"Lancashire Accents, Lancashire Goods and Lancashire Girls": Local Identity and the Image of the Cotton Industry in the Inter-war Period. (3rd July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Southern, Jack
• Is Part Of: International journal of regional and local history. Volume 12:Number 2(2017)
• Page Start: 77
• Page End: 91
• Publication Date: 2017-07-03
• Subjects: Cotton industry -- civic pride -- northern identity -- cotton queens -- cotton week -- inter-war period -- Lancashire -- British textiles; Regions (Administrative and political divisions) -- History -- Periodicals; Cities and towns -- History -- Periodicals; Local government -- History -- Periodicals; Local history -- Periodicals; 900
• DOI: 10.1080/20514530.2017.1400716
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2051-4530

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The production of cotton in Lancashire formed an important part of Lancastrian identity, given the dominance of the industry in that area of the North. However, the decline of the industry during the early twentieth century, particularly during the inter-war period, saw the need to promote the industry to the nation. This article will examine how the image of the cotton industry was projected to a wider audience and, in so doing, sought to challenge long-held assumptions of the North. This will include highlighting the role of civic pride, pageantry, and the election of Cotton Queens, which ultimately showed how the sense of place and pride in the cotton industry was a central facet of living through industrial decline.