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Abstract
The paper discusses the room and power system which before the First World War offered an appropriate form of organisation for cotton weaving in major sections of the British industry. The system was successfully adopted in a range of local circumstances and for a variety of fabric types. Its primary advantage was the reduction of entry barriers by reconciling the very low minimum economic scale of cotton manufacture with the much larger scale required for a weaving shed and related facilities. During the years of decline, the system became less useful, not least because it reinforced the fragmentation of the industry and created obstacles to investment.