Many Earl Shilton people in the 1840s became destitute and sought refuge in the Union Workhouse at Hinckley, locally known as "The Bastille". Things had become very bad, and are spoken of as the "hungry forties". Queen Victoria ordered an inquiry into the distress, and in 1843 sent a commission headed by a Mr. Muggeridge, and much information was obtained from interviews with work-people and employers. Earl Shilton frame-work knitters and hosiers gave evidence at the enquiry. Rich Wileman, of Shilton, described himself as the oldest stocking manufacturer in the kingdom, and stated that many thousands of dozens of socks were sent to the American market every year.