Editing Whitwick (section)

===Framework knitting===
During the 18th century, framework knitting became an important [[cottage industry]] in the village, taking over from agriculture. As early as 1723/24, William Clark, son of William, was apprenticed to Joseph Howe. This apprenticeship was to run from Michaelmas 1723/24 for seven years.<ref name="Smith, Sheila 1984"/> By the beginning of the 19th century, [[Leicestershire]], [[Nottinghamshire]] and [[Derbyshire]] had become the centre of the British hosiery trade, taking over from London. In 1832, it is recorded that there were some 33,000 knitting frames in use in the [[English Midlands|Midlands]], of which the majority – 11,200, were in Leicestershire.<ref name="Smith, Sheila 1984"/>

In 1844, there were 423 knitting frames in Whitwick and by this time, the cottage industry had been in decline for some years. This appears to have been as a result of a change in fashions and also to the new type of hose being produced, which required fewer skills in the manufacture. From the middle of the 19th century, framework knitting began to be transferred from homes to the factories in larger towns. By 1851, it is recorded that the number of frames in Whitwick had dwindled to 240.<ref name="Smith, Sheila 1984"/>

Large hosiery factories appeared on Church Lane and at the top of The Dumps, shortly before the [[First World War]].