Samuel Hill was born in Somercotes in 1859. His father William (1832-1903) was a colliery agent, and his mother Eliza was from Shardlow. By 1871 the family had moved to Station Street, Long Eaton and were living with William’s father, a coal merchant. Samuel was in the lace trade, which was booming at the time, as labour in Long Eaton was cheaper than Nottingham and the canal and railway were conveniently placed for the delivery of coal to run the steam-powered factories. Samuel had started to raise money for his own factory whilst still in his teens, but he fell out with his creditors, and it took him 3 years to pay them off. In 1879 he started a partnership with his father. The same year Samuel married Mary Jane Draper in Radford and moved to Regent Street in Long Eaton. In 1882 Samuel and his father had a factory built on Princess Street, near Lime Grove (where the parking for West Park is now), at a cost of £4,000-£5,000. It was a 3-storey building, about 12 windows wide. It was steam powered and had a large chimney. The Hill family had most of the top floor, with half a […]
Daily archives: December 1, 2024
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