Not everyone in St Austell was fortunate enough to be born into the right family, as was John Lovering, who we met in the previous blog. Even these days, a century and a half on, if we don’t have a house or houses to sell or a fat pension to pay for an expensive care … Continue reading St Austell: the good old days
Tag: workhouse
Driven mad by overwork? The sad story of Mary Jane Vosper
Mary Jane Vosper was born at St Clether to the north of Bodmin Moor in 1850. She was the eldest child of Nathaniel Vosper, a farm labourer, and his second wife Jane. The census records tell us that Nathaniel moved at least twice during the 1850s, ending up south of the moor at Trebarret Farm, … Continue reading Driven mad by overwork? The sad story of Mary Jane Vosper
Resisting the workhouse: poor relief in nineteenth-century Cornwall
On 17th February 1837 a riot occurred at Camelford in north Cornwall. There were also reports of disturbances at Stratton, further north. These events were caused by the establishment in that year of Poor Law Unions, following the implementation of the New Poor Law of 1834. This reform transferred responsibility for poor relief from the … Continue reading Resisting the workhouse: poor relief in nineteenth-century Cornwall
Cornish studies resources 