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Herefordshire

LEDBURY IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY AS SEEN

THROUGH THE CENSUS

This article discusses the demography of Ledbury in the second half of the nineteenth century. It provides a detailed analysis of the population of the built up area of this small market town and contributes to the understanding of society, economy and population change in nineteenth century Herefordshire. While the broad trends in population change for the county were discussed by Joan Grundy in 1986, little research has been undertaken since on individual census registration districts, despite her recognition that local factors contributed to the differences in population changes in each of the market towns.1 This article looks at the population of Ledbury (including sex and age distribution, places of birth and occupations), as well as undertaking analysis at a level below the data in the published census returns, for example down to the level of street, family and individual. The themes discussed here are a small selection of the topics investigated; additional material can be found elsewhere on the EPE Herefordshire website.

METHODOLOGY AND STUDY AREA The first task was to transcribe the information from the enumerators’ books for the seven censuses for 1841 to 1901 for a designated geographical area, covering the built-up section of the enumeration sub-district of Ledbury. The area covered is shown in Figure 1. For the purpose of this article, the population figures for this urban area are referred to as ‘Ledbury Town’ and those for the census sub-district as ‘Ledbury Parish’. All the information recorded for each individual was transcribed onto a spreadsheet then transferred to a computer database. This database offers an opportunity to analyse broad trends in population (numbers, age and sex distributions, in-migration and occupation) as well as to research particular areas of the town and individual life histories. Analysis of the database was the starting point for investigating the demographic structure of the population of the town of Ledbury during the second half of the nineteenth century. Supplementary sources have been drawn on, including the Ancestry website, maps, trade directories and local newspapers as well as secondary printed material. 2

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter Bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss Table 1 compares the population of Ledbury Town as derived from the database with that of the Ledbury Parish.3 From this it can be determined that approximately one third of the population reported in the parish of Ledbury lived outside the built up area of the town and so any analysis of the town’s population based on the published census statistics would overestimate the population living in the urban area.

1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 Ledbury Parish# 4549 4577 5537 4422 4225 4303 3259* Ledbury Town 3120 3020 3777 3014 2838 2993 3220 database

Table 1: Population of the Ledbury sub-district and the study area Ledbury Town Sources: Published census data for Herefordshire and Ledbury Town database. #Ledbury Parish included Wellington Heath until 1894 and Parkhold throughout. *In 1901 Ledbury Parish was replaced by Ledbury Urban District.

DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS The nineteenth century was a time of immense economic and social change. The impact of industrialisation and the development of a nationwide railway network were among the factors that influenced demographic patterns across the country. The 1851 census was the first to show over half the population of England living in towns. Herefordshire was not heavily industrialised and investment in canal and railway infrastructure came relatively late; Ledbury was not fully integrated into the national transport networks until the 1880s.

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. Figure 1: Map of Ledbury 1841 - 1905

The area covered by the study was delineated by the turnpikes in the Homend, Southend Street, Horse Lane, Bridge Street and New Street. The shading shows the built up area as it existed in 1841 (tithe map) and new areas developed by 1905 (O.S. map 1905). Among the latter were: the Newtown area including Victoria and Albert Roads developed in the 1850s; Bridge Street, an extension of Bye Street; Mabel’s Furlong (1881); Newbury Park built around 1880; Belle Orchard laid out in about 1891 and Bank Crescent developed in 1896.4 Page 3 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. Over the sixty year period between 1841 and 1901, the population of Ledbury Town rose slightly from 3,120 to 3,220 (3.2%). The increase was not steady. In particular there was a sharp peak of 3,777 in 1861 as a result of temporary workers attracted to the area by the construction of the Ledbury portion of the Hereford to Worcester Railway. If this is discounted, the overall trend shows a decline between 1841 and 1881 and a rise in population after that date. The impact of the railway was to increase the population of the town by 757 (25%). The increase was not all due to transient male labour as the figures show an increase of 227 women and 530 men. The number of children in this year was over 200 higher compared with the preceding and succeeding censuses. This suggests that many of the railway workers brought their wives and families with them. There were other railway workers housed outside the town’s boundaries in temporary huts.

Males Females Total 1841 1,501 48.1% 1,619 51.9% 3,120 1851 1,406 46.6% 1,614 53.4% 3,020 1861 1,936 51.3% 1,841 48.7% 3,777 1871 1,409 47.2% 1,578 52.8% 2,987 1881 1,364 48.0% 1,474 52.0% 2,838 1891 1,401 46.8% 1,592 53.2% 2,993 1901 1,538 47.8% 1,682 52.2% 3,220

Table 2: Population of Ledbury Town 1841-1901

The decline in population by the 1871 census indicates that the town was not able to retain many if any of these new workers. As there was little industry in Ledbury, those in the younger age groups, especially the males, are likely to have left the town to seek employment elsewhere. Excepting 1861, there were always more women than men in the census returns. For England and Wales as a whole, women always outnumbered men from 1851 to 1901, being approximately 51.5% of the population at each census.5 During the second half of the nineteenth century there was a proportional increase in the number of female heads of household: in 1851 there were 461 male (78%) and 128 female (22%) heads. By 1901 there were just over 50 extra in each group but the proportions were now 74% male and 26% female. Population change by decade Joan Grundy compared the pattern of population change in Herefordshire with that for England and Wales. While the population of the country grew by over 10% in each decade of Page 4 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. the nineteenth century, the population of Herefordshire grew at a slower rate between 1801 and 1871 and declined after this date. Table 3 presents comparative information for Ledbury Town, Herefordshire and England and Wales. Grundy explained the trend in Herefordshire’s population by substantial out-migration from rural areas from the 1830s to the end of the century and noted that, although the county’s population increased temporarily in the railway decade between 1851 and 1861, the extension of the national railway network into the county occurred relatively late and did not halt the trend of out-migration. Throughout the nineteenth century, the county’s agricultural sector suffered relative economic disadvantage due to the late introduction of canal and railway infrastructure into the county, while broader trends of industrialisation and urbanisation displaced rural crafts. The pattern of population change for the market towns in the county varied, influenced by their local hinterland and the development of railways which facilitated movement to Hereford City and to urban areas outside the county, although people did move about before the advent of the railways!

1841-51 1851-61 1861-71 1871-81 1881-91 1891-1901 England & Wales +12.6% +11.9% +13.2% +14.4% +11.7% +12.2% Herefordshire +2.2% +7.7% +1.5% -3.1% -3.9% -1.2% Ledbury Town -3.2% +25.1% -20.9% -5.0% +5.5% +7.6%

Table 3: Population Change by Decade, 1841- 1901 Source: Joan Grundy, ‘Population Movements in Nineteenth Herefordshire’ Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club Vol. XLV 1986 part II, 489 and the Ledbury database.

From 1851 to the century’s end, the population of England and Wales increased by 81.5%. Over the same period that of Ledbury rose by only 6.6% while Herefordshire County fell by 1.3%. Grundy’s commentary focuses on the important influence of out-migration for the county’s demographic experience. However, analysis of the Ledbury Town data shows that the overall pattern of migration was more complex than this, with a considerable proportion of the town’s population born outside Ledbury in all census years. Table 4 presents an analysis by recorded place of birth (1841 was omitted as places of birth were only recorded as ‘Herefordshire’ or ‘Out of County’). Ledbury is situated close to the borders of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire and figures have been given for the total born within and outside these three counties to distinguish between in-migration from the local area and from further away.

1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 Page 5 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. Ledbury 1732 1939 1678 1542 1658 1664 57.4% 51.3% 56.2% 54.3% 55.4% 51.7% Rest of 502 473 388 425 431 489 Herefordshire 16.6% 12.6% 13.0% 15.0% 14.4% 15.2% Total 2,234 2,412 2,066 1,967 2,089 2153 Herefordshire 74.0% 63.9% 69.2% 69.3% 69.8% 66.9% Gloucestershire & 495 609 496 453 444 473 Worcestershire 16.4% 16.1% 16.7% 16.0% 14.8% 14.7% Outside Three 291 756 421 418 460 594 Counties 9.6% 20.0% 14.1% 14.7% 15.4% 18.4% Total Living in Ledbury Town 3,020 3,777 2,987 2,838 2,993 3,220

Table 4: Population of Ledbury town by place of birth recorded in the census books.

As shown in Table 4, in 1851 well over half of the population had been born in Ledbury town with three quarters born within Herefordshire and just over 90% within the three local counties. By 1901, the pattern had altered considerably, with the numbers born outside the three local counties doubling to over 18%. In the ‘railway’ census of 1861 the effect of in-migration was even higher, as might be expected, with a total of 20% of the population in that census having a place of birth outside the county. Thus, despite the importance of out-migration regarding population change in the county, a significant number of people was also moving into the county throughout this period. The overall increase in Ledbury’s population between 1851 and 1901 is accounted for by a net increase of in- migrants from outside the three counties, partially offset by a slightly smaller decline in the numbers of those born in Ledbury.

Age Structure Table 5 shows that young people under the age of twenty represented a significant proportion of the population throughout this period, although the proportion declined over the sixty years, dropping from 45.1% in 1851 to 41% in 1901. At the other end of the age range, people over 60 increased from 8.8% to 11.8% by 1901. For both these census years, the proportion aged between 20 and 59 remained fairly stable.

1851 1901 0-9years 703 23.3% 701 21.8% 10-19years 658 21.8% 618 19.2% 20-59years 1392 46.1% 1521 47.2% Page 6 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. 60years and over 267 8.8% 380 11.8% Total 3,020 3,220

Table 5: Comparison of age structure of Ledbury Town

The more detailed bands in Table 6 show that, comparing 1851 with 1901, by the end of the century the number of those under 20 years declined slightly and all those over 20 rose, increasingly so with rising age (excepting the over 90’s).

1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 0-9yrs 703 858 690 627 716 701 10-19yrs 658 725 642 514 575 618 20-29yrs 490 732 450 448 441 504 30-39yrs 400 531 327 330 354 420 40-49yrs 297 421 307 287 314 351 50-59yrs 205 244 251 242 222 246 60-69yrs 154 153 189 199 207 198 70-79yrs 78 90 100 139 133 132 80-89yrs 29 22 24 28 25 49 90-99yrs 3 1 5 4 6 1 Over100yrs 0 0 0 1 0 0 Not Known 3 0 2 19 0 0 Totals 3020 3777 2987 2838 2993 3220

Table 6: Population of Ledbury Town by ten-year age bands

Assuming there was not a steady migration of elderly people into Ledbury, this would indicate improving longevity. The figures for those aged 70 and over demonstrate an even larger percentage increase: there were 77 more in 1901 than in 1851, a rise of 72%. During this time, the population of England and Wales as a whole increased by over 80%, while those over 60 rose by 107%. And those 90 years old and over increased by 2029%.6

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STRUCTURE

The population of the town at the two censuses of 1851 and 1901 was coded by social status (Table 7) and sphere of employment (Table12 and Appendix 1).7 Social status was determined by occupation of the head of household and sphere of employment was assigned individually. This enabled analysis of broad trends across this fifty year period. As shown in Table 7, nearly 70% of the town’s working population in both years were either skilled (C) or semi-skilled (D). In 1851 there were twice as many skilled as semi-skilled, but by 1901 the two groups were nearly equally populated. In both years there

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. were relatively few gentry or professional people in the town, though the lower professional category almost doubled over the period. Small decreases were found in all other categories by 1901.The improved availability of manufactured goods no doubt adversely affected skilled rural craftsmen. However, the health and education sectors expanded with an increase in teachers, doctors and nurses.

A B C D E F Z

1851 4.7% 4.2% 45.4% 23.0% 14.4% 5.4% 3.0%

1901 3.3% 8.1% 36.0% 33.9% 13.2% 3.2% 2.1%

Table 7: Ledbury Town population by Status

A - Gentry, property owners, clergy, lawyers B - Lower professionals including teachers and government officials C - Dealers, skilled craftsmen and clerks D - Semi-skilled workers, servants and agricultural labourers E - Unskilled workers including labourers and errand boys F - Unemployed, paupers Z – Unknown

Social Zoning Despite the small size of the town, there was a marked difference in the occupations of people living in different streets, evidence that the town had both middle and working class areas. This is clearly illustrated in a comparison of Bye Street and New Street both of which run parallel in a south-westerly direction from the High Street (see Figure 1). New Street was the less crowded of the two and had larger houses, several with land attached. In 1841, there were 14 properties recorded as owner occupied. In contrast, Bye Street had smaller houses close together of which only three were owner occupied in 1841.Over the next decade there was more ribbon development in Bye Street spilling over the canal bridge into the Newtown area of Albert Road and Victoria Road, whereas New Street remained fringed by orchards and meadows.

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. The census data showed a marked contrast in population and mix of occupations in these streets in all census years from 1841 to 1901. New Street had many more professionals and people working in service industries, including a veterinary surgeon, a general practitioner, chemists, accountants, boot & basket makers, blacksmiths, tailors, a cooper and a policeman. There were few labourers or servants here and those that were recorded were mainly domestic staff employed in the large houses. The middle class living in New Street was a stable population, several recorded as living there through several census years.

Bye Street had a large number of unskilled workers; the men were mainly labourers or employed in the retail food trades as bakers, butchers and greengrocers. Many of the women were employed as laundresses, servants and dressmakers and as gloveresses although, as discussed elsewhere, this occupational category had all but disappeared by 1901. The population was more transient, with several moving to make permanent homes in the new houses of the Newtown area built in the 1850s.

High Street The Trade Directories indicate who the traders were and on which street they had their shop. Census returns, however, allow a deeper analysis of where along that street they lived (generally above their shops) and who else lived in their household. By comparing one census year with the next across the fifty year period, it was possible to trace the pattern of continuity of each trade and tradesperson as well as the use to which each premises was put. Taking just the High Street the numbers at each census were 1851: 137 and 1861: 121. This included those working and staying at the Feathers Hotel.

On the west side of the High Street in 1851 approximately half of the space was taken up by the Almshouses and St. Katherine’s Hall; The Feathers Hotel and Webb’s bank took up a further considerable portion. However, there was still space for a few traders: a watchmaker, a wine merchant, a draper/tailor, two saddlers and an ironmonger, collectively contributing 48 people to the census in that year. A gradual reduction meant that by 1901 only the ironmonger and tailor remained, though another ‘Tailor Shopkeeper’ had come to occupy the former watchmaker’s premises, and there was a resident Bank Manager, bringing the total number listed in the census (without the hotel) down to only 13.

The east side of the High Street presented a very different picture, being comprised almost entirely of shops from the Market House up to the Top Cross. In 1851 there were 20 Page 9 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. Heads of Households listed who would be considered traders, probably occupying a similar number of shops, though the census did not state how many households might have occupied one building. There were six grocers, five drapers, two ironmongers, and one chemist, one consulting surgeon who also ran a pharmacy, one butcher, one seedsman, one plumber/glazier, one confectioner and one china and glass dealer. Together with their families they accounted for 81 residents, with a further 42 live-in staff, 25 of whom were listed as servants. The few non-traders – the Curate of Ledbury, the School Mistress, a land proprietor, two labourers and a widow – may have occupied rooms behind the shops, as these properties (originally set out as burgage plots) would have extended some distance back from the High Street and thus had space for further accommodation as well as storage and working areas.

By 1901 the grocers were reduced to four and the drapers to two. The other single traders mentioned above remained, augmented by a boot shop manager, a bookseller/stationer/printer and a cycle agent. However, the total number for these traders and their families had dropped to 59, and that for live-in staff had dropped to 32, although the number of servants remained stable at 26. The only non-trading related residents were a professor of music and a pub manageress. Understandably, given the fifty-year gap, no single trader was found in both censuses, but Vincent Meacham was running the same chemist shop that had been in the family in 1851-1871, and Emma Roberts was running the same baker/confectioner business that her husband did in 1861.

Workers and Dependents Table 8 shows the numbers of those recorded with an occupation. The rest have been classed as dependents, including non-working wives, sons, daughters, other relatives, paupers and retired persons. The number of people with a recorded occupation remained broadly similar at just over 1,300 at the middle and the end of the century.

Males 1851 Males 1901 Total population 1,406 Total population 1,538 +9.3% increase With Occupation 844 With Occupation 869 +3.0% increase Dependents 562 Dependents 669 +19.0% increase

Females 1851 Females 1901 Total population 1,614 Total population 1,682 +4.2% increase With Occupation 487 With Occupation 414 -15.0% decrease

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. Dependents 1,12 Dependents 7 1,268 +12.5% increase

Table 8: Workers and dependents

From 1851 to 1901 the percentage of the total population with a recorded occupation dropped slightly from 44% to 41%. In both years at least twice as many men as women claimed to be working, the male figure being 60% - 56% and females 30% - 25% respectively. Changes in legislation and the more positive attitude towards education by 1901 would have meant that more young adults would have been in school rather than being employed as errand boys, maids and other minor occupations. Although both sexes shared in the decline, for women the drop was even more noticeable. The change in women’s working patterns may well have been influenced by rising male incomes, which allowed more women to stay at home, a mark of higher status and respectability in late Victorian times.

Young People under 19 years Amongst those aged 12 and under, other than the occasional errand boy, apprentice or servant hardly any children had a recorded occupation in either 1851 or 1901. By the age of 13 considerably more young people had joined the workforce. This is shown in table 9.

1851 1901 13 years 30% 9% 14 years 56% 39% 15 years 66% 44% 16 years 72% 70% 17 years 86% 75% 18 years 63% 88% 19 years 74% 89%

Table 9: Percentage of Older Children with a Recorded Occupation

In the 1851 census, the most frequently recorded occupation for girls was that of servant, with 79 recorded; other occupations included 17 gloveresses and 10 dressmakers. By 1901 the employment of gloveresses had disappeared, but otherwise the recorded occupations of young girls remained similar to 50 years earlier. Of the boys in 1851, there were 20 labourers, 16 servants, 14 errand boys and 38 apprentices. At the end of the century these categories remained much the same, but now including a few servants and grooms. Page 11 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. People 60 years and over Looking at the population aged 60 and older reveals a small drop in the number of women with a recorded occupation (from 42 in 1851 to 37 in 1901) but a near doubling in males, from 50 to 94 during the same time. An unexpected finding was the number of older residents who were recorded as living on their own means and how much higher this was for females than for males: in 1851 there were 21 women in this category and 24 in 1901; the number of men was only 2 in 1851 and 5 in 1901.

St Katherine’s Hospital St Katherine’s Hospital, probably founded in the 1230s was the largest almshouse in Ledbury. The inmates came from the elderly tradesmen and their female relatives rather than the very poor.8 In 1851 there were eight men and eight women. The premises were extended in 1866 and the numbers increased to 27 in 1881, falling slightly to 23 by 1901. Women outnumbered men by more than three to one. Interestingly the average ages changed during the half century: the men from 76 to 68, the women 74 to 72.

The Workhouse Ledbury Union Workhouse was built in 1836 shortly after the passing of the New Poor Law Act in 1834. The Old Poor Law required each parish to look after its own poor, but under the new act, parishes were grouped together to form “unions” and the Ledbury Union was responsible for the town and twenty two surrounding parishes.9 The inmates were in the care of a resident Master and Matron, often a married couple, with a nurse and porter to assist. In later years, there were other assistants including one or two schoolmistresses and other general servants.

1851 Male Female Total 1901 Male Female Total <16yrs 37 26 63 <16yrs 20 8 28 16-60yrs 6 25 31 16-60yrs 17 24 41 >60yrs 11 4 15 >60yrs 28 8 36 Total 54 55 109 Total 65 40 105

Table 10: Residents in the Workhouse

Males Females 1851 Unmarried Married Widower 1851 Unmarried Married Widow Page 12 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. 16-60yrs 4 2 0 16-60yrs 20 2 3 >60yrs 5 3 3 >60yrs 2 1 1 1901 1901 16-60yrs 14 2 1 16-60yrs 20 2 2 >60yrs 9 1 18 >60yrs 4 0 6

Table 11: Marital Status of those in the Workhouse

The descriptions given to those living in the workhouse changed as attitudes to the poor did. In 1841 the residents were described as ‘inmates’, in 1851 as ‘paupers’ and in 1901 they became known as ‘patients’. In 1851 there were 15 other paupers, in receipt of out-relief, in Ledbury living mainly in the crowded alleys off the Homend but the term was not used in the 1901 census.

Although the resident numbers rose and fell from census to census, the 1851 and 1901 figures were much the same: 109 and 105 respectively. However, table 10 shows that there were significant changes in the age and sex of inmates in these two years. In 1851 the under 16 year olds outnumbered the other age groups added together, but by 1901 the under 16s had more than halved. In contrast, the over 60s increased from 15 in 1851 to 36 in 1901, mainly an increase in the number of men. This may be an indicator of improving life expectancy later in the nineteenth century. In 1851 there were 54 males and 55 females but by 1901 there is a marked difference between the sexes, with 65 males and 40 females. It is in only the working age group (16-60yrs) that the females outnumber the males. This raises intriguing questions, suggesting that men were either less able to look after themselves as they grew older, or had weaker family ties with the local community. This latter point is supported by the number of residents born outside the county which rose from 9% in 1851 to 58% (from 17 other counties) in 1901.

The 1851 census did not state occupational status for the residents but the 1901 census recorded 26 as retired and 17 others with an occupation (whether active or not we do not know). Most in both groups were unskilled or semi-skilled, showing how the workhouse was catering for members of the lowest social classes, unable to have built up resources to sustain themselves in old age. In Ledbury, the censuses up to 1901 indicate increasing numbers of inmates being classified as blind, deaf and dumb, feeble minded, imbeciles or idiots. Feeble minded were the most numerous with 10 in 1901.

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. OCCUPATIONS

Ledbury was a market town made up of small scale trades and businesses serving the needs of the town and the surrounding rural area. Each person was allocated a code according to their recorded occupation and so we were able to determine how many people were involved in each area of work, as well as those with no recorded means of livlihood. Appendix 1 contains a complete list of the coded occupations for 1851 and 1901. Table 12 presents a summary of this data and the discussion highlights important topics for the town. As shown in Table 7, nearly 70% of the town’s working population in both years were either skilled (C) or semi- skilled (D). In 1851 there were twice as many skilled as semi-skilled, but by 1901 the two groups were nearly equally populated. In both years there were relatively few gentry or professional people in the town, though the “lower professional” category almost doubled over the period. Small decreases were found in all other categories by 1901.The improved availability of manufactured goods no doubt adversely affected skilled rural craftsmen. However, the public services, health and education sectors expanded.

Making and selling things accounted for nearly half of the jobs in both 1851 and 1901, with service providing a quarter of all jobs. In general the notable swings of employment affected both men and women, but fewer men in particular were working as domestic or other servants by 1901, those losses being absorbed by increased jobs in professional and public service, building and the conveyance of men and goods. Women continued work in domestic service and gained employment in the food, drink and lodging sphere.

1851 1901 Males Females Total Males Females Total Textiles and Clothing 121 158 279 56 86 142 Food, drink and lodging 98 15 113 129 34 163 Other manufacturing and 142 22 164 109 15 124 dealing Building 143 1 144 177 5 182 Total Manufacturing 504 196 700 471 140 611 & Retail

Agriculture 43 1 44 70 2 72 Professional & public 85 39 124 106 36 142 service Carrriage of men and 57 1 58 80 1 81 good Domestics & other 62 246 308 39 234 273

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. servants General Labourers 93 4 97 103 1 104 Total All other Spheres 340 291 631 398 274 672

Total with Occupation 844 487 1331 869 414 1283

No occupation recorded 562 1127 1689 669 1268 1937 Total Population 1406 1614 3020 1538 1682 3220

Table 12 Occupational analysis by sphere (all ages)

Manufacturing and retail The overall numbers involved in manufacturing and retail decreased from 700 to 611 in the period 1851 to 1901. A large part of this decrease was due to a reduction in the clothing and textiles occupations, which declined from 279 in 1851 to 142 in 1901. There was a general decline among those who traditionally had made or worked with a range of products involving wood, leather, cane and metals. Fewer sawyers, timber merchants, furniture makers, blacksmiths and basket makers were needed; tanners disappeared entirely, though the number of saddlers trebled to nine. Notably, in the traditional metal working trades, the average age of workers had increased by 11 years, from 32 to 43, with far fewer men under the age of 30 (11 in 1851, but only 4 in 1901) and several more over the age of 50 (2 in 1851 and up to 7 in 1901). However, by 1901four women were employed in the more upmarket end of this sphere as jewellers.

Ledbury’s housing stock had been increasing since 1851 and the additional need for home heating brought more coal and gas merchants to town. The number of stonemasons plummeted from 37 in 1851 to 7 in 1901, but this was balanced by an increase in brick makers and layers. More employment was available for carpenters, joiners and decorators, with several men declaring themselves to be active in more than one trade, but the jobs of thatcher and lathcleaver had disappeared.

Textiles and Clothing Jobs in textiles and clothing halved over the 50 years as mass produced goods became increasingly available and cheaper. There were 39 tailors plus 82 dressmakers and seamstresses in 1851 serving the town and surrounding area. By 1901 these numbers had

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. reduced to 18 tailors and 70 dressmakers and seamstresses for a town population that had increased by 200. The most noticeable change was in the number of gloveresses, down to 3 in 1901 from 60 in 1851. Shoe and boot makers had also declined in number by 1901 from 63 to 22. In 1851 many clothes were made by hand locally but 50 years on most gloves were factory produced and opportunities for outworkers for the Worcester based industry had disappeared. Many shoes were also made in factories by 1901.

Food, Drink and Lodging Increasing numbers of people were engaged in this sphere of economic activity during the second half of the 19th century. The number of bakers and confectioners rose from 18 to 29, and grocers, fruit sellers and greengrocers doubled from 27 to 45 between 1851 and 1901. In 1851 most of those involved (including apprentices and assistants) in bread making, grocery, greengrocery and butchery were living in the Homend, High Street, Bye Street and New Street. By 1901 their places of residence had spread to Southend Street, Victoria and Albert Roads, Bridge Street, Back Lane and Horse Lane.

Those making or selling drink went up from 31 to 44, with a noticeable shift towards jobs for women in the pubs. More than a third of the publicans were born in Ledbury and, with as many again being native of the three counties, it could be said that the pubs were run by locals. The oldest were all widows over the age of 75; seven young men under the age of 30 were on the lists, but the overall average age was 51. The male-female split was approximately 3 to 1. Some establishments had long serving landlords, particularly when family members carried on after someone’s death, whilst others experienced considerable turnover. The Royal Oak, for example, was being kept by James Matthews at the1861 census, his widow in 1871 and 1881, and then their grandson in 1891 and 1901.

As with many occupations, being an innkeeper was not always someone’s only or most significant occupation. Francis Heath of the Brewery Inn, near the canal, was also a boat builder. 30 years later, at the same pub, Richard Hickman declared himself to be a corn miller, and continued in that occupation elsewhere 10 years later. At the Bridge Inn, James Greenway was also a coal merchant, and Thomas Howard doubled as a horse dealer at the Plough in 1881. Shoemaking, basket making, carpentry and even gun-making were additional activities for some publicans.

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. Domestic Servants

1851 1901 <19yrs 20- 60+yrs Total <19yrs 20- 60+yrs Total 59yrs 59yrs Indoor Female 93 138 15 246 75 139 21 235 Male 17 22 0 39 2 3 0 5 Sub total 110 160 15 285 77 142 21 240

Outdoor Female 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Male 5 18 0 23 5 27 2 34 Sub total 5 18 0 23 5 27 2 34

Total 115 178 15 308 82 169 23 274

Table 13: Domestic servants: Indoor and Outdoor

Domestic workers were one of the largest occupational groups throughout the period with 308 recorded in 1851 falling slightly to 274 in 1901. This represents over 21% of men and women with an occupation in both decades, though such work was predominantly the province of women (80% in 1851 and 86% in 1901) and it is the largest recorded occupational category for females, 50% in 1851 rising to 57% in 1901.Table 13 provides a further breakdown of this sector, showing the numbers men and women by age across the years. On the census forms the majority of female servants were described as house servants, general servants, general domestic servants or domestic servants. Between 1851 and 1901 the number of housemaids rose from 21 to 30, housekeepers increased from 10 to 29 and domestic cooks went up from 15 to 24. One of the most prominent Ledbury families, the Biddulphs, maintained eight servants in 1851, while Upper Hall, home of the Martin family was able to boast a lady’s maid, a nurse and a nursemaid, two kitchen maids, two housemaids, two footmen and a cook. The outdoor servants were all men. The main categories were domestic gardeners, eleven in 1851 falling to nine in 1901 plus coachmen and grooms.

The Professions and Public Service

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. Table 7, based on the recorded occupation of the head of the household, shows that those in status group B, the middle class, rose from 4.2% to 8.1% of the population between 1851 and 1901. Table 12 shows that the number recorded as working in professional and public service increased from 124 in 1851 to 142 in 1901. This group includes the traditional professions of the clergy, law and medicine as well as those employed in accountancy, education and government services. The increase over the period is mainly accounted for by the number working for the post office, which increased from three to twenty. Those working in banks fell from eleven in 1851 to three in 1901; surveyors, land and estate agents numbered only four or five in each of the census years.

Clergy St Michael’s Church, at the top of Church Lane, was the centre of religious life in the town but there were also Baptist, Methodist and Congregationalist chapels in the town by 1851. The census listed James Watts, Vicar of Ledbury and Henry Bull as Curate along with John Walters the Baptist Minister and John Parsons the Wesleyan Methodist minister. The Reverend John Morrish, who kept a private school and served at the Workhouse, was also listed. In the same year, a separate census of places of worship was taken. The numbers recorded at morning worship were 818 at the Parish Church, 110 Baptists, 234 Methodists, 140 Anglicans and 6 Plymouth Brethren while at the evening service there were 710 Anglicans, 102 Baptists, 347 Methodists and 130 Independents.10 By 1900 Kelly’s Directory also listed a Mission Hall built by Lady Henry Somerset of Eastnor Castle around 1880.11 The 1901 census records Evelyn Bateman and Agnes Berkley with occupation of ‘preacher mission work’, Charles Edward Madison Green at the Parish Church, James Duthie and a visitor, John Oats, as Wesleyan Ministers, Cuthbert Potts as Congregational Minister, William Reynolds as Baptist Minister and Cecil Caldecott as a ‘licensed priest’.

Law In 1851 there were three attorneys (two of whom were solicitors) plus four solicitors. Together they employed six clerks and one accountant. According to the 1901 census this had changed to five solicitors and ten clerks. One solicitor and his descendents may be traced through the censuses from 1841 to 1901. George Masefield, aged 29 years, practiced from his home in Horse Lane. By 1861 he was married with three sons working with him as articled clerks. By 1871 they were all qualified solicitors and, as yet, unmarried. The 1881 census shows the sons as married but, by now, living in different parts of Ledbury, but within the urban area. There is no record of George Masefield in 1891; he had either moved away or Page 18 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. died. Also, there were only two sons; one of whom (William) was still a solicitor and running the firm. The other, John, was living on his own means. By this time, William had taken one of his sons, Reginald into the business.

Education The numbers recorded as working in education increased slightly from twenty seven in 1851 (five men and twenty-two women) to twenty-nine in 1901 (eleven men and eighteen women). Legislation framing a national system of state-funded, free and compulsory education was put in place between 1870 and 1893, with compulsory school attendance for ages five to eleven introduced in 1881 and the school leaving age increased to twelve in 1889. By 1901 Ledbury had three board schools for Boys, Girls and Infants, replacing the earlier charitable foundations, the National Schools, set up in the 1830s.12 From the 1850s the Elizabeth Hall School, funded by a charitable endowment originally set up in 1706, provided training for girls to enter domestic work. There were also a number of private schools in the town.

An example of a successful private school is the boys’ boarding establishment run by the Rev. William J Morrish at Rosemount listed in Robson’s Directory in 1838 and in the Post Office Directory for 1870. In the 1851 census Morrish, aged 42 is recorded as living with his wife, four sons aged between 4 years and 17 years and four daughters aged between 11 months and 15 years. 15 pupils are listed, aged between 8 and 18 along with a governess and 4 servants. None of the pupils was born in Herefordshire; some were born as far away as Devon and Yorkshire and one in South Africa. The 1861 census records 19 pupils with Morrish supported by an Assistant teacher, Henry Cooper, aged 38, from Lewisham. In 1871 there were 21 pupils, including several from overseas, one each from Mauritius, Canada, India and Jersey and four from Ireland. Two of Morrish’s daughters, Mary and Catherine, aged 34 and 27 respectively, are recorded as governesses. Morrish is not listed in the 1881 census although Rosemount School is still listed, now run by Robert and Ann Clough with four male and two female boarders. Morrish also worked at the Union workhouse.13

Health Care The occupations recorded in the censuses indicate that the numbers working in the medical sphere decreased from 26 to 18 over the period. However, this is probably anomalous as the reduction is in the number of female workers categorised as ‘nurse’. By 1901 this related to a distinctly trained group whereas earlier in the period it included untrained workers. Ledbury Cottage Hospital, funded by subscriptions, opened in 1873 in the Homend with Page 19 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. accommodation for 4 patients. Mary Ann Tolley was appointed as matron, having previously worked at the Union workhouse. At the time of the 1881 census, the hospital was full, with two male and two female patients, one of whom was a child of 8. The staff comprised the matron, her sister Ellen, listed as a hospital assistant and one female servant. In 1891 the hospital was again full with four patients, three of whom were children, cared for by the matron, Mary A. Foster, and a servant girl. The hospital moved to larger purpose-built premises in December 1891after the census was taken in that year.14 The 1901 census recorded nine patients, seven male and two female with a staff of four comprised of Clara Bamber the matron, two probationer nurses and one servant. All three of the nurses were born outside the local area, Clara Bamber in Accrington, Lancashire, and the probationer nurses in Derbyshire and London.

The number of qualified medical practitioners in the town remained similar at between five and six between 1851 and 1901. The 1851 Lascelles Directory for Herefordshire listed six surgeons in the town; Charles Goate, William Griffin, Frederick Kingdon, Thomas Oberne, John Tanner and Miles Astman Wood. Frederick Kingdon, who is recorded as surgeon to the Workhouse is not listed on the census for that year but all the others are. The census was lucky to catch Joseph Levason, a dentist based in Hereford, in town as Lascelles notes he ‘visits Ledbury four times a year’.15

The most established practice in the town was that of Miles Astman Wood, surgeon at the Ledbury Dispensary, who maintained a substantial household in New Street. In addition to himself, his assistant Thomas Oberne and a pupil, the census records his wife, six small children, a governess and four servants. His two eldest sons, John Henry and Miles Astman both later qualified as medical practitioners and are listed as honorary medical practitioners at the Ledbury Cottage hospital in the 1900 Kelly’s Directory along with Arthur Green and James Harrison. John Henry lived in Tarrington but Miles Astman, junior, continued to live at Orchardleigh in New Street running a private practice as well as serving as medical practitioner to the Workhouse, the Dispensary, public vaccinator and as Medical Officer of Health to Ledbury Urban District Council. 16 The longest established chemist was that of the Meachams in the High Street, listed in both 1851 and 1901.

Carriage of men and goods Page 20 Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. In 1851 Ledbury the main means of transport were carriers, coaches and the boats on the canals. The coaches were mainly used by those rich enough to do so either by owning their own or using the public ones which stopped at hotels and inns on their way through town. Carriers transported goods using horse driven carts and the occasional person not rich enough to travel by coach. The canals enabled goods to be moved longer distances especially awkward items such as coal. The canals gave occupation for 5 boatmen and one boat builder. According to the census of 1851 Ledbury had 4 carriers plus a letter carrier, 28 people concerned with the care and maintenance of horses; and 6 coach builders, painters etc but, strangely, only 1 coach driver was listed.

John Hopkins moved from Thornbury in Gloucestershire and appeared in the Ledbury 1851 census. His father and brother were coach builders, but John started life as a carpenter. By 1861 he had married his second wife and was now a coach builder and his son George had also become one by 1871. In 1891 John was still a coach builder, but by 1901, now aged 77, he had retired. At this time George continued in the trade and his children followed in the family tradition. George’s son, also George, was a coach painter and younger son Albert a coach body maker.

By 1901 travel had been revolutionised. The Worcester to Hereford railway through Ledbury was completed in September 1861. The influx of railway workers and their families in the 1850s saw a 25% rise in the town population of Ledbury. Where they had just moved from cannot be seen in the censuses, but the places of birth data showed that the majority originated from Herefordshire (65), Gloucestershire (29) and Worcestershire (19). Wiltshire, Devon and Somerset provided 35 workers together and Ireland 20. Twenty eight other counties were represented giving an overall total of over 250 railway workers. By 1881 the station along the Homend had become the focus for the carriage and transportation of goods, animals and people. The rail extension to Gloucester was completed in 1885. This year also saw the invention of the motor car and the production of the first “safety” bicycles. The canal was closed in 1883. At the time of the 1901 census we can see that those living in Ledbury and involved in transport included 58 railway workers including 17 platelayers, 7 porters, 7 signalmen plus drivers, stokers, labourers and railway clerks. Whether anyone owned a car in Ledbury in 1901 cannot be determined from the census of course, but in the list of occupations there is no one associated with garages or car mechanics. There was, however, one cycle agent and one cycle fitter. Despite the change in transport those associated with

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. coaches increased. There were 6 domestic coachmen, 4 coach painters and 4 builders in 1901 compared with 6 altogether in 1851.

CONCLUSION This article has used a detailed analysis of census data for Ledbury to discuss aspects of the demographic history of the town in the second half of the nineteenth century. The population of the urban area grew by 6.6% over the fifty years between 1851 and 1901 during which time the population of Herefordshire as a whole fell by 1.3%. These trends contrast with the increase of 82% in the population of England and Wales in the same period. As shown in Figure 1 the occupied urban area grew considerably allowing more people to live in less cramped conditions by 1901. Although Ledbury remained a small town serving a rural hinterland and a local community it was not a static population. The proportion of the population born outside the town increased and those from outside the three counties almost doubled. Ledbury lived at the junction of roads to and from Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and the bulk of Herefordshire. By 1901 the town had been connected into the national railway network for 40 years providing a station on the Worcester to Hereford line and a branch line to Gloucester. Employment patterns showed a decline in craft manufacturing and an increase in retail shops and in middle class jobs associated with the expansion of education, medical services and institutions such as the Post Office. By 1901 children from 5 to 12 years old were at school and there was a small hospital in the town. The population was getting older with a marked increase of those aged over 70. However, the majority of people continued to work in skilled or semiskilled jobs. Ledbury had no large industry to boost its economy and provide numerous jobs as happened in many other towns and cities. It was in 1901, as it had been in 1851, a small market town, surrounded by agriculture and its activities but with improved links to the outside world enhancing the lives of its residents.

All statistics in the tables come from the Ledbury Town database.

Readers are advised that there may be minor errors in the figures presented in the article. The authors have examined the research many times keep them to a minimum if not to eliminate such errors altogether.

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. SOURCES Census Enumerators’ Books (National Archives and on microfilm at Herefordshire County Record Office) 1841 HO 107/423/1&2&3 1851 HO107/1975 1861 RG9/1909 1871 RG10/1809 1881 RG11/2582 1891 RG/12/2052 1901 RG13/2471

REFERENCES

Authors: Jane Adams, Gill Arquati, Peter bishop, Mike Clarke, Ann Jones, Pat Strauss. 1 Joan E. Grundy, ’Population Movements in Nineteenth Herefordshire’ TWNFC 48 (1986), 488-500, 495.

2 www.ancestry.co.uk.

3 The census registration district for Ledbury (346) is one of six for the county of Herefordshire and includes the sub registration districts of Ledbury (346.1) and Yarkhill (346.2). The Ledbury sub-district includes a further seven sub-categories in addition to Ledbury. These were Colwall, Eastnor, Donnington, Coddington, Bosbury, Castle-Frome and Canon-Frome. The registration district number from 1871 became 337.

4 Angela Bishop, Gillian Murray & Beryl Rowley, Ledbury Street Names (Logaston Press, 2007), passim.

5 www.histpop.org.

6 www.histpop.org.

7 The coding system used was provided by Professor Nigel Goose of the University of Hertfordshire.

8 Sylvia Pinches, Ledbury a Market Town and its Tudor Heritage (Chichester: Phillimore, 2009), 79-80.

9 John Powell, Hard Times in Herefordshire (Logaston Press, Almeley, 2008).