World of child labour was essential to Bolton's mills
Professor Paul Salveson is a historian and writer and lives in Bolton. He is visiting professor in ‘Worktown Studies’ at the University of Bolton and author of several books on Lancashire history If you were a boy or girl growing up in Bolton in 1900, there’d be a strong chance that from the age of 12 you’d go to work as a ‘half-timer’ in the mills. The other half of the day would be spent at school. The system came into force in the 1830s, as a progressive measure to limit the employment of children as young as five or six. Child labour was particularly prevalent in the boo...