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TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > History > The State of British Industry between 1846 and 1868

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Contents 1 Why was this such a period of growth for British industry? 2 How important were the railways to Great Britain? 3 To what extent was this a period of industrial boom? 4 Comments

Why was this such a period of growth for British industry?

• The 1850s and 1860s are always seen as the high point in the growth and development of the British economy. Some of the reasons for Britain’s success were the complete absence of any serious rivals, either in Europe or elsewhere. Other reasons were a good banking system, a superb geographical position, a tradition of international trade, an excellent transport network and a growing home market.
• However, as with agriculture, warning signs could be seen:
  • A lack of investment in new technologies
  • A decline in entrepreneurship
  • A poor educational system
  • A growing social divide between those who generated the wealth and jobs, and the political and social elite who wished to have less and less to do with ‘trade’, and who failed to understand its needs and its role in the creation of wealth.
• Viewed from almost any angle this was a period of ‘boom’. The ‘feel good’ factor was evident wherever you looked. The ‘Great Exhibition’ in London at the beginning of the period demonstrated the ingenuity and longstanding success of British industry.
• The boom used large amounts of labour in any town or city - Aberdeen to Glasgow, Leamington Spa to London - which is illustrated in large housing developments from the 1850s and 1860s onwards.
• Prices, investment and production rose.
• The quantity theory of money points to the increase in gold supply (there were discoveries in California in 1848 and Australia in 1852, the bulk of which ended up in vaults in the Bank of England).
• The rise in public demand, however, seems to be the primary reason. The demand for British manufactured goods was stimulated by wars such as the Crimean in the 1850s and the American Civil War of the early 1860s. Reasonably inelastic supply and increased demand was bound to have a healthy impact on prices from the British point of view.
• Britain made a great deal of money in opening up and developing industries in other countries.

How important were the railways to Great Britain?

• There was a growth in the capital market: many people who had never invested before did so with railways.
• The industry employed large amounts of labour. However there were peaks and troughs. It could go as high as 250,000 but dip as low as 40,000.
• This increased spending power then led on to the multiplier effect as it created jobs for bankers, lawyers etc.
• The demand the railways had for iron and steel was huge, and it also encouraged the technological development in the iron industry. With a steady increase in demand at home the overseas markets could be developed. This was vital for the growth of the South Wales iron and steel industry.
• The demand for coal grew, and so did the services required from the mechanical and civil engineers.
• The miles of track available went from 6,000 miles in 1850 to 13,500 by the late 1860s. Every mile of track needed more than 300 tons of iron.
• The huge fruit and veg industry around the Vale of Evesham in central England grew rapidly as the produce could be inside the major cities within hours.
• Obviously the canal operators/investors and the owners of coaching inns suffered. Coastal shipping was also hit.
• The suburb became the feature of the city. Railway towns like Swindon and Crewe grew, and the working class became more mobile as there was at last a cheap form of transport other than walking.
• The growth of the railway was largely unchecked throughout the period. There was regulation in an act of 1844, but little thereafter, in spite of concerns about safety and company concentration.
• There was a Royal Commission in 1865, which reported in 1868, recommending few changes.
• With over 200 MPs and Peers involved in railways, as directors and so on, there was little likelihood of demand or desire to reform.

To what extent was this a period of industrial boom?

• There was also the possible misapprehension that the boom was caused by free trade.
• There was too great a dependence on single industries such as textiles.
• When the American Civil War broke out, the supply of the vital raw material cotton dried up. Lancashire was devastated and the workhouses could not cope.
• Countries that were to be future rivals - USA, Germany - were involved in wars, from which Britain benefited.
• There was little or no investment in vital areas such as coal cutting. It was still done by a man with a pick.
• However, Henry Bessemer made vital inventions in steel manufacturing in 1856, and a product of real quality produced in 1858 in Sheffield, but it took a long time for the benefits of steel to be known.
• There was too great a dependence on world trade.

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