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11. £Wages£
 Children were cheap
labour for the factories
because they didn’t cost
as much as adults and
they can legally pay
them less. This table
shows the amount paid
to each job depending
how important it was.
Page 9
Males
•mill manager- £1000 per year
•Overseers and clerks-15s-32s
•Mechanics and engine drivers-17s-25s
•Carpenters and blacksmiths-14s-21s
•Lodgeeeper-15s
•Power loom machinery attendants and
steamers-14s-15s
•Mill machinery attendants and loom
cleaners-10s-15s
•Spindle cleaners, bobbin stampers and
packers, messengers, sweepers-5s-12s
•Watchmen-7s-10s
•Coachmen, grooms and van driver-5s-10s
•Winders-2s-4s
Females
•Gauze examiners-10s-11s
•Female assistant overseers-
9s-10s
•Warpers & Twisters-7s-10
•Wasters-6s-9s
• Weavers-5s-8s
• Plugwinders-6s-7s
•Drawers and doublers-4s-6s
•Winders-2s-4s

12. Who employed
children and why?
 Many of the factory
owners employed
children as cheap
labour to fill a lot of
the jobs that adults
could not to like
scavenging and
chimney sweeping. It
was a tough life for
the children but the
factory owners didn’t
have to pay that
much to the children
because it was
something called
cheap labour.
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