On 25/10/15 17:44, melanie chesnel wrote: > Just think stone masons building castles and cathederals v. ag labs Ag labs, hired from year to year with no home of their own could have been quite mobile. -- Hotmail is my spam bin. Real address is ianng at austonley org uk

On 26/10/2015 10:42, Ian Goddard wrote: > On 25/10/15 17:44, melanie chesnel wrote: > >> Just think stone masons building castles and cathederals v. ag labs > > Ag labs, hired from year to year with no home of their own could have > been quite mobile. > But generally in the same area, eg again on my wife's side, one ancestor was a ploughman near Dumfries at the beginning of the 19th Century. Each of his children was born in a different village but all within about 10 miles of the town. The really mobile group was domestic servants who would often move around the country with their employer and then change employers in a distant town. -- Graeme Wall This account not read, substitute trains for rail.

On Monday, October 26, 2015 at 11:42:30 AM UTC+1, Ian Goddard wrote: > On 25/10/15 17:44, melanie chesnel wrote: > > > Just think stone masons building castles and cathederals v. ag labs > > Ag labs, hired from year to year with no home of their own could have > been quite mobile. > I quite agree I was thinking more when ag labs were serfs tied to the manor - I suppose I shouldn't have used the 19th century abbreviation when thinking of the middle ages. The controlling factor in a persons mobility seems to be their job or the search for work, but I think their character also played a role. Some people are just stick in the mud and others take even the slightest of opportunities to roam. What I find interesting is both my mother and father came from mobile families. Although on the surface my mum's working class northern background was different to my dad's middle class home counties their families were very similar back in the 18th century - one both sides they were butcher's, metal workers of one sort or another, coach builders, shipwrights and carpenters, yeoman farmers and a surprising number owned pubs or were malsters or dealers in beer! regards melanie chesnel

In message <100cc24d-fa78-4119-8f5c-43117cbcd6ef@googlegroups.com>, melanie chesnel <mellychesnel@gmail.com> writes: [] >slightest of opportunities to roam. What I find interesting is both my >mother and father came from mobile families. Although on the surface my >mum's working class northern background was different to my dad's >middle class home counties their families were very similar back in >the 18th century - one both sides they were butcher's, metal workers of >one sort or another, coach builders, shipwrights and carpenters, yeoman >farmers and a surprising number owned pubs or were malsters or dealers >in beer! >regards melanie chesnel I have a feeling that most of those were moderately prosperous professions - not sure about the butcher, but I'd guess he'd own a horse as part of his trade, for moving meat about. I'm not at all sure what sort of transport was available to the poor. How would they undertake a large journey - not only the means of transport (horse or on foot), but where they'd overnight (either mode of transport - especially carrying all their goods and chattels, even if they didn't have many - wouldn't cover many miles in a day) - isn't clear to me. I'm _assuming_ stagecoach and the like was far beyond most people. -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf You can be tough without being rude - Nick Clegg, 2014 July

On 26/10/2015 20:58, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote: > In message <100cc24d-fa78-4119-8f5c-43117cbcd6ef@googlegroups.com>, > melanie chesnel <mellychesnel@gmail.com> writes: > [] >> slightest of opportunities to roam. What I find interesting is both my >> mother and father came from mobile families. Although on the surface >> my mum's working class northern background was different to my dad's >> middle class home counties their families were very similar back in >> the 18th century - one both sides they were butcher's, metal workers >> of one sort or another, coach builders, shipwrights and carpenters, >> yeoman farmers and a surprising number owned pubs or were malsters or >> dealers in beer! >> regards melanie chesnel > > I have a feeling that most of those were moderately prosperous > professions - not sure about the butcher, but I'd guess he'd own a horse > as part of his trade, for moving meat about. > > I'm not at all sure what sort of transport was available to the poor. > How would they undertake a large journey - not only the means of > transport (horse or on foot), but where they'd overnight (either mode of > transport - especially carrying all their goods and chattels, even if > they didn't have many - wouldn't cover many miles in a day) - isn't > clear to me. I'm _assuming_ stagecoach and the like was far beyond most > people. Walking for many of them, ox-cart for the lucky ones and those with large loads. Average speed of the latter would be 2mph if they were lucky. As for overnights, under a hedge or in a barn. Pilgrimage routes had shelters at appropriate intervals. There's one on the North Downs route to Canterbury that still exists near Maidstone. -- Graeme Wall This account not read, substitute trains for rail.