John Edward Crowther Ltd is a British textile and real estate company headquartered in Marsden, West Yorkshire, and incorporated in the United Kingdom. It was historically an important producer of woollen cloth in
Marsden, West Yorkshire, England. Its premises at
Bank Bottom Mill
Bank Bottom Mill, later known as Marsden Mill, was from 1824 an important centre for the production of woollen cloth in Marsden, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a fulling mill, Bank Bottom Mill reached its heyday in the late nineteenth and ...
reached its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries under the ownership of the Crowther family, in particular
John Edward Crowther
John Edward Crowther (1863–1931) was a businessman and philanthropist who ran a large operation based at Bank Bottom Mill and made a number of charitable donations to the village and people of Marsden, West Riding of Yorkshire.
Early life
Cro ...
, a businessman and philanthropist. However, the cloth industry declined in the late twentieth century, and production of woollen cloth finally ceased in 2003.
History
Business boomed during the 1914-18 war, thanks to the huge demand for woollen cloth needed to clothe men in uniform.
King George V and Queen Mary visited the company's mills on 30 May 1918, as a mark of appreciation of the contribution it was making to the continued war effort.
The business was run by
John Edward Crowther
John Edward Crowther (1863–1931) was a businessman and philanthropist who ran a large operation based at Bank Bottom Mill and made a number of charitable donations to the village and people of Marsden, West Riding of Yorkshire.
Early life
Cro ...
, a businessman and philanthropist who made a number of charitable donations to the village and people of Marsden. In 1931 the economic downturn caused by the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
caused the mill to work short time, and on 4 July 1931 Crowther took his own life.
Decline and closure
By the late 20th and early 21st century the Yorkshire textile industry had fallen on hard times, and Bank Bottom Mill closed in 2003, with the loss of 275 jobs.
"Bank Bottom Mill"
Theviewfromthenorth.org. Retrieved 31 December 2013
Notes
Further reading
*Armstrong, Thomas; ''The Crowthers of Bankdam'', HarperCollins (1991).
* Marsden History Group, ''Marsden - Then and Now: A Photographic Journey'',
* Pearson, Irene E., ''Marsden Through the Ages'', (1984),
External links
John Edward Crowther Ltd at Companies House
Retrieved 18 February 2019
Factories Inquiry Commission Volume 2; ''Supplementary Report of the Central Board of Her Majesty's Commissioners Appointed to Collect Information in the Manufacturing, as to the Employment of Children in Factories, and as to the Propriety and Means of Curtailing their Labour'' (1834)
Retrieved 4 January 2014
Marsden Local History Group web site
Retrieved 31 December 2013
"Picture of the Week: John Crowther mill memories in the shadow of the moors"
''Huddersfield Daily Examiner
The ''Huddersfield Daily Examiner'' is an English local daily evening newspaper covering news and sport from Huddersfield and its surrounding areas.
History
The first edition was published as a weekly, starting on 6 September 1851, as the ''H ...
'', 24 May 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2013
Pearson, Irene E., ''Marsden Through the Ages''
(1984), {{ISBN, 978-0950953304 Retrieved 4 January 2014
Companies based in Kirklees
Textile companies of the United Kingdom
Manufacturing companies established in the 19th century