Denton Through Time

'Where do flies go in the winter? Through Denton to Hyde (hide).' This old music hall joke is probably the only reference most people had regarding Denton, apart from hats. The sixteenth century saw the introduction of the felt hat-making industry, to which Denton owed its rise from an obscure hamlet to an important manufacturing town. By 1825, there were twenty-five hatting firms and Denton was the third largest hat-making centre in the North West. It was here that the famous Trilby hat wa...