The domestic textile industry in Barlick developed slowly as improvements were made in weaving with the introduction of the flying shuttle and in spinning with the Brunswick wheel and eventually the spinning Jenny. Weaver's skills grew and by the beginning of the 18th century they were spinning linen thread, then a mixture of Linen and Wool called 'Linsey Woolsie' and even some silk. A major change after 1700 was the advent of cotton. The East India company had been importing yarn and light cotton cloths and they were so popular that demand rose and it became profitable for the clothiers and the domestic weavers to change over. The wool trade didn't vanish, as late as 1860 there were still what were known as 'weavers de laine' sticking to the older cloths. Apart from a few 'dandy shops' set up by enterprising weavers where they installed improved looms and paid people to come in and weave, the trade was still a domestic one.
This started to change after about 1750 in Barlick when there was a bottleneck in the trade. Due to the improved looms and the great demand for light cotton cloth the domestic spinners couldn't keep up with the weavers. The answer for some clothiers was to set up small water powered mills making 'roving' for the domestic spinners. This roving was the first stage in spinning, the production of a carded sliver of loosely twisted yarn that made domestic spinning much more productive. Notice that this isn't the famous Arkwright water frame, as far as I can tell all the early mills in Barlick were roving mills and never used water frames. Local clothiers, notably the Mitchells and the Bracewells took over virtually all the trade in Earby and Barlick and eventually became the first modern manufacturers or mill owners. When they did they seem to have moved on to the improved throstle spinning machinery and by 1830 were installing water powered looms in their mills as well. The biggest and most successful of these larger mills was Mitchell's Mill which eventually came under the ownership of John Slater in 1867 and became Clough Mill.
The advent of the factory system and textile production in mills was a death blow to the domestic industry. They couldn't compete on price and clothiers preferred to become mill owners because they could shut their work force in and make them work regular hours. The hand loom weavers wove for subsistence and when they had made enough money for the week they would take a holiday! Despite this, many of the old-timers carried on until late in the 19th century but they were a dying breed. For the majority, making a living became factory work not domestic industry and we begin to see what is now the norm in modern society. No more days off or going into the garden for the afternoon, they had to start keeping to time and working set hours, often locked into the mill and under strict discipline.
]Old Coates Mill started life as a watermill in the 18th century.