STOCKINGERS/FWK/LACE
Inside a Stockingers cottage
By 1750 there was 50 manufacturers in Nottingham owning 1200 frames and trading directly with London
The first pair of machine-made cotton stockings were produced by a Nottingham knitter - Draper of Bellargate In 1730
By the end of the 1700’s the stocking trade had grown to 25,000 with “Bagmen” acting as middlemen between the warehouse and the scattered workers
1763 John Morris adapted Jedediah Strutts Derby Rib attachment to create a lacey un-patterned fabric on the stocking Frame
Thomas Hammond of Nottingham is usually credited with creating the first piece of machine-made lace in 1768. He was said to produced just enough to keep himself and his wife in drink.
Around this time other Nottingham men such as Holmes, John Lindley senior and Robert Frost all successfully made lace on adapted stocking Frames produced
In the mid late 1700 and 1800 lace was in demand for trimming the edges of bonnets, Shoes, men's cuffs, shirt openings,, cravats,
Women wore lace in ruffles at the elbow and neck. Lace was everywhere in churches - used widely for decoration of vestments. Wealthy families chose lace for household linens and even servants cloths.
Royal coaches were lined with lace .
NO aristocrat family dreamed of christening their babies in anything other than Lace
HOUSING -
A Stockinger paid his master 3s 6d a week for board and lodgings which was the average “ and they lived well”
In1796 William Sketchley - Surveyor reports number of inhabited houses in BJ as 35
Single story homes from the 1650 +
THE POOR
- in 1787 the growing numbers of paupers requiring help place a strain on the traditional parish scheme for relief. The villages of Gedling, Carlton, Burton Joyce , Bulcote and Shelford formed themselves into an Association for the purposes of building a Work House. There are no detailed case histories of BJ villagers , although it was known that John Ward the son of William and Elizabeth Ward died in the workhouse in 1826 and that several expectant mothers were admitted between 1790 and 1820
WAGES -
A Stockinger in 1768 could expect a wage between a minimum of 6s a week in some cases it could be as high as 12s a week However worsted work did not pay the higher rates eg
The case of Mr William Hallam of Nottingham:
He
produced 12 pairs of worsted hose per week at 7d per pair = 7s 0d
His
expenses were
1)
Frame rent………………………………...............9d
2)
Standing room………………………………..........3d
3)
Needles………………………………....................4d
4)
For pulling worsted out of slip…………………..2d
5)
Fire and Candles……………………………….........5d
6)
Seaming per dozen……………………………….....7d
TOTAL
Expenses 2s 6d
Nett
wage for food, clothes, house rent etc……….4s 6d
Therefore profit after expenses……………………..2s 6d per week
Comparable
rates of pay for the various kinds of work of a stockinger
Rate
of Pay Not per week Gross Wage Probable net wage
Coarse
worsted 7d<8d font="" nbsp="">
A master Frame worker in Nottingham Sam Wilkinson considered that conditions were a great deal better than formerly and thought it was possible for a man to earn a comfortable livelihood in the trade by working six days a week and 12 hours per day. An advantage would be gained by having “an industrious wife who pulled the right way
“
A master Frame worker in Nottingham Sam Wilkinson considered that conditions were a great deal better than formerly and thought it was possible for a man to earn a comfortable livelihood in the trade by working six days a week and 12 hours per day. An advantage would be gained by having “an industrious wife who pulled the right way
“
In
1787 there was a wage agreement established between Masters and Men
“OUT of the BOX” - Alvey family Lineage
JOHN ALVEY - “MISSING JOHN ?” b1753 d1828 S Normanton - Farmer
WILLIAM ALVEY Bap1788 S Normanton d1864 Ault Hucknall -
Farmer
THOMAS ALVEY b 1816 Tibshelf d1874 S Normanton - Blacksmith
WILLIAM ALVEY b 1842 S Normanton d 1918 Selston -
Blacksmith
SAMUEL ALVEY b 1869 S Normanton d 1955 Wath-on-Dearne - Blacksmith
SAMUEL ALVEY b 1913 Wath-on-Dearne d1974 Rotherham - Coal Miner
BRIAN ALVEY b 1938 Wath- on Dearne - Nottingham lace
“BACK in the BOX”-
Burton Joyce
EDUCATION
-1797 -“there was a school of some note -for young gentlemen” in Bulcote
RELIGION
1787 the Arch Deacon of Nottingham Dr R Kaye speaks of the growing depravity of the poor, their extreme licentiousness even in the most distant towns and villages and sorrowfully refers to the youth and even infancy of many of the criminals. To combat this deplorable tendency a society had been formed to spread the knowledge of Sunday Schools and within 6 months more than 200 had been founded and six thousand children provided for. The object of Sunday Schools he sets forth as follows : to rescue children of the poor from ignorance, vice, and idleness; to inculcate duties of industry and subordination so as to qualify them for the several relations of society;
"the preservation of health by habits of cleanliness and decency and last to be taught to read"
MARRIAGE -
1754 onwards Those marriage partners who could not write were encouraged to make their marks by drawing across.
Each marriage required two witness signatures ( name or cross).- between Oct 1754 and November 1800 there were 172 marriages recorded in the parish register and of those 344 people married only 97 men and 58 women were able to write.
In the same marriages there was only one occasion when both witnesses had to make their mark and only 17 where one witness did so. However a Joseph Burton acted as a witness on 30 separate and a Geo Hicklin no fewer than 74 times - After 1800 marks became fewer in number the last being recorded in1884
LEISURE.
The skill of intellectual pursuits had still not come in as yet and the skill of hand and eye had not yet gone out.
The brutality of the 1700’s is well known, but if men liked to see animals fight and suffer ie cock-fighting, cock-shying, bearbaiting, they also delighted in fighting and inflicting suffering on one another.
There were barbarities practised in the name of the Poor Law, the whipping of men and women vagrants, the removal of women in labour, the beating of apprentices and the unimaginable squalor in which lunatics were kept and the scandalous conditions of many workhouses and gaols.
As late as 1765 a man who had committed suicide at Nottingham was buried in the public highway with a stake driven thro his body
In this century Nottingham’s Ale was also widely renowned - London’s Brewers used to “borrow” the glamour of its name to sell their own and poets praised it its virues. The light variety could be a s cheap as 1.5d per gallon; fine strong ale cost 1s 4d
MAIN OCCUPATIONS -
Agriculture and now Stockingers
1769 Enclosure awards - stated 5 public horse carriage roads, 5 public bridal roads 8 public footpaths connecting BJ & B with each other and with Lambley, Gunthorpe, Stoke Bardolph, Lowdham, Nottingham, and Shelford ( by way of a ford). There was also 14 private roads or footpaths leading to fields, woods, “allotments”etc, one of which was to be used in times of flooding only Many of the roads are much altered now but still exist notably -
Willow
Wong,
Lambley
Lane,
The
Bridle Road,
Stoke
Road,
Chestnut
Grove,
Trent Lane,
Green
Lane and the Bridle Road alongside Bulcote Church -
they
remain unaltered until 1920s, indeed Trent Lane ( beyond the railway)
Green Lane, and the Bulcote Bridle Road are much as they always were
In 1782 Wm Jessop - Engineer was commissioned to survey the river and estimate the cost of improving it.
In 1783 a plan was submitted and an Act of Parliament passed. At BJ the official “Haling path” was to be on the village side of the river - it was stipulated that there should never be a haling path on both sides of the same stretch of river - all the way from Radclffe to Farndon. Tolls were to be paid for use of the haling paths according to the nature of cargo being transported ( there was exceptions ie coals, plaister, lime - half fees, and materials for making roads or preserving the river banks - which could be transported free - there is little doubt that there was stabling for the horses hauling the barges at the Lord Nelson Public House in BJ. It is also known that at one time there was a wharf near by to the Lord Nelson, however where it was and where it was built is not known, for there is no sign physical signs remaining, nor does it appear on any map.
Maps dated 1783 & 1793 shows only coal wharfs at Radcliffe and Gunthorpe Haling paths between Nottingham Trent Bridge and Newark were in use by May 1784
In 1799 there were six named BJ men plying a trade on the river, these and their boats were
William Gaunt -
Henry
Ward - 1 boat in 1793 , 1 in 1797
William
Bish - he traded as Wm Bish & Co ( the “& Co” was not identified)
George
Ward/William Alcock - both owed boat built for them
Samuel
Wisher & Co owned a boat jointly with William Alcock
Willam Alcock appears to have been the most important owner at the time. He
was succeeded by his son Gregory b 1785 and was still connected with
boats as late as 1851
It appears that only William Saunders,
Thomas Tomlinson and Thomas Bramley were the only boatmen to appear in 3
consecutive census 1841/51/61
River steam boat on the Trent at BJ
1764 VISITATION REPORT -
BJ- 41 families, Bulcote about 23 possibly 280 people in total
1790 “Thorosby” republished and added to “Thoroton“.
He
describes Burton Jorz as
“Small” and Bulcote as “very small”
He
also describes neighbouring villages as ,
Carelton - as an hamlet of considerable
magnitude-
Gedling
- inferior to Carelton but of
considerable magnitude
Lambley - small
Lowdham - about 70 dwellings
Woodboro - 100 dwellings or upwards
Epperstone - 60 dwellings**
Calverton - about 100 dwellings
Oxton - about 70 dwellings
**Which would suggest the BJ had less than 60 dwellings
This is the first and earliest documented statement which confirms the “ALVEY family” had involvement in Frame Worker activities, so prevalent for individuals and families in the
Nottingham area
- We need to establish where Samuel Alvey ( Alvey family 153 ?) was living for he was attributed with agricultural work being allocated several strips in local fields :
Terra ( survey/list) of BJ Farm -Mr Ogle Radford 1757
Samuel
Alveys agricultural farming activities -
West
Moor one Land, Hobberd Hole Four Lands (West),
West
Moor Land ( East), Middle Witherings one Land ( North),
Shepherds
Bow, one Ley (West), Hobble moor (West) - I refer to as SAMUELS FIELD?
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755 Samuel John issues his Dictionary of English language
1756
1757
1758
1759 Dec 11 Burial of ALVIE Samuel
1760
1761 Crowning/ coronation of George the third
1764 June Tremendous storm thunder and lightening created flooding,
1769 Enclosure Act had little effect on the layout of BJ village - it was mainly fields which surrounded the centre
1776 Stockingers create their “Association of the Midland Counties “ in an attempt to increase wages
1779 Capt Cooke - English navigator dies in Hawaii
1780 The madness of King Geo 3 of England
1786 Jul 31 Marriage of MOBROUGH William = Sarah ALVEY both of this parish
1786 Nov 22 Marriage of THOMLIN Thomas = Joanna ALVEY both of this parish
1787 & 1794 December - Flooding,
1787 Poor House at Gedling for Carlton, Stoke Bardolph and Burton Joyce
1788 Riots at Butchers meat prices,
1789 France creates first guillotine (beheading machine)
1791 Autumn time Riots in Nottm - hosiery related ,
1794 ALVEY Family 313:
Thomas of Gedling & Mary at Burton Joyce or Gedling 1794
1794 wed: Thomas of Gedling b 1761, d 1841
Mary Henfrey b 1765, d 1847 at Burton Joyce ( PR burial &1841 census)
Children - none known BJ place holder for marriage No known children
1712/10/18 f Mary Alvie Burton Joyce b 1702/10/09
Link family 226:Thomas b 1761/11/14 son of John Alve & Amy at Mansfield St Peter
1796 First vaccine in England for smallpox
1797 Horatio Nelson looses R arm during assault on Tenerife
1800 BJ has been mainly agricultural until late into this century.
Womens opportunities had been mainly in Domestic service.
The introduction of framework knitting was an important development which caused the first notable expansion of the village.
Small workshops housing several frames were built alongside some cottages, new cottages were built along Main St and old cottages were adapted to allow for rented frames and a few rows of cottages with big window suitable for workers renting frames were built, especially
Rose cottages (top row) and Brookside cottages ( Bottom row) off Lambley lane and Apricot Row on Main St. Over 100 villages were employed as framework knitters - over one seventh of the population plus allied trades such as seamers and winders.
