I found this entry in a 1815 directory of Manchester.

My gggrandfather was Thomas Taylor (b 1802) who was a master tailor and draper operating first from King St and then from John Dalton St in Manchester. The description in the 1816-17 directory is: tailor and habit maker as well as woollen draper. I presume, then, that this business may have been involved in some way in the manufacture of uniforms. Given that there is also a Thomas Taylor listed in 1797 in Ridgefield as a tailor, I am thinking that he may very well be the father of my Thomas.

I have got this far and can go no further. Can anyone suggest a strategy for digging any deeper (given that its a long swim to actually search through papers!).

Cheers