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Tools and files |
With the exapansion of industry across the region came new demands for tools and equipment such as files, screwdrivers and parts for engines and machinery. Since the 18th century there were dozens of workshops and small-scale enterprises operating in Warrington, producing basic pieces of ironware for domestic, agricultural or industrial use. By demand for a wider range of products increased with industrialisation. |
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File cutting was done by hand until the mid-1930s |
| Peter Stubs, born in Warrington in 1756, became a filemaker in his late teens. He then turned to running a pub, the White Bear in Bridge Street, for over 20 years whilst still making files in a small workshop behind the inn. In 1802 he gave up the lease of the pub and opened a new fileworks in Scotland Road. Stubs died in 1806, but the works he had set up became a world renowned firm, manufacturing an ever expanding range of products. The product range grew to include dental equipment, medical instruments, vices and shears. |
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From the mid-1930s Stubs' switched the whole of their operation to machine cutting. As you can see here they employed women on the work benches. |
Filecutting was a complex process and each stage required specialist skills. Apprenticeships lasted for seven years. Despite the skilled nature of the job filemakers were amongst the worst paid workers in the town. In 1891 400 workers in the town were employed in the industry. The industry did not become mechanised until the late 1930s. |
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