Pinmaking

Among the metal-working trades which developed in Warrington and adjacent villages in the years after 1700 was pinmaking. Pinmaking, more than any other Warrington trade became the preserve of child labour. Children had the small, nimble fingers and better eyesight required to produce the tiny pins. By the 18th century pinmaking had moved on from domestic production to larger workshop production and was halfway to the factory system. A small group of manufacturers provided the raw materials and collected the finished products from the workers.

Dr. Kendrick of Warrington drew attention to the health risks involved for the child pinmakers. He stated that the long-term health problems included bone deformities from sitting for so long, poor eyesight and respiratory diseases.
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By 1820 the Edelsten family had three companies which controlled most of the trade in the town. In 1841 the great majority of Warrington's child workers were employed in the pinmaking trade. In 1843 the Royal Commission investigated child labour in several industries, including pinmaking, and found that the children employed in the industry were forced to work in deplorable working conditions. They found that the children sat for long hours hunched over benches in smoky, hot and unventilated rooms and sheds.

By the 1870s the industry was struggling as the new Factory Acts placed restrictions on factory owners employing children under 10. By the dawn of the 20th century the remaining sheds and backyard 'manufactories' had disappeared and the pinmaking trade was forgotten.