I know that assumptions shouldn't be made, but I have a family who travelled from Leek, Staffs, to Handsworth,Sheffield and I have always thought that because the road went from Leek to Buxton and then on to Sheffield, that this family would have travelled by cart, because the whole family seems to have moved except for their eldest son who stayed in Leek. They were wheelwrights and probably moved to where their was work. Lilian -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: 03 February 2008 08:06 To: [email protected] Subject: ENG-SHEFFIELD Digest, Vol 3, Issue 27 Today's Topics: 1. Travel before railways. (Ernest Burniston) 2. Re: Travel before railways. ([email protected]) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2008 08:52:39 -0500 From: "Ernest Burniston" <[email protected]> Subject: [SHEFF] Travel before railways. To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Folks I have tried for some time to find information on costs of travel for poor people before the Railway Act of 1844. The reason for this stems from one of my ancestors. He was born and raised in the Hull area but in 1834 he married a woman from the Manchester area, in fact they married in Manchester Cathedral. My question is how did he travel back and forth between Hull and Manchester, some 100 miles? It would appear that he had 2 choices: stagecoach and barge. From the little data I have been able to gather stagecoach fares were quite expensive, certainly for a poor person. This leaves barges. However they were towed by horses and only managed some 3 m.p.h. Thus this method would take several days, depending on the number of locks. Since most barges were self-owned, I gather that fares were negotiated. Is this true? . If anyone has any info on this I would certainly appreciate it. -- Ernest Burniston Raleigh, North Carolina ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2008 17:38:56 EST From: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SHEFF] Travel before railways. To: [email protected], [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" In a message dated 02/02/2008 13:53:42 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: I have tried for some time to find information on costs of travel for poor people before the Railway Act of 1844. The reason for this stems from one of my ancestors. He was born and raised in the Hull area but in 1834 he married a woman from the Manchester area, in fact they married in Manchester Cathedral. My question is how did he travel back and forth between Hull and Manchester, some 100 miles? It would appear that he had 2 choices: stagecoach and barge. From the little data I have been able to gather stagecoach fares were quite expensive, certainly for a poor person. This leaves barges. However they were towed by horses and only managed some 3 m.p.h. Thus this method would take several days, depending on the number of locks. Since most barges were self-owned, I gather that fares were negotiated. Is this true? Hi During my researches of the period I have found that people travelled quite large distances either on foot or by a cart, hitch-hiking from place to place. My own relatives travelled quiet a lot and this was the method employed by them. They often walked great distances. Certainly if they could find another means of transport then it would be taken. Obviously a boat owner could use his discretion about carrying passenger and a fee would be negotiable. Canal boats were a good option if they went to the place you were going to but they weren't always a direct route. My husband's gt.gt.grandfather was a Carter like his father, carrying goods all over and if he saw a lone walker I am sure he would offer a lift if he had room. There was no direct means of transport and one travelled from town to town until the destination was reached. You cannot assume that anyone travelled a certain way and really need direct proof of this. Even the Railway Act of 1844 meant that those with the means could pay for this type of travel but a low wage was a pittance and hardly afforded Rail Travel. regards JUDY ELKINGTON [W.R.Yorkshire, England] www.elkingtonfamily.com [email protected] www.one-name.org/profiles/elkington.html ------------------------------ To contact the ENG-SHEFFIELD list administrator, send an email to [email protected] To post a message to the ENG-SHEFFIELD mailing list, send an email to [email protected] __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. End of ENG-SHEFFIELD Digest, Vol 3, Issue 27 ********************************************