Trouble at Mill

This is a mural on the side of the Old Silk Mill pub in Derby. I always stop and admire it whenever I am in that area of town. The pub is next door to an old silk mill which became the focus of the industrial dispute after the dispute spread from another local mill.

The Silk Mill lock-out of 1833-1834 is famous because it preceded the Tolpuddle Martyrs by several months and led to the creation of the Grand National Trades Union and later the union movement. It began when a mill worker was sacked in November 1833 for refusing to pay a fine for alleged shoddy workmanship. The sacking led to a strike by 800 of his colleagues, who were soon joined by other workers. Employers reacted by refusing to employ Trade Union members, and the

strike turned into a lock-out.By Christmas 1833, there were 1,300 people on strike and by the end of March the figure had risen to 2,000. The employers brought in strike-breakers and held their ground in the hope of starving the strikers back to work – a policy that resulted in defeat for the strikers. On Monday, April 21, 1834, the final strikers asked to be re-instated, although over 600 found their services no longer required. After the Silk Mill strikes, Parliament restored the right of workers to join unions.


All of this history just because the golf course was closed this morning due to a dusting of snow !!  I don't think the green keepers will be locked out :-)