Category: social history

Contrasting fortunes for Lezant’s carpenters

Whether urban or rural, mining or farming, all parishes in Victorian Cornwall would have had a number of men and women who got their living from their craft. For men this might include a variety of jobs such as blacksmiths, shoemakers or masons; for women it tended to be restricted to dressmaking. But did craftsmen … Continue reading Contrasting fortunes for Lezant’s carpenters →

Lewannick: leaving the nest. Or not

It’s back to the Launceston district as we home in on the parish of Lewannick, to the south west of the town. Around 1,300 years before the Victorians, two fellows named Ulcagnus and Ingenvus lived here. We know because they left their memorial stones behind, inscribed in both Latin and ogham. They were Irish-speakers who … Continue reading Lewannick: leaving the nest. Or not →

Lesnewth and one of Cornwall’s first old age pensioners

No need to take hours pondering over which fascinating biography to choose to illustrate a life from this parish. For the simple reason that Lesnewth, near Boscastle on Cornwall’s north coast, provides just one case for the database. Fortunately, or unfortunately for the length of this blog, the life course of Fanny Woolridge can be … Continue reading Lesnewth and one of Cornwall’s first old age pensioners →

Staying single at Lawhitton

This small farming parish is found just south east of Launceston, bordering on the river Tamar and Devon. As Launceston encroached into rural Lawhitton in the 1890s the parish was split into urban and rural parts. But in 1861 it looks to have been largely farming country. There were only a few children aged 11 … Continue reading Staying single at Lawhitton →

Legal practitioners at Launceston and a ‘melancholy suicide’

With lingering pretensions to its former glories as Cornwall’s capital Launceston had more than a smattering of professional people among its populace. As befits a place that shared the assize courts with Bodmin there were several solicitors and lawyers active in the town in the mid-1800s. The Victorian Lives database captures one who became a … Continue reading Legal practitioners at Launceston and a ‘melancholy suicide’ →

Launceston: the fortunes of workhouse children

Launceston, or Lanson in the vernacular, served as the headquarters of the Normans when they arrived in Cornwall in the 1070s. Its location within sight of the River Tamar in the far east suggests the Normans were a little wary at first about pushing further west. As Cornwall became a safer place to venture into, … Continue reading Launceston: the fortunes of workhouse children →

Lamorran: Cornwall’s second smallest parish

Lamorran was unusual by the standards of Victorian Cornwall. Here, the population did not fall after the 1850s but remained stable into the 1880s. This parish on the Roseland south east of Truro was also Cornwall’s second smallest parish in terms of population with 92 residents in 15 households in 1861. (Question of the day … Continue reading Lamorran: Cornwall’s second smallest parish →

Ladock: The egg man

Ladock is a farming parish in mid-Cornwall. In 1861 it provided seven children aged 11 in 1861 for our Victorian Lives database. Rather unusually, all seven have either been traced to at least 1891 or had died before that date. In fact three of the seven, both of the girls and one of the five … Continue reading Ladock: The egg man →

Life stories from Kilkhampton

Kilkhampton is a farming parish situated in the far north of Cornwall, about as far as you can go and still be in Cornwall in fact. Not that the border between Cornwall and Devon acted as much of a barrier in those parts, The majority of the Kilkhampton children in our database who married chose … Continue reading Life stories from Kilkhampton →

Kenwyn and a man of all trades

We saw in the last blog that Edwin Pascoe had a number of different occupations from 1881 to 1911. Another example of a man with multiple occupations, this time with even greater contrasts, can be found in the Kenwyn database. James Noble was born in 1849 in the heart of mining country at the Consols … Continue reading Kenwyn and a man of all trades →