Anne Shuttleworth 1873-?, Sabina Shuttleworth, 1875-1941, Polly Shuttleworth 1878-1851
George and Ann Shuttleworth married in 1860 in Halifax and came to live at Herbert Street in Saltaire. There they had 7 children. Where did they put them all! There were three girls: Anne born in 1873, Sabina born in 1875 and Polly born in 1878.
From 1891 the family lived at 31 Albert Road (now renumbered as 61) in Saltaire. George their father died there in 1899 and the girls all remained there with their widowed mother Ann.
George was a plush weaver and later a spinning overlooker at Salts Mill. The girls all followed their father to work in the mill.
Working life
Anne was a silk spinner and bowler and also worked as a burler and mender.
Sabina was a winder and then became a confectioner’s baker. On 13 June 1900 she married William Walker, who was a tea merchant. Sadly William died aged only 27 in 1903. Sabina continued as a baker and eventually moved in with her mother Ann and sisters at Albert Road. Sabina died in Wakefield in 1941.
Polly, the youngest of the 7 children, worked in the mill as a spinner and a weaver. She enrolled as a member of the Saltaire Congregational Church in 1901. In 1922 she emigrated to America and lived at Hartford, Connecticut and died there a spinster in 1951.
Anne, also known as Annie, later moved to 14 Tower Road. Shipley, where she remained until her death. Anne’s signature is noted in a book ‘Presented To James Roberts Esq on the occasion of his election as a Councillor representing the West Ward on Shipley Urban District Council of 3 April 1897’. Anne was a member of the Election Committee. A copy of the presentation is held in the Saltaire Collection.
A family history
Also living in Saltaire was another part of the Shuttleworth family. Seth and Margaret Shuttleworth (my husband’s great grand parents) were married in 1875. Emma the eldest of 4 ,was born in 1876 and she worked in Salts Mill as a silk spreader and a wool drawer. Emma married John Jeffrey in 1909 and lived in Bingley where she died in 1963.
To the Shuttleworth women Saltaire and the Mill would have been their whole world. Working in the mill would have been hard work, especially as they were so young when their Father died. Yet they had to support their mother.
Family history says that the girls carried on working at the mill all their lives and struggled when times were hard but were determined and strong characters. They worked hard and stuck together and held fast to their Shuttleworth name and to supporting each other.
Louise Shuttleworth 2026
Discover more working women associated with Saltaire
The Shuttleworth women appear in our online exhibition of Working women of Saltaire