By 1820, 25 per cent of cotton workers were children under 13, working in appalling conditions. From 1802, various toothless laws were initiated but without regulatory bodies, they were ignored.
Following an inquiry into working conditions for children, the Cotton Mills and Factory Act of 1819 was passed, making it illegal to employ children under the age of nine. Working hours for under-16s was limited to an incredible 16 per day. Put bluntly, it was seen as progress that a child only worked from 5am to 9pm! However, enforcement was inadequate, so the law, again, had little impact.
Robert Blincoe’s horrifying childhood was published in 1828 (see picture, above right), outlining his forced relocation, aged seven, from a poorhouse in Bethnal Green to a mule scavenger’s 14-year apprenticeship in a…
