Walker

THE ROBINSONS AND THE WALKERS

Hedley, Gladys, Sydney & Selena Walker (nee Robinson)

The Walker family lived in Tideswell, Derbyshire in the 19th Century.

They were involved in Cotton and Silk Hand Loom weaving, which ceased to be profitable when artificial silk was invented at
the beginning of the 20th Century.

Ezra Walker, who later became a Justice of the Peace and Chairman of the Rural District Council, at one time controlled the
Rising Sun Cotton factory and the Town Head Velvet Cutting factory.

Due to the decline of these industries, by 1901 Ezra had become a Monumental Sculptor, and father Thomas (aged 67) was
employed as a stone breaker, both remaining in Tideswell.

His older brother John Thomas Walker and family moved to Leigh, Lancashire in 1893, where he found work as a power loom
overlooker in the manufacture of artificial silk fibre at the Courtalds factory.

In 1901 his son Hedley was a piecer in cotton and daughters Hannah and Mary were silk weavers.

Thomas Robinson was living with his family in Leigh in 1841 (aged 60 and born in Lancashire).

Thomas, son James and grandson William were cotton and silk weavers.

During the second half of the 19th century, it became possible to mine the deeper seams of coal, and an important industry of
coal mining became the largest user of labour after the textile industry in Leigh.

This was the case for the Robinsons and also the Peakes.