Book Review - Rural Industries of the Lune Valley

TEXTILE mills, coal mining and quarrying are all part of the Lune Valley's history yet the area's beauty betrays the industry that once thrived there.

Rural Industries of the Lune Valley chronicles the rise and fall of these industries and the people who worked in them.

Written by a team of contributors, including Michael Winstanley, who also edited the book, it begins with Lunesdale and the Industrial Revolution.

Maps and photographs complement the text throughout a book that is obviously written with passion and knowledge.

The Lune Valley played its part in domestic textile production throughout the 16th and 17th century - the people had access to ample raw materials and yarns were spun in homes.

The Lune Valley may not normally be associated with coal mining but there is plenty of evidence to show that people in the area did extract 'Lonsdale Coals' over several hundred years.

Contributor Emmeline Garnett is a retired schoolteacher with a degree in English and a passion for local history.

She expertly details the Lune Valley's connection with basket making - the craft was carried out by local people using natural materials close at hand.

These included using the shoots of Salix viminalis which grew wild in the wetlands of the Lune river bed.

Felt hat making was an important industry in the region throughout the 18th and early 19th Centuries.

Wray was at the centre of the industry where felt hats were produced for more than 100 years.

Rural Industries of the Lune Valley gathers together all the different aspects of industry in the region.

The book is the work of Michael Winstanley, a senior lecturer in history at Lancaster University and his fellow contributors include James Price, head of Geography at St Martin's College; Christine Workman, a history teacher at Lancaster Girls' Grammar School; Phil Hudson who runs Hudson History in Settle; and Barbara Pidcock, a practising hand-loom weaver for more than 25 years.