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The Richardsons of Bessbrook – Ulster Quakers in the linen industry (1845-1921)
by Richard S. Harrison
Format: Hardback
Publication date: 19th January, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-906018-83-2
Price: €24
Using, among other sources, the large holdings of manuscript business material held at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland, this work traces the evolution of the Ulster linen industry through three generations of the Richardson family.
This study in Irish commercial and industrial history has as its core theme the Richardsons of Bessbrook, Co. Armagh, one of the several Irish Quaker families of Ulster and the Lagan valley who were involved in the linen industry from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.
The Richardson linen-spinning enterprise at Bessbrook was set up as the Great Famine of 1845-49 threatened. In their purpose-built town they endeavoured to promote the best conditions for their workers, as well as for the productivity of their firm. Although this study is primarily a business history, the introduction brings out the philanthropic and physical background of Bessbrook. John G. Richardson its founder, was a promoter of temperance and his son, James N. Richardson III, was elected in 1880, as Liberal MP for Co. Armagh.
About the author
Richard S. Harrison is a member of the Religious Society of Friends and a graduate of Trinity College Dublin. He is the author of A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Quakers (Dublin, 2008) and has written several works on Quaker, business and Cork themes.
