Linguapress

The Industrial Revolution

How and why did it start in Britain?

Advanced level English

Linguapress. English Advanced Intermediate Language
com grammar reading reading games and
puzzles

► You are here : Linguapress English › Advanced › The

industrial revolution
Economic and social history

WITH AUDIO ►: Click to open/close audio player

Two words define the historic process called the

Industrial Revolution. Coal and Iron. Britain had
(and still has) large quantities of both. But the
Industrial Revolution was a lot more than just
the development of new industrial processes.

► For vocabulary guide, see below.

In
the year 1701, a pioneering English farmer called
Jethro Tull made a historic invention. By modern
standards, it was a fairly simple device - a
wheeled machine that allowed farmers to sow seeds in
rows in their fields, rather than scattering them by hand.
Yet the impact of Tull's "seed drill" was monumental.
Mechanised sowing was much faster, and used far less
seed, than traditional "broadcasting" by hand. It allowed
farms to became bigger and more efficient, while requiring
fewer workers than in the past. In short, it was one of the
small details that precipitated a massive social change,
allowing Britain to begin transitioning from an agricultural
economy, to an industrial economy.
It Best-sellers from Linguapress
was the
start of the
"Industrial

► Linguapress titles available

worldwide from Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, Blackwells and other outlets
Revolution", a historic process whereby traditional rural
economies were replaced by a new economic model,
based on cities and industry. The process started in
Britain; but why Britain? What was special about Britain in
those times?
Like other European countries, Britain had
begun, in the 17th century, to set up the bases of a new
commercial economy. The first banks had been founded,
London had acquired a stock exchange, and other
trading institutions, and international trade was
developing. But what set Britain apart from other
countries, notably France and Spain, was that at the
same time Britain also developed other key institutions
and social features that would stimulate change: a
parliamentary system with political parties, more and
more "public" schools to educate a part of the population,
and above all a Protestant ethic, which encouraged
innovation, science, work, and the generation of wealth.

Eight years after Tull invented the seed drill, a Quaker

ironmaster called Abraham Darby developed a new
method of smelting iron using coke instead of charcoal.
This was a pivotal breakthrough. Coke, made from coal,
was cheaper and far more available than ch arcoal,
which came from wood. People in Europe had been
making things out of iron since prehistoric times; but until
Darby came up with his new process, making iron was a
cottage industry, concentrated in forests, where there was
plenty of wood. Thanks to Darby, it could move away from
forests and rivers, and set up production in places where
there were large deposits of iron and coal. From then on,
iron could be produced on a much larger scale and at
lower costs. And significantly, new larger ironworks could
make much larger objects than in the past. Iron became a
building material, stronger and more versatile than wood.
Offering employment for some of the men driven
away from rural areas as a result of the mechanisation of
agriculture, new larger industrial ironworks stimulated a
rural exodus, that was to transform society in Britain over
the following two hundred years. However more changes,
more inventions, were needed before the new industrial
age could really develop; fortunately the inventions kept
coming.

Water was the source of power in the first industrial factories - here at
Cromford Mill, now a UNESCO world heritage site.

One of Britain's major traditional industries was

weaving, making cloth that was later transformed into
clothes and fabrics. Until the middle of the 18th century,
this work was done by people working at home; but then,
in quick succession, three more inventions allowed the
mechanisation of textile production in Britain. Within a
generation, the textile industry had moved out of homes
and cottages, and into large new factories, or mills as they
were called at the time.
The first mills were set up next to rivers, as they
needed water power to drive the new mechanical looms;
but the age of water power was coming to an end. By the
middle of the century, the power of steam was already
being used, and in 1769 a man called James Watt
discovered how to harness steam power to turn wheels.
From then on, most of the ingredients needed for the
development of Britain's industrial economy were in place:
new factories where goods could be produced cheaply
and in large quantities; people to work in the factories,
and abundant sources of energy (coal) to drive the new
machines with rotary motion, which were essential in most
new industrial processes. All that was lacking was a
transport system that could move large volumes of goods
from the factories and mines, which were mostly in the
north and middle of England, to the consumers in other
parts of the country.
Until the eighteenth century, most goods (what we
would today call consumer products) were made and sold
locally. With the transport systems of the pre-industrial
age, it was not easy to move goods in large quantities
from the place of production, to distant places of
consumption. The roads of the time, and the few new
canals, were totally inadequate, and transport was very
slow.... and dangerous. Nevertheless, being an island,
Britain already had one big advantage over the countries
of continental Europe; goods could be transported quite
easily, and in larger quantities, around the coast. Indeed,
since the 14th century, people in London had been
burning coal mined near Newcastle, 300 miles away in
the northeast of England. But few coal mines were at the
seaside, most of them, and most factories, were inland. A
new, faster and more direct transport network was
required. It did not take long to appear.
In the year 1801, a Cornish engineer called
Richard Trevithick adapted Watt's steam engine to create
the world's first steam-powered vehicle. Within twenty
years, the first railways were being built. The first intercity
passenger railway, between the industrial cities of
Liverpool and Manchester, opened in 1830; from then on,
everything was in place for the development of the new
industrial economy.
Being the world's first industrial economy, Britain
remained the main economic power for almost a century.
Yet other countries were looking on, and adapting their
economies too. Though the British industrial economy
kept growing throughout the 19th century, other countries
were catching up, and by 1870 both Germany and the
United States were vying for the position of world's
leading economy. Slowly the relative importance of the
British economy declined ; and after the "industrial age"
drew to an end in the 1980's, the decline continued.
Today Britain remains among the top six or
seven economic powers in the world, but the era when it
led the world is now well in the past.
.
WORDS device: machine, apparatus - seeds: grains to
sow - stock exchange: place where stocks, i.e.
participation in companies, are bougt and sold - ethic:
philosophy, code of morals - innovation: something new -
Quaker: a strict Protestant - smelting: producing in a fire
- breakthrough: innovation - versatile: flexible, usable in
many ways - stimulate: provoke, cause - exodus:
movement out of one place and to another - cloth:
textiles before anything is made from them - fabrics:
finished textiles - looms: machines on which wool or
other textiles can be worked - to harness: to use -
lacking: absent - Cornish: from Cornwall - vying:
competing.

Industrial Revolution heritage sites in Britain. Major

sites from the Industrial Revolution were among the first in
Britain to listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The
two key sites are the multiple site at Ironbridge Gorge,
known as the Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, and
the Derwent Valley Mills, the world's first mechanised
factories.

Copyright © Linguapress. Do not copy this document to

any other website
Copying permitted for personal study, or by teachers for
use with their students

STUDENTS' WORKSHEET - printable

The Industrial Revolution in Britain

Interactive exercises. Use on screen or on paper :

in preparation.

1. Sequencing. Put these eight sentences into

chronological order, based on information from the text,
for example a = 8 (this is wrong!)

a. New inventions allow textile production to

move from homes into large factories.

b. The steam engine is adapted, creating the

first steam-powered vehicle.
c. The first banks are set up in Britain.

d. Other countries begin catching up with

Britain's industrial economy.
e. Mechanised farming reduces the need for
rural labor, pushing people to find work
elsewhere.
f. A new method of smelting iron using coke
makes large-scale iron production possible.

g. The first passenger railway line connects

two major industrial cities.
h. Steam power begins to replace water
power in driving industrial machines.

2 Vocabulary and understanding. Working from memory,

if possible, select the correct option from each of the
selection boxes, to reconstitute the original paragraph.

The first were set up next to

, as they needed power to drive the
new looms; but the age of
power was coming to an end. By the
of the century, the power of was
already being , and in 1769 a
man called James Watt discovered
to harness power to turn
. From then on, most of the ingredients
needed for the of Britain's
industrial were in place: new
where could be produced
and in large ; people to
work... , and abundant sources of
(coal) to drive the new machines with rotary
, which were essential in most new
industrial .

3 Correct the mistakes. Here is a copy of part of the

article, Unfortunately, it contains twenty mistakes.
Mistakes may concern vocabulary or grammar. Can you
pick them out, and correct them, changing the text as little
as possible. The extract in the box below can be directly
edited, and the new text you type will show in red. To print
or save your changes, either print the page, or save it as
a .pdf file.

Ten years after Tull invented the seed drill, a

Quacker ironmaster called Abraham Darby
developed a new method of melting iron using
coalinstead charcoal. This was a pivotal
breakdown. Coal, made from wood, was cheaper
and far more available as charcoal, which came
from wool. People in Europe has been making
things out of iron since historic times; but unless
Darby came off with his new process, make iron
was a cottage industry, concentrated in forests,
where there was plenty of water. Thanks Darby, it
could move back from forests and rivers, and set off
production in places where there were large
deposits of water and coal.

For teachers
Warm up activity.
Ask students if they know what is implied by the
expression "Industrial revolution". Maybe they will have no
idea. If so, tell thm that it was a period in history when
countries moved from an essentially rural economy, to an
industrial economy. Now ask them for more ideas.

This article is very concentrated; it covers two centuries of

British socioeconomic history, in just over 1000 words,
and for this reason it fails to mention many of the
collateral effects of the Industrial Revolution, and many of
the negative sides of economic change in Britain and
Europe in the 18th century. It was an age when a lot of
families grew rich on the proceeds of slavery, and the
men and women who went to work in the new cities and
factories - not to mention the coal mines - were often
exploited, working long hours in bad conditions for little
pay. On the other hand, badly paid work in the factories
was often the lesser of two evils – the other being no work
at all, and abject poverty in struggling rural communities.
Conditions were harsh. It can be noted that while slavery
was essential for the economies of many British colonies,
specially in the Caribbean, slavery was never legal in
Britain itself.
The Industrial Revolution was a massive upheaval, during
which British society was transformed; in the end, the
wealth it generated began to slowly trickle down to the
masses, and during the nineteenth century a new social
awareness began to grow, leading to better living
conditions for most of the population, education for all
children, and the social reforms that followed.

The Quakers: these non-conformist Protestants played a

major role in the Industrial Revolution in Britain and in
other countries too. Several important British companies
were founded by Quakers, and some of their names are
still known today: Cadbury, Rowntree, Barclay (of
Barclay's Bank). As for "Quaker oats", a brand that is
known worldwide to this day, it was not founded by
Quakers, but the name and logo were chosen to convey
the message that the company was well run and
trustworthy.

Grammar: subordinate clauses

This text contains over twenty subordinate clauses; pay
attention in particular to the eleven relative clauses, that
allowed farmers… / which encouraged innovation… / that
could move… etc. All the relative clauses refer to facts or
objects, so they all start with that or which, never with
who.
► Note also two "nominal relative clauses", also known
as a "free relative clauses", In paragraph 3 ", But what
set Britain apart from other countries", and in para. 8
(what we would today call consumer products).

Answer key for exercise 1. a = 4, b = 6. c = 1, d = 8, e = 2,

f = 3, g = 7, h = 5 .

Return to Linguapress home page

Page READY TO PRINT

Search Linguapress
Reading, grammar, games... there's so
much to discover on Linguapress.
write here

Search

Linguapress search is powered by [Link],

the green search engine.

[Link]
Advanced level English resource

Level - Difficult.
CEFR LEVEL : B2
IELTS Level : 6

Flesch-Kincaid scores
Reading ease level:
65 - Plain English
Grade level: 10

A selection of other resources in graded

English
from Linguapress
Selected pages

Advanced level reading :

Aeroponics - growing tomorrow's food

The Taylor Swift phenomenon with audio

USA - Midnight basketball

Elizabeth II, the Queen who almost wasn't with audio

Advanced level short stories:

From the USA For Elise with audio

From England The Car with audio

And lots more: More advanced reading texts

Intermediate resources :

The story of the Beatles

The origins of football & rugby

Sport: Sport cuts crime

So who was Sherlock Holmes?

Discussion: Talking of Fast Food with audio

USA: Levi Strauss and blue jeans

USA: The origins of Hollywood

Short story: The girl in the denim jacket with audio

And more: More intermediate reading texts

Selected grammar pages

Online English grammar

Prepositional verbs in English

Word order in English

Reported questions in English

ENGLISH GRAMMAR for all

E-book, hardback, paperback
The user-friendly reference grammar
recommended by top English teaching
magazines worldwide
IATEFL Voices, EFL Magazine, Open!
magazine, English Australia... and more

Copyright information.

© Linguapress 2025

Photo top of page: Philip de Loutherbourg, the furnaces at

Coalbrookdale, 1801. Science Museum, London. Public
domain.
Photo of Derwent Mill: by Peter Barr, Creative Commons 2.
licence

All articles published on this website remain the copyright ©

of [Link] and/or their individual authors.
Reproduction is authorised exclusively for use by students
for personal use, or for teachers for use in class

Free to view, free to share, free to use in class, free to

print, but not free to copy..
Copyright by Linguapress.
If you like this page and want to share it with others, just
share a link, don't copy.

© copyright Linguapress - Publishing since 1980