 The carpet manufactory at Dean Clough was commenced by John Crossley in a small way, but it became, under the management of John Crossley, jun., Joseph Crossley, and Francis Crossley, who constituted the firm of J. Crossley & Sons, the largest concern of its kind in the world.Its buildings covered an area of , and the firm gave employment to between five and six thousand persons.Its rapid growth was by application of steam power and machinery to the production of carpets.