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The parish of Studley in 1841 comprised the village itself and the hamlets of Littlewood Green, Washford, Mappleborough Green, Clarke's Green and Outhill. There were 398 houses and 1992 inhabitants , with 5070 acres of land. Studley, then as now, was noted for its manufacture of needles, with about 800 being employed.
Needlemaking was carried on to some extent as a cottage industry, viz. certain people carried out the pointing operation, other people stamping and eyeing, others grinding and so on, with hardening and scouring.
There were, in other trades in l84l the following:
| Farmers (22) | Needlemakers and Manufacturers (19) | Black-smiths (4) | Boot and shoe Makers (8) |
| Butchers (6) | Grocers (10) | Druggists (3) | Ironmongers (2) |
| Joiners (3) | Linen and Woollen Drapers (3) | Maltsters (5) | Surgeons (2) |
| Tailors (2) | Wheelwrights (3) | Other Trades (20) | |
| Inns and Taverns (7), including the following: 'Horse and Groom' - Joseph Gibbs, 'Marlborough Head' - Elizabeth Priest, 'The Greyhound' - Charlotte Stockday of Mappleborough Green. Also, five beerhouses. | |||
About 1850 my Great Great Grandfather, Joseph Horton, lived in Crooks Lane and worked as a needlemaker. By the 1860s his son, my Great Grandfather, William Horton, had become established in his own needlemaking business at 'The Mount', Church Street (opposite the Catholic church). By 1875 they also made swivels for the fishing tackle trade. In the needle trade they did the wire cutting, stamping, eyeing and grinding operations. the needles were then sent out for hardening and scouring.
My grandfather, Frederick Horton, took over the business c.1895 and continued the production of needles and swivels until the First World War, when they ceased needle making and concentrated on swivels and general printing. After the war, they produced swivels for various Redditch fishing tackle firms. The shop contained several kick-stamps and hand presses for stamping and eyeing.
The following is a list of the operations: a length of wire was cut and then stamped with about 30 eyes; these were pierced by a hand press and then clipped for the complete swivel; these were completed by the fishing tackle firm.
They ceased trading when my Grandfather, Frederick, died. My father, Frederick William, a needle toolmaker, continued in the trade until his death in 1950. I, also, continued in the trade with Needle Industries, Ltd. from 1951 until my retirement in 1988 in cost accountancy.
© Alcester & District Local History Society 1991