The making of the new industrial labour force:parish apprenticeship and the early textile trades

The study explains the widespread use of child workers in late eighteenth century textile manufacturing and identifies how the early employment of parish apprentices established innovative and lucrative working practices in industry. By using a combination of parish and business records it specifies the way in which early manufacturers made use of poor law practices to fill their requirements of workers. It challenges prevailing notions of exploitation, processes by which they becomes gendered workers.