I suppose the idea goes back to notions such as capital advanced in classical political economy. However, to the best of my knowledge in Britain in many branches of industry workmen were themselves the owners of the tools they worked with, and were supposed to bring them to work. But property rights were not always clearly delineated. A famous example is the conflict between Charles Babbage and his workman Charles Clement, who constructed Babbage Difference Engine I in his workplace in Lambeth, a manufacturing (and more) disctrict in ninenteenth century London. When finance for the project dried up, Babbage got into a row with Clement about who owned what, and more in particular who was the owner of the tools. Details (and wider implications of this conflict) can be found in Simon Schaffer's "Babbage Intelligence: Calculating Engines and the Factory System", Critical Inquiry (1994): 203-227, and in Doron Swade's Charles Babbage and his Calculating Engines (1991), London: Science Museum.