The book attempts to bring to life the social history of the period. The reader is invited to take a walk that includes a number of mills. The walk is set in the late 1800s early 1900s, and the detailed information on the mills ‘visited' follows each walk. Authentic information on other businesses is included in the walks to make them more realistic. Some walks could be taken today but others have been obscured by housing estates etc.
The book includes over 150 photographs, many previously unpublished, and over 100 old maps, It also has a new section ‘People' in which numerous stories about mill life relayed to me by Congleton people are recounted, many of them humorous. The history of cotton, silk and fustian is included and a history of all the famous businesses are covered, namely Stott & Smith, R.H. Lowe., Conlowe Ltd., Marsuma cigars, Silversprings and many more.

The book has been kept to A4 size because many of the maps would have been unreadable if the page size had been reduced. The 350 pages includes a detailed index of the occupation of mills by businesses dating back to the early 1800s, useful for family tree addicts. There are two further indexes, an alphabetical and a general index to ensure the reader can find his/her way around the text.

The book sells for £15 and is available from the Tourist Information Centre Congleton, Congleton Museum, Congleton Chronicle Offices or from myself 01260 271471