Ossett's shoddy and mungo trade

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

(Article originally posted 24 August 2022)

In this special post, our Research Volunteer Sarah Hulme tells us about her experience looking into the mungo and shoddy industry in Ossett. Ossett was once home to over forty mills. Its production of mungo and shoddy shaped the town as we know it today.

A black and white photograph of two men sat on a delivery truck, which has 'Edward Clay & Sons, Mungo Manufacturers, Ossett' written on it. Behind the truck is a low brick wall with iron railings and trees behind.

Photograph of Edward Clay, from Edward Clay and Sons, Ossett, with his delivery van (image courtesy of John Clay)

Where does the word 'shoddy' come from?

Today the word ‘shoddy’ refers to a job poorly done or something of poor quality. Did you know that the origins of this word actually come from the textile industry in the Heavy Woollen District? The Heavy Woollen District included Batley, Dewsbury, Morley and Ossett and some surrounding towns in the mid-19th century.

An image of a piece of brown-coloured rough looking cloth, with a light blue background

A piece of undyed shoddy (image courtesy of Kirklees Museums and Galleries)

In the 1990s, travelling by train from Leeds to Huddersfield every day for work, I would see a beautiful, Victorian mill building from Dewsbury Station. Painted on to the front of this in white antique lettering were the words 'Established. 1856, Machell Brothers Limited, Shoddy and Mungo Manufacturers'. I always wondered what this meant but, rushing to work, I never took the time to look it up.

Looking into Wakefield district’s textile heritage, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting experts in Ossett’s textile heritage. From our conversations I discovered more about what these textiles are and why their production in Ossett from the mid-19th century was so hugely important to Ossett’s history, architecture, economy and people.

What is shoddy?

Shoddy is the production of a recovered or recycled inferior quality yarn or fabric. It is made using the shredded fibres of woollen knitted cloth (cardigans, sweaters) rags or tailors’ clippings. This gives a length of threaded material to be mixed with new wool and formed into reclaimed cloth.

The negative association to the word ‘shoddy’ has arisen because shoddy was a low status fibre that poor people wore. It was made into overcoats, military uniforms, blankets and horse rugs. Rags that weren’t mixed with new wool became flock. This ended up being used for upholstery or to stuff mattresses or saddles.

Shoddy production created a wide range of associated trades from rag and bone men, to rag merchants, rag sorters and packers, dyers, rag traders and mill owners.

What is mungo?

Mungo was a different material from shoddy because it was made up of shorter and very fine fibres. It was made by shredding felted or woven items like hats, worsted suits and woollen material.

I recently spoke to John Clay, Managing Director of Edward Clay & Son Ltd., who explained to me the story of the origins of the word mungo. “The story goes that due to the shorter, woven fibres in mungo it was more difficult to shred and ‘wouldn’t go’ when spun, so the colloquial term ‘mun go’ arose, meaning ‘wouldn’t go’.”

Mungo and shoddy in Ossett

The Latin phrase 'Inutile Utile Ex Arte', on the unofficial coat of arms of Ossett means 'Useful things made useful by skills'.

This is said to refer to the mungo and shoddy heritage of the town.

A coat of arms featuring images of a hay stack, the wool trade, mill buildings and a colliery

The unofficial coat of arms of Ossett (image courtesy of www.ossett.net)

In the early 1800s, the Napoleonic Wars led to a shortage of wool imports and woollen products. Clever business owners repurposed wool out of waste wool.

Shoddy was first made in Batley by Benjamin Law in 1813. Between 1800 and 1850 the mungo and shoddy trade led to a tripling of the populations of the towns of Batley and Dewsbury. This expansion led mungo and shoddy producers to look to neighbouring towns for new mill sites.

Why Ossett?

Ossett’s location on the river Calder and its new railway station led to it becoming home to over forty mills, numerous dye sheds and rag warehouses in the 1850s.

The Calder and Hebble Navigation was finished in 1770 providing waterways to transport mungo and shoddy. The river Calder was also used by Ossett’s mills in the recovered wool production process.

In 1848, railway stations opened across Batley, Dewsbury, Morley and Ossett. Huge bales of rags could be brought in from all over the UK and Europe. Finished mungo and shoddy was easily exported by rail from these towns.

Rag merchants at the time organised huge rag auctions at train station forecourts that were incredibly popular.

A journalist described dealers overcome by "visions of filthy rags being transmitted into shining gold" at the train depots of Batley and Dewsbury, as the thousands of bales arrived at the station from abroad. (From Devil’s Dust To The Renaissance of Rags, Shoddy, by Hanna Rose Shell.)

A black and white photograph showing several groups of women walking between mill buildings

Victoria Mill, 1950s, female staff leaving for home after work. (Image courtesy of Neville Ashby, www.ossett.net)

From rags to riches

The mungo and shoddy industry brought huge wealth to the mill owners in Ossett. These industrialists were able to buy land and build detached Victorian villas in Ossett with their newfound wealth.

John Clay spoke of the number of these families that bought second homes in Runswick Bay on the North Yorkshire Coast. It became referred to as ‘Ossett by the Sea’.

The descendants of several mungo and shoddy mill owning families in Ossett remain in the town today.

Image of a poster with text reading 'Ossett Street Side, Near Dewsbury, Valuable Freehold Mill, Dwelling Houses and Land, To Be Sold by Auction, by Messrs Cullingworth and Son'

Poster for the sale of Flushdyke Mill, Ossett (image courtesy of Kirklees Museums and Galleries)

19th century recycling to 20th century industrial decline

How did this great idea to recycle wool from leftover rags not become a green recycling industry today?

Repurposing wool was a great example of recycling. Leftovers of textile waste and dust from the mungo and shoddy process were even spread over soil in the nearby rhubarb growing fields as fertiliser! Whilst the idea of recycling woollen rags and reusing them was a great idea, the working conditions in the 1800s in the mills and rag warehouses were poor.

Breathing in textile dust all day caused ‘shoddy fever’. Women often worked as rag sorters and children fixing broken looms. There were several deaths due to accidents with poorly maintained machinery.

After the Second World War the mungo and shoddy industry fell into decline. With the arrival of synthetic fibres and ‘off the peg’ suits, wool was less in demand. Surviving mills have diversified into producing other felt products using mungo and shoddy rather than products for the garment industry. Products for mattress fillings, hanging basket liners and insulation are still produced using a similar process.

Today with the climate crisis, businesses are looking again at the processes of mungo and shoddy to see how they can be transformed into a safe modern business that is great for the environment.