Soho House where the Lunar Society met.

The Industrial Revolution was another of those extraordinary jumps forward in the story of civilization.
Claudio Magris

Britain, in the early 18th Century, was still largely a rural economy but rapidly changing economic and social conditions were forcing the pace of profound changes. These would bring great wealth to Britain but sometimes at a significant cost to individuals and the communities that had to work with the impact day-to-day of these changes.

Agriculture, the mainstay of many peoples lives, was itself facing huge change. Enclosure  meant many families were forced to abandon land they had worked, leaving them facing famine. Population was growing very quickly and the end of the Napoleonic Wars placed many soldiers and sailors onto the street looking for work. There was not enough work and there was not enough food.

Many people turned to alternative sources of income and set themselves up in cottage industries such as spinning and weaving but the scale of such industry could only ever produce a meagre income.

Agricultural Change led to Industrial change

Whilst it would eventually bring work to many people, in it's initial stages the Industrial Revolution threatened people and their livelihoods.

Early inventions of the Industrial Revolution such as John Kay's Flying Shuttle did much to boost production even in the cottage industry but it was soon realized that the opportunity it offered to manufacturers for large scale production was immense but that was yet to come.

More inventions followed, Hargreave's Spinning Jenny, followed by Arkwright's water frame.

But the ordinary folk initially had risen to fear the Industrial Revolution and they resisted the change, breaking machines and disrupting manufacture where they could.

The pace of invention quickened.

Engineers such as James Watt and Matthew Boulton could see the potential of manufacturing and knew they had the engineering foresight to deliver the power. As Matthew Boulton said in 1776;

"I sell here Sir, what all the world desires to have, power"Matthew Boulton

Other engineers such as Telford and Brunel, designed and built canals, improved roads created tunnels and bridges and built railways.

By the end of the 19th Century, Britain was the industrial and manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

People were employed in a totally new way and therefore society changed but it took it's toll and it wasn't long before the pressures on society demanded reform in many areas of life. There was need for reform in social care through the Poor Laws, in working conditions and housing and reform in laws governing things such as child labour. The Industrial Revolution forced people to look at not just the wealth of the nation but the health of the nation.

Science and invention spilled over into other areas of life such as medicine and food production. The need and the desire of people to become better educated spurred new educational systems to develop.