Exodus from Cardiganshire

Kathryn Cooper

Description

Was migration from Victorian Cardiganshire simply a flight from rural poverty? This book relates the rate and timing of the outward movements from the county to the prevailing social and economic conditions.
Introduction Chapter One Nineteenth-century Cardiganshire: its economy and society Chapter Two The role of the lead mining industry Chapter Three The decision to move Chapter Four Rural out-migration trends: the census evidence Chapter Five The move to south Wales Chapter Six The lure of London Chapter Seven The move to Liverpool and the north-west Chapter Eight Emigration Chapter Nine Conclusion

Sujets

• Histoire
• West Wales
• Great Britain
• History
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: University of Wales Press
• Date de parution: 15 juin 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780708324103
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 26 Mo

Extrait

Studie S in Wel Sh h iStory
Editors
ralph a. GriffithS ChriS WilliamS
eryn m. White
31
exoduS from CardiGanShire
00 Prelims.indd 1 08/05/2011 20:55exoduS from
CardiGanShire
rural-urban miGration in
viCtorian britain
by
kathryn j. Cooper
Published on behalf of the
University of Wales
Cardiff
univerSity of W aleS preSS
2011
00 Prelims.indd 3 08/05/2011 20:55© kathryn j. Cooper, 2011
all rights reserved. no part of this book may be reproduced in
any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any
medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or
incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the
written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance
with the provisions of the Copyright, designs and patents act
1988. applications for the owner’s written permission
to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to
the university of Wales press, 10 Columbus Walk, brigantine place,
Cardiff, Cf10 4up.
www.uwp.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
a catalogue record for this book is available from british the
library.
iSbn 978-0-7083-2399-1
e-iSbn 978-0-7083-2410-3
the right of kathryn j. Cooper to be identifed as author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and
79 of the Copyright, designs and patents act 1988.
printed by Cpia ntony rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire
00 Prelims.indd 4 08/05/2011 20:55SerieS editorS’ foreWord
Since the foundation of the series in 1977, the study of Wales’s
history has attracted growing attention among historians
internationally and continues to enjoy a vigorous popularity.
not only are approaches, both traditional and new, to the
study of history in general being successfully applied in a
Welsh context, but Wales’s historical experience is
increasingly appreciated by writers british, on european and world
historyt. hese advances have been especially marked in the
university institutions in Wales itself.
in order to make more widely available the conclusions
of original research, much of it of limited accessibility in
postgraduate dissertations and theses, in 1977 historthe y
and law Committee of the board of Celtic Studies
inaugurated this series of monographs, Studies in Welsh History. it
was an ticipated that many of the volumes would originate
in research conducted in the university of Wales or under
the auspices of the board of Celtic Studies, and so it proved.
although the board of Celtic Studies no longer exists, the
university of Wales continues to sponsor the series. it seeks
to publish signifcant contributions made by researchers in
Wales and elsewhere. its primary aim is to serve historical
scholarship and to encourage the study of Welsh history.
00 Prelims.indd 5 08/05/2011 20:55To my parents, Edwin and Elaine Rothwell
00 Prelims.indd 7 08/05/2011 20:55ContentS
series editors’ foreword v
figures xi
tables xiii
acknowledgements xv
abbreviations xvi
introduction 1
i nineteenth-century Cardiganshire: its economy
and society 9
ii the role of the lead-mining industry 40
iii the decision to move 62
iv rural out-migration trends: the census evidence 87
v the move to south Wales 103
vi the lure of london 131
vii the move to liverpool and the north-west 154
viii emigration 179
ix Conclusion 209
bibliography 232
index 244
00 Prelims.indd 9 08/05/2011 20:55fiGureS
1.1 Cardiganshire in the nineteenth century 10
1.2 population of Cardiganshire in the ‘long’
nineteenth century 11
1.3 pof towns, 1801–1911 16
1.4 Cardiganshire’s rural and urban population trends,
1801–1911 17
1.5 derelict dwelling, north Cardiganshire uplands 29
2.1 metal ore wagon at bronfoyd disused lead mine 48
2.2 population trends of four townships in northern
Cardiganshire, 1801–1911 49
2.3 earth-walled cottage in a former lead-mining
township, north Cardiganshire 54
2.4 nineteenth-century Cardiganshire showing
trefeirig township in the parish llanbadarnof
fawr 58
4.1 ny registration districts of
Cardiganshire 89
4.2 residential distribution of Cardiganshire migrants
in 1851 97
4.3 rof
in 1871 98
4.4 residential distribution of Cardiganshire migrants
in 1891 99
4.5 rof
in 1911 100
4.6 Cardiganshire’s main migrant destinations,
excluding Glamorgan, 1851–1911 102
5.1 Cardiganshire migrants enumerated in
Carmarthenshire, Glamorgan and monmouthshire,
1851–1911 105
5.2 migrants by gender enumerated in
Glamorgan, 1861–1911 119
00 Prelims.indd 11 08/05/2011 20:55xii fiGureS
5.3 age profle of the Cardiganshire migrants in the
1881 Glamorgan census sample 125
5.4 age profle of the in the
1881 census sample living in the
rhondda 125
6.1 Cardiganshire migrants enumerated london, in
1861–1911 136
6.2 d. lloyd and Sons – a typical london Welsh
dairy/shop 147
7.1 Cardiganshire migrants enumerated in the
north-west, 1861–1911 161
7.2 age profle of the Cardiganshire migrants living in
the north-west in 1881 167
8.1 transcript of George drinkwater’s letter of
9 october 1879 184
8.2 advertisement for emigration on the Fannybrig ,
1818 189
8.3 origins, where identifed, of Cardiganshire’s
nineteenth-century emigrants jackson to and
Gallia counties, ohio 197
8.4 painting of the brig Credo near the entrance to
aberystwyth harbour 199
8.5 the Er Cof ring made for jane lewis 207
00 Prelims.indd 12 08/05/2011 20:55tableS
1.1 percentage of holdings and of acreage owned by the
occupier 33
1.2 Selected male occupational trends: 1851, 1871 and
1891 38
2.1 productivity of Cardiganshire’s metal mines for
selected years, 1845–1901 44
2.2 numbers employed in s metal mines,
1851 and 1871 56
3.1 Selected male occupations in Cardiganshire in 1851
and 1871 72
3.2 males employed in Cardiganshire’s main maritime
occupations, 1851–1911 73
3.3 number of persons living more than two per room
in 1891 as a percentage of the county/country
populations 80
4.1 Cardiganshire population trends by registration
district, 1851 to 1871 90
4.2 trends by 1881 to 1891 91
4.3 main occupations of Cardiganshire’s rural
population, 1871 and 1891 92
4.4 numbers of males employed in Cardiganshire in
the main rural trades and crafts in 1871 and 1891 94
4.5 main male occupations of Cardiganshire’s rural
population in 1901 and 1911 94
5.1 male/female sex ratio of the Cardiganshire migrants
in Glamorgan, 1861–1911 123
5.2 Comparison of male/female sex ratio of
Cardiganshire migrants in Cardiff, Swansea and
rhondda in 1881 123
6.1 number of carpenters and joiners enumerated in
Cardiganshire, 1831–1911 151
00 Prelims.indd 13 08/05/2011 20:55xiv tableS
8.1 numbers of Cardiganshire parishes and townships
showing a decrease in population between 1831
and 1851 193
8.2 estimates of emigration from Cardiganshire as
a percentage of the total native population,
1861–1900 201
00 Prelims.indd 14 08/05/2011 20:55aCkno WledGementS
this book would not have seen the light of day without
the help, support and encouragement of many people,
and in particular rob Cooper, richard thompson, nicola
thompson, professor keith Snell, professor ralph Griffths,
aelwyn rees, Sylvia Garner and Christine Clarke.
i am most grateful to the friends of the Centre for english
local history, leicester, for their generous fnancial
assistance towards the funding of my research.
finally i, should like to say a special thank you to the - inter
viewees whose family histories have helped to give this book a
human dimension.
Image credits:
mrs h. j. lloyd: lloyd’s dairy (fgure 6.2).
Ceredigion County library: the brig Credo (fgure 8.4).
dewi thomas jones: Er Cof ring (fgure 8.5).
all other photographs by the author.
00 Prelims.indd 15 08/05/2011 20:55abbreviationS
CN Cambrian News
Cards. Cardiganshire
Carms. Carmarthenshire
Cumb. Cumberland
lancs. lancashire
mer. merioneth
mon. monmouthshire
montgom. montgomeryshire
nl W national library of Wales
pembs. pembrokeshire
Warks. Warwickshire
yorks. yorkshire
00 Prelims.indd 16 08/05/2011 20:55IntroductIon
one of the best indicators of the pattern of experience of a place is its
1population levels.
the nineteenth century witnessed a shift in economic
emphasis in Britain from agriculture to commerce and
industry. no longer subject to the Malthusian checks of an
agriculturally based economy, the population rise that had
begun in the mid-eighteenth century continued at an
‘unpar2alleled rate of natural increase’ throughout the nineteenth.
despite considerable emigration, the population of England
and Wales doubled between 1801 and 1851 and then again
3by 1911. Even so, it was not until mid-century that the urban
population of England and Wales fnally began to exceed
4that of the rural areas. this urban growth, however, was due
to more than just natural increase: it was continually being
augmented by ‘the constant fow of the country population
5into the town’. the transition from a rural to an urban society
was thus accompanied by accelerating population growth,
new forms of economic organization and by lasting changes
6in the distribution of the people of Britain. Population
studies have demonstrated that short-distance moves within
rural areas had long been the norm and that towns of the
pre-industrial era had depended on a continuous fow from
7the country merely to maintain their numbers. these
long1 K. t iller, English Local History: An Introduction (2nd edn, Stroud, 2002), p. 173.
2 J. Saville, Rural Depopulation in England and Wales, 1851–1951 (London, 1957),
p. 2.
3 r. Woods, The Population of Britain in the Nineteenth Century (Basingstoke, 1992),
p. 22.
4 W. A. Armstrong, ‘the fight from the land’, in G. E. Mingay (ed.), The Victorian
Countryside (London, 1981), p. 118.
5 Census of Great Britain, 1851. Population Tables. 1., vol. 1, p. lxxxii.
6 Woods, Population of Britain, p. 25; r. Lawton, ‘Population changes in England
and Wales in the later nineteenth century: an analysis of trends by registration