Samuel Downe

Samuel Downe was born in Shrewsbury in 1804. Samuel was interviewed by Michael Sadler and his House of Commons Committee on 4th June, 1832.

Primary Sources

(1) Samuel Downe was interviewed by Michael Sadler and his House of Commons Committee on 4th June, 1832.

Question: At what time did you begin work in a factory?

Answer: About ten years of age.

Question: In whose mill did you work?

Answer: In Mr. Marshall's at Shrewsbury.

Question: What were the hours of work?

Answer: We used to generally to begin at five o'clock in the morning till eight at night.

Question: Have you been subjected to punishment?

Answer: Yes, I was strapped most severely till I could not bear to sit upon a chair without pillows, and I was forced to lie upon my face at night. I was put upon a man's back, and then strapped by the overlooker.

Question: What age were you at the time?

Answer: Between ten and eleven.

Question: What had you done?

Answer: I had never been in a mill where there was machinery, and it was winter time, and we worked by gas-light, and I could not catch the revolutions of the machinery to take the tow out of the hackles; it requires some practice, and I was timid at it.

Question: Was this beating common in the mill?

Answer: He was a very severe man. He was well known for it. I went to a justice of the peace and he said he had frequent complaints of him, and he would make an example of him.

Question: Was he made an example of?

Answer: No; my father desired that we should not go on with it; My father worked at Mr. Marshall's mill, and he was afraid, I suppose.