Genealogy Chat

Another dolls house coming my way soon, thanks to my wonderful hubby. I want to do this one actually based on my husbands ancestors, a family of farm labourers 1820-35 ish. (The cottage they lived in is still standing, in rural Warwickshire, inaccessible by car...wonderful!). BUT my query is, what did cottages have on the walls, surely paper would have been expensive? Would it be brick floors or floorboards, and how many gas lamps to a room? Also, would they have wardrobes and drawers, I dont want books as they would be illiterate but Im thinking it'll look rather bare at the minute!
Thanks for any ideas.

ooo Roman you've taken me back ! Apart from a religious / Sunday school picture on a nail nothing much on the walls just rough plaster and you reminded me of this, The walls were painted with distemper.......

If it’s an old house you may find distemper which is an old form of paint made from whiting and glue. This will appear slightly soft and if you wipe your hand over it may be dusty or powdery.

This is useless for accepting new decoration. It must either be removed or sealed............

So no wallpaper as it wouldn't stick.

One bedroom had a press, with a hanging rail in the top half and drawers at the bottom with all the linen in. Candles upstairs and Gas wouldnt be around in the time you want, maybe a parrafin lamp in the main room.

Dont forget the chamber pots under the beds ! No bathroom.
no carpets just rag rugs, some assortes china ornaments.
Your would find a Bible common.prayer and hymn books.
Musical instruments, tools shotguns and various traps.

Sad to say my Nan was still living like this in the 1950s !

Hi Romany
it sounds very rural,so they wouldn't have gas ,only candles,and possibly parafin lamps

julie

Julia, youre a star, I never thought of that. Lindsey, many thanks, Im writing all of this down! I think your nan's home sounded wonderful :-)

And if they're farm labourers they may be raising an orphaned lamb in a basket next to the range.

RS are you still coming down to Wales? If so try to spend a few hours at the National History Museum at St Fagans; it's just outside Cardiff.

They have bought up loads of old houses & cottages & each is funished with period furniture & fittings. Some are from way, way back, some more modern. A shop, bakery & working man's club, old toys & clothes, farming equipment, if they can get it it here.

There's even a row of terraced houses with each house done from a different decade from the 1900's although it makes you feel very old to find museum items that you can remember from your past.

Free entry & £2.50 to park your car for the day

you may well find that the floor was just beaten earth

my m-i-l was the daughter of a Mehtodist minister on the North Wales circuit from the early 1900s to 1934 or so.

M-i-l (b. 1910) said the Manse was often the ONLY house in the village that had a wood floor, all the others had beaten earth.



sylvia

Has the cottage been restored much?
Any chance that the owners know any of it's history?

I visited a cottage known to have been occupied by the family of mostly farm labourers since at least 1861.
They still had old black and red quarry tiles on the floor.

Gwyn

The quality of the farm labourers cottage varied widely. Often very small and badly built.
In the 1850s nearly half of all cottages had only one bedroom. Some had only one room. In many the floors were of clay that became sodden when it rained

Food wasnt plentiful. Meat was a luxury at the best of times and was reserved for Sunday. In hard times all that distinquished Sunday dinner was a little melted butter or grease on the potatoes. The monotony of a bread diet was relieved by spreading it with dripping or soaking it in broth. Toast water was the common substitute for tea.
Farmers who were once hands on began leaving the work to labourers and living a good life while the men were paid poor wages.

I got this from a site I found accidently
New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.
It was discussing the problem to find farm labourers willing to go to NZ on assisted passage. It also went into the contribution Joseph Arch made to the farm labourers revolt and the causes leading up to it. Very good reading for those wanting to learn how their ag.lab rellies lived

Gwyn, its been empty since the 1920s, was used as a weekend retreat by someone til the 1970s. Its all padlocked up but I frequently have a good nose through the windows! Unfortunately we don't know anyone who's been inside.
Claire, I was in Newport and Bridgend last May, doing Aberkenfig, Bridgend and Maesteg some time this year, cant wait! Have made a note of that, thanks, it sounds wonderful!!