The Cotton Famine was the worst crisis in the cotton industry. It lasted for 4 years and had a devastating effect on the population of Preston and other Lancashire towns.

When the American Civil War broke out in 1861 supplies of raw cotton from the plantations in America virtually stopped. By the end of 1862 most Lancashire mills had been completely shut down. Those mills that remained open only worked for 2 ½ days a week. In Preston there was mass unemployment and extreme poverty.

Recent research by historians has uncovered that during the late 1850s the factories were making more cloth than they could sell. The owners began stock-piling cloth and reduced how much cloth was made until demand picked up again. 'Short time' working and mill closures were therefore the result of over-production not just the lack of supplies of raw cotton.

The 1862 Guild arch on Fishergate, taken by the Preston Camera Club.

The 1862 Guild was held in the worst period of the Cotton Famine. There was a strong feeling in the town that it should not have taken place. It was said that the money spent on decorations, entertainment and ceremony would have been better used in providing food, clothing and shelter to the poor and starving workers of the town. In 1862 work also began on a new town hall designed by the famous British architect George Gilbert Scott.

Unemployed workers in Preston were employed on public work schemes. In return for working for the Corporation workers received relief tickets which they exchanged for food and other goods. Moor Park, Avenham Park and Miller Park were all built at this time using unemployed cotton workers. By the late 1860s the cotton industry had recovered. This devastation event was however never forgotten.

More information about the Cotton Famine is available in the database.