The textile towns of Twenthe

In de 1960s the textile industry of Twenthe collapsed. This meant another major change for the inhabitants of the so-called "band of cities" after the first groundbreaking change over a century earlier. In the year 1830 the first steam engine was fired in Twenthe to drive a spinning machine. Before the area had been home to many home weavers , basically a cottage industry. These weaver sold their yarn and cloth to cloth merchants (Linnenreders or fabrikeurs in Dutch). But after the introduction of English steam engines the process was mechanised and scaled up. The industrial revolution had begun in Twenthe! This created large factories and the need for a specialised workforce in the spinning mills.

Prior to 1830 most textile manufacturing was located in the southern Netherlands. The secession of Belgium in 1830 created the need for a northern textile industry. The cotton and textile industry came to Twenthe as there was an abundant supply of fresh water and a large reservoir of home weavers and rural poor. Some fabrikeurs  -like Ten Cate, Ter Kuile, Van Heek and Blijdenstein- set up textile mills. For this they cooperated with Belgian advisors like Charles de Mare and Willem de Clerq. The Brit Thomas Ainsworth was the most important advisor as he had gained experience in steam-powers production. On his advice weaving schools were founded, the first one of which in Goor in 1833.

Connectivity with the region was poor however with only a few gravel roads and navigable rivers. Thus the textile industry of Twenthe was solely aimed at providing cotton cloth for Java, a Dutch colony at the time. Nonethelees the towns of Almelo, Hengelom Enschede, Oldenzaal, Goor and the village of Borne quickly expanded as a result of the influx of new workers. In 1862 the first railway was opened connecting Almelo to Germany and the rest of the Netherlands. This lead to a rapid expansion of industrial activity especially as in the following decades more train connection were built (1881, 1883 an 1884). New textile factories were now moved to sites close to the railway or a (goods)station.

Before the arrival of the railway, the towns had expanded with small clusters of new housing along existing roads and as infill. From 1880 onwards this no longer sufficed. The railways also attracted more diverse industries. This resulted in a pressing need for suitable housing. Based on German examples the companies started projects to provide housing for their workers, creating small factory colonies. It wasn't until the Social Housing Act of 1901 that local government was obligated to provide housing. Most councils however, stalled so many companies started Building Societies (Woningbouwvereniging). The first housing estate were rather haphazardly scattered around as there was often no spatial plan to serve as a framework. Most town councils drafted their first local plan in the 1920s or 1930s. After that the towns were orderly expanded to form an almost continuous conurbation known as Twentestad.

The conurbation of Twentestad stretches along railway lines. It starts in the north with Almelo (A) and Wierden (W). Further along we find Borne (B), Hengelo (H) and Delden (D). The Campus of Twenthe University (T) connects this area to Enschede (E) and Glanerbrug (G). Oldenzaal (O) still lies separate further north.

After WW2 the bulk of textile production moved to other (cheaper) countries. Also, few Dutch workers had ambitions to do the factory work. This first lead to an influx of migrant workers from Italy, Spain and Turkey. After the independence of Indonesia production halted and a slow decline set in that ended in the 1990s with the closure of the last textile factory. Some producers, however, had made the switch to chemical products and artificial fibres, like Ten Cate NV, and still exist today.