Bookbinders' and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union

Bookbinders' and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union
Merged into	National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers
Founded	19 October 1835
Dissolved	1 January 1911
Location	United Kingdom;
Members	4,657 (1911)
Publication	Circular
Affiliations	TUC, P&KTF, Labour

Last updated April 18, 2023

The Bookbinders and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union (B&MRCU) was a trade union representing people involved in the manufacturing of books in the United Kingdom.

The union was founded on 19 October 1835 in Manchester as the Bookbinders' Consolidated Relief Fund, with the principal aim of funding journeymen bookbinders to travel to other cities to find work, although it did also hope to improve the working conditions of bookbinders. It brought together local organisations around the UK, but it did not include the larger unions based in London and Edinburgh. Individuals could also join the union, but had to pay one guinea as an entrance fee.^[1]

In June 1836, the first chief secretary of the union, James Winkworth, claimed to have lost money provided to him to pay a printers' bill. The union's central committee believed that he had embezzled the money, and removed him from office. Four years later, Thomas Dunning persuaded the union to reorganise as the Bookbinders' Consolidated Union, a more centralised body, while he merged the various London unions to form the London Consolidated Lodge of Journeymen Bookbinders. The plan was for the London union to merge into the national union, and take over its leadership, but it was found to be in a weak financial position, and the national union decided to remain separate. The national union itself began struggling, and nearly collapsed in 1842, leading the headquarters of the union to move to the stronger branch in Dublin the following year.^[1]

Henry Searson became the chief secretary of the union in 1843, but after his wife died, he struggled to keep up with the work, and in 1847 a vote moved the headquarters of the union again, on this occasion to Liverpool. The union had grown significantly to 39 branches, and in 1854 an unemployment benefit for members was introduced. By 1855, the Liverpool branch was itself suffering from internal disputes, and the headquarters of the union were moved to Oxford. The union opened its first branch in London in 1857, directly competing with the London Consolidated Lodge. The headquarters moved to Manchester in 1858, by which time finances were again weak, as the unemployment benefit had been unexpectedly costly.^[1]

In 1872, the union was renamed as the Bookbinders' and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union, recognising a significant section of its membership. On 1 September, the Edinburgh Union Society of Journeymen Bookbinders, which had been involved in an unsuccessful strike, finally merged into the union. The rest of the decade was a difficult period, and in 1881 it was discovered that during it, secretary Richard Ballard had embezzled £202. He was able to avoid prosecution by refunding the money, but in light of this, the union headquarters were once again moved to Liverpool, and a new rule was introduced that no city could host the seat of the union for more than six years in a row. This led it to move to Glasgow in 1888, at which time it was found that the previous secretary, Daniel Hughes, had embezzled £211. In 1894, the headquarters moved to Bradford, which persuaded members to appoint a full-time chief secretary, this post going to the previous part-time holder, David Sharpe, who accordingly relocated to Bradford. The union affiliated to the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation, and in 1899 its headquarters returned to Manchester, then in 1905 to Sheffield.^[1]

The union established a general council for the first time in 1900, and this decided to affiliate to the Labour Representation Committee. Its membership continued to grow, and in 1908 it appointed an assistant secretary, W. H. Dyer defeating Robert Banner in a ballot.^[1]

On 1 January 1911, the union finally merged with the London Consolidated Society of Journeymen Bookbinders, the Society of Day-working Bookbinders of London and the Vellum (Account Book) Binders' Trade Society, to form the National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers.^[1]

General Secretaries

1835: James Winkworth

1836: John Dickinson

1840:

1843: Henry Searson

1847: Hugh Shimmin

c.1850: William Mason

1855: William Robinson

1855: Charles Bacon

1858: John Roberts

1860: George Owen

1872: Richard Ballard

1881: Charles Lloyd

1884: Daniel Hughes

1888: David Sharpe

1899: James Kelly

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine Winkworth</span> English hymn translator

Catherine Winkworth was an English hymnwriter and educator. She translated the German chorale tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She also worked for wider educational opportunities for girls, and translated biographies of two founders of religious sisterhoods. When 16, Winkworth appears to have coined a once well-known political pun, peccavi, "I have Sindh", relating to the British occupation of Sindh in colonial India.

The Bank of Liverpool was a financial institution founded in 1831 in Liverpool, England.

The Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers (ASB) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Many of its members worked in shipbuilding, in which industry it was the leading trade union, while over time it also developed strength in engineering and construction.

Thomas Joseph Dunning was an English bookbinder and trade unionist.

Bingley Building Society was a UK building society, which merged with the Bradford Equitable Building Society in 1964 to form the Bradford & Bingley Building Society. Bradford & Bingley fell victim to the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and is now part of Santander UK, while its mortgage book is owned by UK Financial Investments Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Williamson</span> English philanthropist and co-founder of RSPB

Emily Williamson, was an English philanthropist. She was co-founder of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) with Eliza Phillips in 1891. The society started as the Plumage League; it became the Society for the Protection of Birds, and was granted 'Royal' status in 1904. In 1891 she also established the Gentlewomen's Employment Association in Manchester.

William Allan was a British trade unionist.

The Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Printers (ASLP) was a trade union representing printers and their assistants in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Liverpool Women's Suffrage Society was set up in 1894 by Edith Bright, Lydia Allen Booth and Nessie Stewart-Brown to promote the enfranchisement of women. The society held its first meeting in a Liverpool temperance hall, with Millicent Fawcett, head of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), as its guest speaker. The society set up headquarters in Lord Street. The group became affiliated with the NUWSS in 1898, it held meetings in cafés which included talks, poetry and dance recitals. Members were recruited from prominent members of society and they distanced themselves from working class suffrage societies such as Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU).

The Vellum Binders' Trade Society was a British trade union formed in 1823, and with a tiny membership representing a small fraction of bookbinders.

The Printing and Kindred Trades Federation (P&KTF) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom.

The Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Millwrights' Friendly Society, also known as the Old Mechanics, was an early trade union representing engineers in the United Kingdom.

The National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers was a trade union representing bookbinders and related workers in the United Kingdom.

Richard Harnott was a British trade union leader.

Henry R. King was a British trade union leader. He was a leading advocate for women's trade unionism who served for many years as treasurer of the London Trades Council.

The National Association of Coopers was a trade union representing coopers in the United Kingdom, principally in London.

Edward Nicholas Friend, also known as Teddy Friend, was a British trade union leader.

The London Consolidated Lodge of Journeymen Bookbinders was a trade union representing bookbinders based in London.

The National Union of Scalemakers was a trade union representing workers involved in making weighing scales in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Robert Banner was a Scottish socialist politician and trade unionist.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Bundock, Clement (1959). The Story of the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers . Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 9–81.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[bundock-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bundock, Clement (1959). The Story of the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers . Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 9–81.

[1]