Records of the Ashton Textile Employers' Association

The archive contains the minute books of the Ashton Textile Employers' Association, the Glossop, Hyde and District Cotton Employers' Association, the Manchester and District Cotton Employers' Association, the Stockport and District Cotton Employers' Association and the Wigan and District Cotton Employers' Association, together with published material relating to the cotton industry.

The Ashton and District Cotton Employers' Association was formed in 1891 `to deal with cases in which leaders of the operatives attempt to enforce unreasonable conditions, either as to the working of the mill, or the amount of wages...' The rules of the Association were expanded and published in 1921 and minor alterations were made over the years, with the change of name to the Ashton Textile Employers' Association being recorded in 1969. The Glossop, Hyde & District Cotton Employers' Association amalgamated with the Ashton Association in 1921, and other local organisations contained within the archive amalgamated with the Ashton Association at a later date.

The history of employers' associations in this region is somewhat longer than the association represented by this archive. In 1830 fifty-two firms in Ashton combined to defeat a fledgling trade union by locking out workers, but it was only a temporary organisation. More powerful and better organised employers' associations were really a development of the second half of the century and grew in response to the rise of trade union power. Later, the Association attempted to arrest the decline of the industry in the region.

Original order has been maintained during cataloguing, with the records of subsidiary organisations following those of the Ashton Association as follows:

ATEA/1 Ashton Textile Employers' Association

ATEA/2 Glossop, Hyde and District Cotton Employers' Association

ATEA/3 Stockport and District Cotton Employers' Association

ATEA/4 Manchester and District Cotton Employers' Association

ATEA/5 Wigan and District Cotton Employers' Association

The papers may be used by any accredited reader.

This finding aid may contain personal or sensitive personal data about living individuals. Under Section 33 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), The John Rylands University Library (JRUL) has the right to process such personal data for research purposes. The Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2000 enables the JRUL to process sensitive personal data for research purposes. In accordance with the DPA, the JRUL has made every attempt to ensure that all personal and sensitive personal data has been processed fairly, lawfully and accurately, according to the Data Protection Principles.

Individuals have the right to make a request to see data relating to them held by the JRUL which falls under the provisions of the DPA. Access requests must be made formally in accordance with the provisions set out in the DPA and all enquiries should be directed to the University's Data Protection Officer.

The archive was originally deposited in Manchester University Library and transferred to the Deansgate building following the merger with the John Rylands Library in 1972.

None.

Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

A number of items within the archive remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study.

Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the archive. Please contact the Head of Special Collections, John Rylands University Library, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PP.

The Library also holds part of the Oldham Textile Employers' Association archive (OLD), which has printed annual reports for the Ashton Association. The Greater Manchester County Record Office holds the archive of the British Textile Employers' Association, B 14.