Records of the Morley Family of Nottingham and I. and R. Morley Limited, hosiers of Nottingham, 1589-1976

The collection is roughly divided into the business records of I. and R. Morley (Mrl 1), and papers of the Morley family (Mrl 2).

The business records include financial records, correspondence and legal papers, advertising and price lists, papers relating to property and estates. Materials collected by staff at I. & R. Morley concerned with the firm's own history include papers relating to the research for a book in the late 1940's and scrap books including one about the factory in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The business records also include account books from 1799-1859 and articles of partnership and legal agreements 1818-1964.

As a family business there is often no clear distinction between business and personal matters. The family papers, the bulk of which is correspondence, include wills, executory and other legal records dated 1750-1886; receipts and other financial papers c.1710-c.1841; family and business correspondence 1800-1874; and correspondence with family lawyers Wells and Hind, 1834-1895. The papers are largely those of Richard (senior) and Arthur Morley but records of Benjamin, James and William Morley, Elizabeth Widdowson and William Statham are also present. As primarily a business collection, many of the documents concern legal and financial arrangements, and money appears to have been the cause of some dispute between the various family members. There are also legal documents and plans relating to land at Sneinton (including before it was acquired by the Morleys) and elsewhere.

The hosiery firm of I. and R. Morley (also known as J & R Morley) was established by brothers John (1768-1849) and Richard Morley (1775-1855) from Sneinton, Nottinghamshire in about 1797. Hosiery was still primarily a cottage industry at the time. Entrepreneurs like I. and R. Morley were essentially wholesalers, buying in goods and storing them in warehouses in Nottingham and in the City of London. The factory/warehouse at Fletcher Gate, Nottingham, acted as collecting centre for many of the smaller factories (of which there were eventually several in Nottingham and surrounding counties), from which goods were despatched to London and Liverpool for shipment.

As the business grew more successful, John Morley moved to London, whilst Richard Morley remained in Nottingham. The company expanded greatly under the direction of John's son Samuel Morley (1809-1886) who took charge of the Nottingham operation in 1855, after his father and elder brothers retired or died, and the London operation in 1860, at a time when the firm was already the market leader in British hosiery. He adopted mechanisation of the hosiery industry and built new factories in Manvers Street and Handel Street, Nottingham, and in Heanor, Leicester, Loughborough and Sutton in Ashfield. Samuel Morley continued the firm's policy of quality standards but added new policies, such as ensuring constant availability of the firm's product lines and responding to market rather than production requirements. He also oversaw the expansion of the company into new overseas markets.

Richard Morley (senior) was Mayor of Nottingham in 1836-37 and 1841-42, and there is some correspondence and other documentation relating to his duties. Like his uncle, Samuel Morley entered politics and was elected MP for Nottingham in 1865 and Bristol in 1868. Unfortunately the collection does not contain any material relating to his political career. The family were noted philanthropists, which was motivated by their nonconformist religious beliefs. There are many letters discussing religious matters, but the collection contains only a handful of documents relating to their philanthropic activities, such as their interest in workers' rights, poor relief, and funding local schools.

In the twentieth century, I. and R. Morley continued to supply hosiery to independent retailers while many competitors were supplying direct to the new multiples such as Marks and Spencer. It also supplied hosiery to the Royal family. By the 1950's the company had premises in Nottingham, Heanor, Leicester, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Loughbrough, Worcester and Leyton. Head office was at 18 Wood Street, London. Morley's market share fell, particularly after the Second World War, and it was finally absorbed into the Courtaulds textile group in 1965.

The Morley family have a long association with the village of Sneinton in Nottinghamshire and the non-conformist church. Its church connections provided associations with textile machinery manufacturers Manlove and Alliot and the law firm of Wells and Hind.

When the correspondence in Mrl 2 was received, although some attempts had been made to bundle the papers, the majority were in disarray. This part of the collection has been divided into series by family members. Within series, some letters are arranged by sender, and other documents by topic, for example executory records or parish official documents. Items have been arranged chronologically within these series as far as possible. Notes written on the original bundles suggest that Richard Morley the Elder did not separate his business and personal correspondence, and there is little evidence to suggest how other family members kept their records. As family members died, their papers were distributed to those who took over the responsibility of managing the business or their estate. Some bundles of letters were found in envelopes addressed to Wells & Hind, solicitors, and these, combined with the presence of documents addressed to the solicitors, indicate that the whole collection may have been transferred to them in their capacity as family solicitors and executors.

The material received from the Heanor and District Local History Society has been placed into series based on common subject matter. Items found brought together in folders have been kept together where possible.

The bulk of the collection is accessible to all readers.

Copyright in all finding aids belongs to The University of Nottingham.

In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus: Typescript catalogue, 87 pp.

Online: Available on the Manuscripts Online Catalogue, accessible from the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections.

Good, with some fragile newsprint and bound volumes

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

The first part of the collection (Mrl 1/1/1-20, Mrl 1/2/1-6 and Mrl 1/3/1-5 and all of Mrl 2) was acquired by The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in September and December 1994. This part of the collection was donated by solicitors to the Morley family.

Mrl 1/6/1 was donated to the University of Nottingham in 1998. The remaining part of the collection came from the Heanor factory of I. & R. Morley after its closure and was deposited at the University of Nottingham by the Heanor and District Local History Society in 2016.

East Midlands Collection: Periodicals

The University of Nottingham; Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections: Threads, the magazine of I. and R. Morley Limited.

The University of Nottingham; Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections: Records of the Wholesale Textile Association, an organisation in which the senior partners of I. and R. Morley were heavily involved, 1913-1964 (WTA)

Courtaulds Group Archives Department: Records of I. and R. Morley Limited including minutes, balance sheets, inventory, papers, relating to subsidiaries, 1935-1970.