50 years ago it was common to hear references in conversation to 'The Forty Thieves', a shadowy cabal of prominent people in the town thought by many to be running the place behind the scenes for their own benefit. As I learned more about Barlick and talked to many people involved I realised that there was a grain of truth in the allegation but that as far as I could see their existence was a great benefit to the town.
My picture this week is of the directors of the Calf Hall Shed Company outside the gate of Butts Mill on September 23 1948. Just for the record, here are their names: (left to right) Edward Wood of Proctor and Proctor, Burnley, chairman. Moses Horsfield, Barlick, manufacturer. Richard Jacques, architect of Barrowford. Harold Duxbury, builder, Barlick. John Vernon Patrick, grocer, Barlick. Norman M Barrett, architect, Barlick and Victor Hedges of Proctor and Proctor, company secretary. Four of these men, being Barlickers, qualify for possible Forty Thieves status. I know this because I asked Harold (who was incapable of telling a lie) about the epithet and he agreed that the group did exist but not as an organised body. They were simply prominent business people who occasionally found themselves in a position where they had to take decisions that affected the town and its inhabitants.
So the question is, what do I know about these decisions? I can only speak with certainty about the four Barlickers in the picture. As hard-headed businessmen and directors of the CHSC they were party to how the company was run and in my opinion, the CHSC and the similar Long Ing Shed Company were the saviours of the town after the death of Billycock Bracewell and the collapse of his business empire which was founded on debt and had an outdated business model. The shed companies stepped into the vacuum and reinvigorated the textile industry in the town by adopting the Room and Power model of renting to tenants who specialised in weaving. The shed companies prospered and so did their tenants to the extent that later in the 19th century they had enough capital to build their own mills. This is how Barlick ended up in 1914 with fourteen mills and 25,000 looms, one of the heaviest concentrations ever seen in the industry.
I have no doubt that these men did good on the whole and deserve recognition as benefactors and not robber barons. One thing is certain, they stepped in at a time when the outlook was bleak and twenty five years later we had a very prosperous town with an enormous number of new buildings and houses and modern mains services. All this stemmed from the profits from the mills and the first seeds were sown by the shed companies. Perhaps we need a modern version of the Forty Thieves! It would certainly be an improvement if profits made in the town were re-invested here. Is anyone listening?
The directors of the CHSC outside Butts Mill in 1948.
