Joseph Pinder Plaque 25

Joseph Pinder Plaque 25

Joseph Pinder was the last of the Kilpin Hill traditional handloom weavers in Spen Valley. Working at home they made blankets on handlooms The weavers' cottages had a loom chamber & scouring place, while outside, tenter frames for drying the finished cloth were on nearby land. By 1850, mechanization had reduced most handloom weavers to starvation wages, but the Kilpin Hill weavers could still enforce piece rates for their handmade work. Joseph continued as a weaver until his death in 1910. His cottage was 39 Kilpin Hill Lane Heckmondwike, now used as a garage.