Labour and the Poor in England and Wales, 1849-1851 by Jules Ginswick

Author:Jules Ginswick [Ginswick, Jules]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General, Military
ISBN: 9781351561228
Google: IwTFDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-09-25T05:01:08+00:00

Bolton

Bolton is as bad a specimen of a nucleus of cotton manufacture as can be conceived. It is an old spinning and weaving station, and the great mass of the houses are built in the oldest and filthiest fashion. Cellars abound on every side, and I saw few or none unoccupied, while the people appeared to me to be fully as squalid and dirty in appearance as the worst classes are in the worst districts of Manchester. Bolton is inhabited by what in this part of the country is known as the “old” population – a population which in a great degree preserves hurtful old prejudices and filthy old fashions, which have little hold in the more modern seats of industry. In common with Stockport, the town of Bolton was awfully afflicted by the stagnations of business in 1842 and 1847. In the latter year, the unemployed population was supported at a weekly cost of from £400 to £500. And even at present, when trade is reasonably brisk, the weekly amount of poor-rates is nearly £230. The last poor-law returns, dated Somerset House 17 July, 1849, inform us that the number of inmates of the Bolton workhouse on the 1st of July 1848, was 418; while no less than 7,371 individuals had, up to that date in that year, received outdoor relief.

I visited the mill and cottages belonging to Messrs. Arrowsmith and Slater, upon the outskirts of the town. The gentlemen in question have taken the lead in Bolton in providing good accommodation, at reasonable rates, for their workpeople, having built two comfortable ranges of cottages, respectively called after Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright, in which their spinners reside. Indeed, Mr. Arrowsmith at present lives in one of these cottages himself.

The houses are of two classes; the better sort have each a good front parlour, a light and spacious kitchen, a commodious pantry, a backyard with proper out-house conveniences; and above two bedrooms. In the inferior class, one room serves for parlour and kitchen, the second apartment on the ground floor being a sort of scullery and laundry. There was a small but handy range for cooking by each fireplace. The rent for a dwelling of this sort is 4s Id per week – a sum which includes gas and water, both of which are laid on. In the cottage which I visited dinner was just being got ready, and a dish of more savoury-smelling Irish stew I have seldom encountered.

On a slope stretching away from “Cobden Terrace” is about an acre and a half of ground, laid out in unfenced gardens, one of which belongs to each cottage. This summer Mr. Arrowsmith gave his people prizes of engravings for the best shows of vegetables and flowers. The wane of autumn is a bad time for inspecting a garden, but I saw enough to satisfy me that the ground had been very carefully tilled and a good harvest for vegetables raised from it. I may add that upon the occasion

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.