Kissing the Shuttle

How an invention that sparked the industrial revolution in Lancashire became a hidden killer of the region's mill workers

John Kay’s Flying Shuttle revolutionised the cotton weaving industry in Lancashire.

When John Kay from Bury near Manchester developed the flying shuttle in 1733, it was such a pivotal moment that it lit the fires of the industrial revolution.

With its brass-tipped, bullet-shaped ends, Kay’s shuttle was soon zipping like a rocket across the weaving looms …