Trade
clubs for bricklayers existed in most large towns in the 18th century.
The first attempt by bricklayers to combine took place in Nottingham
in 1814. Others followed and a bricklayers strike took place in Manchester
in 1818.
A London
Bricklayers Society was formed and by 1829 it had become the Operative
Bricklayers Society. By the mid 1840s the union had a membership of
about 1,400 out of a total workforce of some 62,000 men. Nearly all
union members worked in either London or
Manchester.
In 1859 the Operative Bricklayers' Society became involved in an industrial
dispute over demands for a nine-hour day. George
Howell emerged as the strike leader but after its defeat, Howell
was blacklisted and for the next five years found it impossible to
work as a bricklayer.
The Operative Bricklayers' Society found it difficult to develop a
truly national union. By 1900 the union had only 38,830 members. However,
nearly all these
men were based in London.
Operative Bricklayers Society Panel
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
