Whitstone: farm labouring and its alternatives in border country

Whitstone is the last of our north Cornish farming parishes. Like its neighbours, in this parish of small villages and hamlets three quarters of the men worked on the farms, with most of the rest employed in a variety of rural crafts, especially smithing and carpentry. Only two of the children born around 1850 and … Continue reading Whitstone: farm labouring and its alternatives in border country

West Looe: the sea, family support and snooker

West Looe sat on the less populous bank of the estuary of the Looe River. The town straggled along the river and up the steep hill leading out into the surrounding countryside. Unlike its bigger brother across the bridge, West Looe had no large community of fishermen and their families in the mid-1800s. There were … Continue reading West Looe: the sea, family support and snooker

Werrington: no money but a naming puzzle

Werrington is a border parish to the north of Launceston. Like most of the surrounding parishes, in the mid-1800s it was a predominantly farming parish, with three quarters of its resident families dependent on the farms for their livelihood. Seven children in our database were living in the parish in 1861, five in farming households, … Continue reading Werrington: no money but a naming puzzle

Warbstow: on the brink of pauperism

Warbstow is a relatively remote north Cornwall parish. Quintessential farming country, its rolling hills and valleys were mainly grazed by cows in the later 1800s. The lightly populated farms and hamlets of the parish provided just three children born around 1850 for our database. All three came from labouring families. John Pethick and his wife … Continue reading Warbstow: on the brink of pauperism