A Place Apart: Hebden Bridge as seen through the eyes of the Spencer family in the late 19th century

The textile industry in the nineteenth century opened the Pennines to the world, and one small Yorkshire town which made its mark was Hebden Bridge. Sheltering below the moors, at a junction of two rivers, it excelled at making clothes for working men. A Place Apart tells the story of the town through the experiences of three generations of the Spencer family. Mills dominated the landscape, along with the Non-conformist chapels which gave a moral compass to people's lives. Education was opened to everyone and, as working hours relaxed, people had time to relax and enjoy themselves. - - - - The book provides a valuable perspective on life and attitudes during the Victorian era, brought into an unfortunate focus in 1901 when the daughter of Joseph Spencer, a successful local tailor, found herself pregnant by a local lad. Reputations had to be preserved and the family left town. The business held on, but finally closed in 1907. - - - - This wide-ranging portrait of the area's social and industrial history is written by a descendant of the Spencer family, and features first-hand accounts, authoritative source material and contemporary illustrations. It provides an engaging, well-researched study of a town and its people at a time of immense change.

Table of Contents:
Preface; Introduction; The Pennine Weaver; Fustianopolis; Cathedrals of Nonconformity; Growing Up; The Waltons of Foster Mill; Connections; Setting Up Shop; Taking the Train; Putting Down Roots; Know Your Greenwoods; Cottonopolis; Game Changers; All the News; Epidemic; Home Affairs; Chapel and Choir; Good Works; Relaxing; The Wider World; Moving House; From Township to Town; The Spencer Children; An Abrupt Departure; Family Scandal; 25. Taking Refuge; 26. Hard Times; 27. Afterlife; Appendix One; Appendix Two; Appendix Three; Appendix Four; Acknowledgements; Notes; Bibliography

About the Author :
Christopher Collier was born in Bramhall, then a village in Cheshire. His loyalties have always been split between nearby Manchester and his home county. He has an MA (history) from Oxford and an MPhil from the Warburg Institute in London, where he studied under the great art historian, Ernst Gombrich. After teaching at an American university he joined Penguin as a commissioning editor, moving on to Book Club Associates, home of the Literary Guild, World Books and Book of the Month Club, where he was latterly Editor-in-Chief. He has also worked as a publishing director and sales and marketing director. For ten years he ran his own foreign rights agency, dealing with publishers worldwide. He has written a blog with a political focus, zenpolitics.me, for the last fourteen years. Six years ago he gave up his long-time London base and moved to Stroud in Gloucestershire.

Review :
'This book offers a vivid account of the life of a small entrepreneur in a textile town providing an insight into the lives of those who rarely receive the attention of historians.' Alan Fowler, formerly Principal Lecturer of Economic and Social History, Manchester Metropolitan University. - - - - 'I have read your book with interest and enjoyment. Beyond the details of your family the research contributes to our understanding of several important issues in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British history. A sensitive appreciation of the diversity and complexity of industrial and cultural change is vital and this study offers much.' David Howell, Professor of Politics, University of York. - - - - 'Brilliant piece of writing. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. A really interesting story told in great detail and with passion and pride.' Michael Peel, local Hebden Bridge historian. ‘This book is a fine example of radical family history. Radical not in the sense that it explores radical political activity, but in the literal sense that it roots the history of this family, the Spencers of Hebden Bridge and their in-laws, firmly in the community . . . a readable and informative account of Hebden Bridge from the 1870s to early 1900s.’ The Local Historian - the magazine of the British Association of Local History.