1830-1913
Major improvement to transport and communication systems brought crucial developments. The railways reduced the time and cost of travel and improved reliability in transporting cotton to the Lancashire towns.
The Liverpool Cotton Brokers’ Association was established in 1841 and it quickly established a successful system of arbitration. The Transatlantic Telegraph Cable reduced long distance communication from weeks to minutes.
Liverpool broker John Rew recognised the far-reaching implications of this development and created the hedge fund system. This led to the hugely successful Liverpool Cotton Futures Market, which doubled the business of the Liverpool Cotton Market. In 1911-12 Liverpool imported a staggering 5,230,399 bales of cotton.
15 September 1830
The first railway journey from Liverpool to Manchester is made
The railways were key to the development of the Liverpool Cotton Market. It made travelling from Liverpool to the cotton…
4 July 1840
The "Britannia" sails from Liverpool to Boston
Samuel Cunard’s steamer arrived in Boston just over two weeks later, which marked the start of a revolution in the…
6 January 1854
The Great Snowball Fight at Exchange Flags breaks out
Eyewitness accounts vary as to how it all started. Some said that cotton and share brokers, traditionally bitter rivals, dared…
c.1866-1867
John Rew invents the hedge fund system
Inspiration came from a Liverpool man who had worked at the Bank of Liverpool from the age of 15 before…
1881
Liverpool Cotton Merchants set up the Liverpool Cotton Exchange
While the Bank and Clearing House were immensely successful for the brokers, it put Liverpool’s cotton merchants at a disadvantage.…
30 November 1906
The Liverpool Cotton Exchange Building is officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales
Within a few short years, the indoor accommodation at Brown’s Buildings proved inadequate for the increasing hoards of traders in…
1911-1912
Liverpool imports a record figure of 5,230,399 bales of cotton of all growths
Just over 200 years ago, in 1708, the first slaver left Liverpool to return a year later with a small…
