Employees of Rylands Bros. Ltd. Wireworks, Warrington (1902)

A jovial crowd of Edwardian workers head home at dinner time in the Cheshire town.

The two separate exits for office staff, many in bowler hats, and flat-capped shopfloor workers in this Warrington factory reflect the rigid class divisions in Edwardian Britain. A group of showmen can be glimpsed choreographing the action in the shadows on the right of the arch. Hilarity spills through the crowd when an older worker is carried through the gates by two colleagues.

Wire manufacture was a dominant industry in Warrington, Cheshire, and was preserved in the nickname of local rugby league team Warrington Wanderers - The Wire.