It was originally named the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers, and it saw itself as a revival of the Lacemakers' Union, a short-lived society which had affiliated to the National Association for the Protection of Labour in 1831.
He was replaced by William A. Appleton, who ran the union in the style of a guild, with admission fees of up to £15 and benefits including two saloon bars in Nottingham exclusively for members' use, and loans of up to £200 available in order for members to set up their own businesses.
[2] Over time, the lace industry became established elsewhere in England, and the union absorbed the Bulwell society, and set up new branches in Beeston, Ilkeston, Southwell and Chard.
Membership peaked at 3,361 in 1900, then gradually fell, as the Workers' Union set up rival laceworkers' sections.
[1] In 1963, the union became the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers and Textile Workers, and the membership decline levelled off, leaving it with 1,200 members by the end of the decade.