Editing Trowbridge (section)

===Woollen cloth industry===
Trowbridge developed as a centre for woollen cloth production from the 14th century. Thus before the start of the [[Tudor period]], the towns of south-west Wiltshire stood out from the rest of the county with all the signs of increasing wealth and prosperity during the period of trade recovery led by exports begun under Yorkist [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]] and, still more, during expansion under [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], when England's annual woollen exports increased from some 60,000 to some 80,000 cloths of assize.{{clarify|date=October 2016}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol4/pp115-147 |series=[[Victoria County History]] |title=A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 4 |chapter=The woollen industry before 1550 |pages=115–147 |editor-first=Elizabeth |editor-last=Crittall |date=1959 |via=British History Online |publisher=University of London |access-date=28 March 2022}}</ref>

During the 17th century the production of woollen cloth became increasingly industrialised. However, mechanisation was resisted by workers in traditional trades; there were riots in 1785 and 1792, and again in the era of [[Luddite|Luddism]] (1811–1816) owing to the introduction of the [[flying shuttle]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Jeff Horn|date=Spring 2005|title=Machine-breaking in England and France during the Age of Revolution|journal=Labour / Le Travail|publisher=Canadian Committee on Labour History|volume=55|pages=143–166|jstor=25149563}}</ref> [[Thomas Helliker]], a shearman's apprentice, became one of the martyrs of the [[Industrial Revolution]] in 1803 when he was hanged at Fisherton Jail, [[Salisbury]]. Nevertheless, at one point in 1820, Trowbridge's scale of production was such it was described as the "[[Manchester]] of the West". It had over 20 woollen cloth producing factories, making it comparable to [[Northern England|northern]] industrial towns such as [[Rochdale]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Economic History|url=http://www.trowbridge.gov.uk/business.asp?id=222|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410071017/http://www.trowbridge.gov.uk/business.asp?id=222|archive-date=10 April 2008|access-date=16 March 2008|website=Trowbridge Town Council}}</ref>

The woollen cloth industry declined in the late 19th century with the advent of [[Ring spinning|ring-spinning]], and this decline continued throughout the 20th century, although Trowbridge's West of England cloth maintained a reputation for excellent quality until the end. The last mill, Salter's Home Mill, closed in 1982 and is now the home of Boswell's Café and [[Trowbridge Museum]] and Art Gallery,<ref>''The Trowbridge Woollen Industry as Illustrated by the Stock Books of John and Thomas Clark, 1804–1824'', John Clark & Thomas Clark & R. P. Beckinsale, Wiltshire Record Society/Biddles Ltd, 1973.</ref> integrated into [[the Shires Shopping Centre]]. There are also working looms on display. Clark's Mill is now home to offices; straddling the nearby [[River Biss]] is the "Handle House", formerly used for drying and storage of [[Dipsacus|teazles]] used to raise the [[nap (textile)|nap]] of cloth. This is one of very few such buildings still known to exist in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Question/Details/507|title=Wiltshire History Questions |date=26 April 2007|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=8 November 2010}}; another example is at [[Bowlish]] near [[Shepton Mallet]].</ref>

<gallery caption="Buildings associated with the textile industry">
File:TrowbridgeClarksMill.jpg|Clark's Mill from Wicker Hill
File:TrowbridgeHandleHouse.jpg|Handle House adjacent to Clark's Mill
File:TrowbridgeAshtonMill.jpg|Ashton Mill, once a major employer
File:ShiresTrowbridgeInterior.jpg|Salter's Mill, now the centrepiece of [[the Shires Shopping Centre]]
</gallery>