The Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Auxiliary Workers, also known as the Lace Makers' Society, was a trade union representing laceworkers in England.

History

The union was formed in 1874, when the Curtain Lace Trades Society merged with the Levers Lace Trades Society and the Plain Net Trade Society; for many years, the union remained divided into three branches, based on the former societies. It was originally named the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers, and it saw itself as a revival of the Lacemakers' Union, a short-lived society which had affiliated to the

National Association for the Protection of Labour The National Association for the Protection of Labour was one of the first attempts at creating a national trade union centre in the United Kingdom. The organization was established in July, 1830 by John Doherty, after an apparently unsuccessful ...

in 1831.Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.4, pp.350-363 Most of the union's members were in Nottingham and, in the 1890s, it was the largest member of the Nottingham and District Lace Trade Unions Federation. In 1896, the union's general secretary was sacked after he was involved in fraud. He was replaced by

William A. Appleton William Archibald Appleton (31 December 1859 – 20 November 1940) was a British trade union leader. Born in Nottinghamshire, Appleton attended the Trinity Day School and St Luke's Evening School before working making lace and hosiery in ...

, who ran the union in the style of a guild, with admission fees of up to £15 and benefits including two saloon bars in Nottingham exclusively for members' use, and loans of up to £200 available in order for members to set up their own businesses. Appleton also founded the International Lacemakers' Federation, and affiliated the union to the General Federation of Trade Unions, of which he later became secretary.Alice Prochaska, ''History of the General Federation of Trade Unions 1899-1980'', pp.49-51 Over time, the lace industry became established elsewhere in England, and the union absorbed the Bulwell society, and set up new branches in Beeston, Ilkeston, Southwell and

Chard Chard or Swiss chard (; ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; ...

. Membership peaked at 3,361 in 1900, then gradually fell, as the

Workers' Union The Workers' Union was a general union based in the United Kingdom, but with some branches in other countries. During the 1910s, it was the largest general union in the UK, but it entered a rapid decline in the 1920s, and eventually became part ...

set up rival laceworkers' sections. By 1933, its membership was down to 1,500, but was boosted when the Auxiliary Society of Male Lace Workers and Female Lace Workers' Society merged into it; it adopted a new name as the "Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Auxiliary Workers". In 1963, the union became the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Textile Workers, and the membership decline levelled off, leaving it with 1,200 members by the end of the decade. In 1971, it merged into the

National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

General Secretaries

:1876: G. Marriott, p.97 :1879: S. Varney :1896:

:1907: Charles Wardle :1928: J. T. Severn :1950: J. E. Flewitt

References

{{reflist Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1874 Trade unions disestablished in 1971 Textile and clothing trade unions 1874 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions based in Nottinghamshire