Working in the Shirt Factory

Working in the Shirt Factory

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Details

Location

Derry/Londonderry

Year

1964

Date

Production 01/10/1964

Length

16sec

Audio

mute

Format

16mm

black and white

Source

Funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland under the Archiving Scheme 2

Courtesy

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Department for Communities, ITV, UTV Archive

Rights Holder

ITV

It is illegal to download, copy, print or otherwise utilise in any other form this material, without written consent from the copyright holder.

Description

Inside one of Derry’s shirt factory where the women work to produce some of the finest shirts on sale anywhere. 

Notes

The decline of the domestic linen industry in Derry from the 1830s and the failure of a factory linen industry played a significant part in the birth of the shirt industry as there was a plentiful supply of female labour, skilled in working with linen, seeking employment. The sprigging industry (a form of embroidery) for a while gave employment to this workforce, but more importantly, for the future, it created a female labour force renowned for its skill in needlework. 

Shirtmaking in Derry reached its peak in the 1920s when the shirt factories, together with their associated outworkers, employed 18 000 people. Derry was the principal seat of the shirt industry in the UK and, Derry city became not only the shirt supplier of the UK but also of Europe and the British colonies. 

https://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/shirt-industry 

Credits

An Ulster Television Production.

Links

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