A local historian has explored poverty and protests in a Wiltshire woollen industry town in her latest book.

Rosie MacGregor, of the White Horse Trades Union Council, is chair of UNISON's national retired members' committee, and the author of several books on social history.

In her latest book, Remnants and Yarns, she looks at the production of the finest woollen cloth in Bradford on Avon during the 18th and 19th centuries.

She says: “It was a highly labour-intensive industry but reliance was placed on a workforce paid poverty wages whilst their employers grew rich on the profits.

“Angry disputes often arose and matters came to a head when machinery was introduced with the realisation that one machine could carry out the work of ten or more labouring men and women. 

“This book exposes the gaps between those who produced the cloth, who lived impoverished lives, and those who gained wealth and power as a result.”  

In 1820, there were 462 broad looms in the town, but by 1841 316 of these looms were lying idle after the industry crashed following the Napoleonic Wars.

Yet the failure of the local bank, Hobhouse, Phillott & Lowder, which had branches in Church Street, Bradford on Avon, and Milsom Street in Bath, had far-reaching implications.

Some local clothiers were made bankrupt and many workers left destitute as the woollen mills closed and they were thrown out of work. 

Mrs MacGregor, 70, added: “Bradford on Avon today has become a desirable place to live and work. This wasn’t always the case! 

“The inspiration for this book came from the story of Thomas Helliker, hanged on his 19th birthday for allegedly burning down Littleton Mill near Trowbridge.  

“I thought there must be similar stories of unrest in Bradford on Avon, other than the only one of which I was aware, the riot at Westbury House in Bradford on Avon in 1791.

“Angry workers assembled at the home of wealthy clothier Joseph Phelps and were fired on killing three, including a child, and three others later died of their injuries.

“The so-called ‘mob’ then burnt the hated scribbling frame on the town bridge.” 

Remnants and Yarns costs £7.50 and was launched at the West Barn in Bradford on Avon on Saturday.

It will be available from the Ex Libris bookshop in Bradford on Avon or can be ordered from publishers WaterMarx Media in Devizes at www.watermarx.co.uk at a cost of £10, including postage and packing.