Livesey, Hargreaves and Company was an English business involved in the textile industry during the late 18th century.

Business

The company took a lead in the mechanisation of printing cloth using a process that had been developed by Thomas Bell. In 1783, Bell patented a method of printing on fabric from engraved cylinders, and by 1785 he was able to print in six colours by this process. Before that time the printing of fabric had been by hand, and the hand printers had been demanding higher wages. During the 1780s, the firm was the largest

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

printer in Lancashire and was "one of the largest cotton manufacturing enterprises in the early stages of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

". The printing process was carried out at their factories at Bannister Hall and at Mosney, both in Walton-le-Dale, near Preston,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. The firm also had a large mill at

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

, a factory, warehouse and offices in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, a warehouse in London, and were involved in bleaching cloth at

Hoghton Hoghton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 802. Brindle and Hoghton ward also includes the parish of Brindle. Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor hous ...

. It also owned a coal mine at Standish to provide fuel for its enterprises, and commissioned work from

handloom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

weavers working in their own homes (out-workers).

Collapse

The firm went bankrupt in 1788, with debts totalling £1.5 million (equivalent to £ million in ). It is thought that at the time they employed about 800 workers directly, and were providing "bread to 20,000 persons" (this would include direct employees, out-workers, and their dependants). The firm's bank was Byrom, Allen, Sedgwick and Place of Manchester, which had been founded in 1771. By 1780 it was managed solely by

William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...

, who made extensive loans to Livesey, Hargreaves and Company; Allen was related by marriage to the Liveseys. Two days after the firm was declared bankrupt, the bank collapsed, and Allen was also bankrupt.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Textile manufacturers of England Defunct manufacturing companies of England Companies based in Lancashire Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom British companies disestablished in 1788 1788 disestablishments in England