Cotton was essential for the Lancashire textile industry and drove forward the Industrial Revolution in the region. Quality cotton sheets from their mills in Preston epitomised Horrockses brand and gave them a strong reputation. Sets were often kept unopened as trousseau items for brides to take to their new homes. Some such as these were never used and survived in their original packaging before being donated to the museum collection.

The business was founded by John Horrocks who built his first mill spinning cotton on Dale Street in Preston in 1791. When a century later in 1887 the company merged with Crewdson, Crosses and Co. Ltd it had grown to become the biggest manufacturer in the town. Although continuing the Horrockses name well into the second half of the 20th century, the company became part of the huge Amalgamated Cotton Mills Trust Ltd in 1918 and was eventually taken over by Viyella in 1963.

Taking advantage of the name and made from cotton cloth which had been woven at the Preston factory, Horrockses launched a hugely successful fashion line in 1946. Horrockses Fashions produced dresses ranging from simple cotton shirtwaisters to glamorous evening gowns and was so well respected that Queen Elizabeth II packed several of them for her six-month tour of the Commonwealth in 1953-54.