The following pages are the first chapter of a book that may be downloaded from this site as a PDF. The second chapter (not shown here) provides further information about the Wandle river and its mills, the West Ham Abbey Print Works and the Crayford/Dartford mills. The third chapter (not shown here) gives a brief history of calico printing and describes the process.

James Wagland’s biography is written in six sections. The first describes all that we know about his ancestors. His life is described in the next three sections: from his birth in 1808 until the 1850s; from when he took over the Garratt Print Works in the late 1850s until his death in 1881; and the expansion of his family with his children’s marriages. The last two sections describe the immediate aftermath of his death, and a short description of the lives of his wife and children following his death.

Ancestors – flowing down the Wandle

James Wagland: from Merton to West Ham and back again (1800s to 1850s)

James Wagland: from Merton to Summerstown (1860s to 1880s)

James Wagland: his family expands

James Wagland: death and aftermath

And the rest is history

Appendix - Fabric designs registered with the Board of Trade (1862 to 1864)