Upcoming Talk - February 2026
7.30pm at Harwood Methodist Church
Thursday 26th February 2026
Speaker: Richard Horrocks
Over the period 1774-2000, which coincided with the growth and death of the Lancashire Cotton industry, the 14 mills identified within the Turton and Edgworth area could be considered to be a microcosm of the whole industry.
While there is no firm definition of a cotton master, it has always been considered to be an original entrepreneur within the cotton spinning industry who had set up a multigenerational family firm, although two or three generations has often proved to be the case prompting the well known adage 'Clogs to Clogs in Three Generations'.
While the talk will focus on the individuals who created and managed cotton spinning mills within Turton and Edgworth, mention will also be made of other families who worked for a number of generations in associated industries such as dyeing, bleaching and printing. Some of the most well known Turton names include John Ashworth, founder of the “The Ashworths of Turton”, James Kay of Turton Tower, and John & Samuel Horrocks, later of Preston.
