Dear listers, With permission from the list moderator, and with regard to the thread about silk weavers and movement between communities, I would like to suggest a book called "Oldham Brave Oldham: An illustrated History of Oldham" by Brian R. Law, Oldham Council 1999. The chapter titled Pre-industrial Oldham describes the introduction of cotton, a new fabric, which became increasingly in use over woollens. Initially, weaving of cotton and silk was a cottage industry amongst farmer-weavers in Oldham and Royton townships and spread to the adjacent Middleton district, then to Failsworth and Chadderton. The cottage industry was impactly greatly by the introduction of  the power loom and left these skilled weavers either having to adapt or leave the industry. Those employed in this area might have moved around to wherever there were opportunities to sell their wares, or to where their skills were still being utilized in order to avoid poverty.   If you get a chance to get a copy of this book, it is very informative about the area and contains a lot of information and photos of the various mills in the area.   Sheila J London, ON CANADA