Henry Houldsworth dressed for the Moscow winter.

Frank Wilkinson in Beeston and William Limb in Chilwell, both natives of Hucknall, were particularly successful hoisery entrepreneurs during this period. By 1886 Wilkinson's Beeston factory, although primarily a lacemaking enterprise, had 70 frames making Sheltand shawls and many of the firms employees were recruited from Hucknall.

The Orenburg Shawl Trade

A new market was created for Hucknall hosiery in 1884 when Henry Rhodes began the production of imitation Orenburg shawls for export to Russia from a small factory on the corner of Portland Road and Station Road. Named after the region near the Ural Mountains where they are produced, these shawls were, and remain to this day, the traditional head and shoulder garment of Russian women. Authentic shawls are hand woven from goats down for which the inner wool of the Shetland sheep made a seemingly passable alternative. Using cheaper materials and mechanising production on a frame made the manufacture of Orenburg shawls in far away Hucknall a viable enterprise, and soon other Hucknall hosiers entered the fray, most notably John Buck and Son who operated from a factory in Derbyshire Lane.

Good times at the Rhodes Bros
December 1886
Employees: 13 Weekly wages: £7 6s 4d
April 1897
Employees: 68 Weekly wages: £80 6s 3d
(Source: Nottingham Archives)

The Russians were surprised by the quality of the shawls and invited Rhodes to send a delegation to Moscow to demonstrate the manufacturing process. And so it was in about the year 1890 that two Rhodes employees, the brothers Thomas and Henry Houldsworth, left for Russia with a knitting frame. The Russians were impressed with what they saw and invited the Houldsworth's to stay and set up a local manufacturing base. The brothers did not decline the offer, but tactfully said they would first have to return home to collect their families. However, once safely back in England any thoughts they may have had of returning were forgotten.

At the turn of the twentieth century reliance on a volatile export market once again placed the Hucknall hosiers at the mercy of world events. In July 1902 'a great slackening of the shawl trade due to the falling off of Russian demand' was reported in the local press. This event coincided with one of the lowest points in relations between Britain and Russia.

In January 1902 Britain and Japan signed a military alliance aimed primarily at halting Russian expansion in the Far East, and effectively paving the way for the subsequent war between Russia and Japan in 1904. The war proved disastrous for Russia and also coincided with the first stirrings of the Russian revolution.

The once lucrative shawl trade with Russia was over, but not all the skills were lost. In November 1902, Arthur Bramley one of the last remaining Hucknall shawl makers found a new job in the Shetland hosiery industry, but this time it was in the USA.

Sources:
Angela Bull; The Machine Breakers: The story of the Luddites. William Collins. (1980)
William Felkin; The History of the Machine-Wrought Hoisery and Lace Manufacture. (1867)
J.H. Beardsmore; The History of Hucknall-Torkard. (1909)
Many thanks also to David Gunther in the USA for the photo of Henry Houldsworth and providing information about his Houldsworth ancestors, and to David Hallam at beeston-notts.co.uk for proof reading and supplying the facts included about the lives Frank Wilkinson and William Limb.