Lancashire Loom

Originally a handloom weaver, unlike others of his trade Bullough embraced new developments such as Edmund Cartwright's power loom (1785).

While colleagues were busy rejecting new devices such as in the power-loom riots that broke out in Lancashire in 1826, Bullough improved his own loom by inventing various components, including the "self-acting temple" that kept the woven cloth at its correct width, and a loose reed that allowed the lathe to back away on encountering a shuttle trapped in the warp.

Bullough also invented a simple but effective warning device which rang a bell every time a warp thread broke on his loom.

The power loom is now referred to as "a perfect machine", it produced textile of a better quality than the hand weaver for less cost.

The principal advantage of the Lancashire loom was that it was semi-automatic, when a warp thread broke the weaver was notified.

The Northrop was suitable for coarse thread but for fine cotton, the Lancashire loom was still preferred.