June 2025 Lunch

June saw some record-breaking temperatures, so Cuddington Golf Club’s air-conditioning was most welcome as chairman Norman Rodda welcomed a smaller than usual number of members to our monthly lunch. Fish lovers were in for a treat as we were served Sea Bass Florentine followed by Strawberries and Cream. The fish was delicious and complimented by the creamy spinach and peppers sauce with deep-fried new potatoes.

After lunch our speaker, Laurence Scales, gave us a fresh look at the Industrial Revolution. Laurence trained as an engineer at university and now leads walks around London on engineering themes and along the city’s canal towpaths. Whereas most of us tend to think of the Industrial Revolution as an eighteenth-century event he said that it had started much earlier with the construction of watermills, even before the Norman Conquest. Windmills came shortly after whilst the arrival of Cistercian monks from France brought more engineering skills. Mechanical clocks followed and the availability of gunpowder led to the need for improved metal working skills for weapon production.

Spinning and weaving had been a cottage industry for centuries but industrialisation was started in 1733 with the invention of the flying shuttle. Other exotically named inventions followed such as the spinning jenny and the spinning mule. By 1800 the textile industry was well established with huge mills in our northern towns. Steam power made its appearance replacing water.

Laurence discussed why so much innovation took place in this country as coal, iron and water was also available across Europe. He said that Britain being an island had not suffered so many cross border wars and also was not as feudal with an emerging merchant middle class who were free and willing to innovate. Immigrants fleeing religious or political persecution brought new skills from across the channel. Our speaker then answered questions before we left to brave the heat once more.

Chris Cuss