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INDUSTRIES INTRODUCTION BERKSHIRE can scarcely be said to rank high amongst the coun- ties of England in the number, extent or importance of its industries, but it possesses some features of peculiar interest which are worthy of historical study. The supremacy of Berk- shire as a rich cloth-making county which, according to Ashmole, ' supplied almost the whole nation ' with its wares, has long since passed away. It possesses no great industrial centres like Birmingham, Southwark, or the great cities of the north of England ; but industrial activity is not wanting in the county. The facilities of communication have never been lacking in Berkshire, and these have contributed mainly to its pros- perity. The great river Thames that bounds the county on its northern and eastern sides, a net-work of canals and rivers made navigable by former enterprise, and in recent times the numerous and important railways that connect the county with London, the West-country and the Midlands, have all contributed to the increase of the trade of the county at various periods of its commercial history ; and the progress hitherto made is not likely to be discontinued. In taking a survey, necessarily somewhat cursory, of the chief industries that have been fostered in this county, we shall consider here the conditions that have promoted their birth and development, and, when such has to be recorded, that have led to their subse- quent decay. Industries, the history of which is of special interest and value, will be reserved for more particular treatment after- wards. We need not concern ourselves with the ancient industries of prehistoric man who manufactured his flint implements, and made garments with his bone needles. An account of such manufactories has already been given in this volume in the chapter on Prehistoric Berkshire. 1 The chapter on Roman Britain also furnishes some information with regard to the trades of the county at that period. i V.C.E. Berks, L The vicinity of the great Roman city of Silchester, where recent excavation has re- vealed the existence of dye-works ; the great roads that traversed the county, and the remains of numerous villas, testify to the prosperity of Berkshire under the Roman rule. The Saxon farmers laid the foundations of agriculture, which has been the main industry of the county since the time when they made their clearings in the forests and established their village communities. In this task they were greatly aided by the monks of Abingdon, and the chronicle of that abbey throws much light upon the early foundation of trade in Berkshire and its agricultural development. The ships of the abbot conveyed goods along the Thames, 2 the situation of the monastery upon the banks of a navigable river con- tributing materially to the development of its capabilities, and affording an easy com- munication with Oxford on the one hand and with London on the other for the sale of its produce. The abbey enjoyed the valuable privilege of a fair or market within its town. 3 The keenness with which the exercise of this right was attacked, and the pertinacity with which it was defended, afford proof of the value at which it was regarded by the con- tending parties, its chief opponents being the men of the neighbouring town of Walling- ford. 4 The natural resources of the county are not favourable to the growth of industries other than agriculture. Ashmole states that ' this county may be valued rather for its pleasant situation than its fertility, the air being generally healthy even in its lowest vales, which may be judged to be the reason of the high price which the land of this county bears. 6 This eminent authority should have excepted from a charge of want of fer- tility the Vale of the White Horse district, which contains some of the most fertile 2 Abingdon Chron. ii. 95, 119. 3 Ibid. pp. 1 80, 217, etc. Ibid. pp. 227, 228, 229. 8 Ashmole, Berkshire, i. p. xxix. 371