Workforce Leaving Cartwright & Warner Hosiery Works, Loughborough (1900)

Victorian women workers (and a few men) hasten through the gates of the hosiery works after their shift.

There are some strikingly well-dressed women - and a fine array of jackets - among these Loughborough textile workers; the men behind them are not always so smartly turned out. Some 2,000 people worked at this factory in 1900, often enduring long hours and very modest pay. Cartwright and Warner’s went out of business in 1929 and parts of the original building have since been converted into flats.