"45,000 and 75,000 axes were produced from this area alone. Taking into account other factories around Cumbria, the production figures are huge.
This is an industrial process and would have required a huge workforce."
axes were in vogue for about 1,000 years? they were producing on average 45-75 axes a year? Not sure I'd call that industrial.
The huge workforce as you put it, could have been 75 individuals per year.