IMPORTANT historical papers charting the linen manufacturing industry in the area have been donated to Barnsley Archives and Local Studies department at the Central Library, Shambles Street.

The papers relate to Shaw Mills, which was on Racecommon Road in the town and was built by the Pigott family in the 1840s.

The earliest document in the collection is a title deed from 1844, which documents the purchase of the land on which Shaw Mills was built, by John Pigott and Robert Newton, his business partner.

The site measured 2,813 square yards and only a few years later, linen and cotton were successfully being weaved on the site. The firm were pioneers in that they were the first to introduce power operated looms into the factory environment, and they exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The collection also contains a number of documents relating to the prominent Henry Pigott, the son of the founder of Shaw Mills. He was the Mayor of Barnsley from 1884 to1886, a Justice of the Peace and a local councillor.

The papers have been extensively catalogued and are available for public viewing at Barnsley Archives and Local Studies, based in the Central Library.  For further information please contact Paul Stebbing, Archives and Local Studies Officer, Tel: 01226 773950. 

ENDS

Issued by Press Office (PressOffice@barnsley.gov.uk), telephone 01226 773375