Shropshire Routes to Roots

2. Life before the canal

On the farm

When I was young, I used to live with my parents, my two brothers and my sister. We lived in a cottage on a farming estate called the Styche estate, which was owned by the Clive family. My father worked on the estate, and when I grew older I helped him too.

The picture on the right is a plan of a farmer's cottage on the Styche estate. John might have lived with his family in a building like this. How many rooms are there in the cottage? What do you imagine life would have been like?

Farmer's cottage on the Styche estate Larger image, in a new window [29kb] [Shropshire Archive reference: 552/12/219]

The map of Shropshire on the right was produced in 1804. This is what the county (then called Salop) would have looked like when John was young. Look at the larger image, which shows the northeast corner of the county, and find Market Drayton. Is there a canal marked on the map?

'A New Map of the County of Salop', 1804 Larger image, detail from map, in a new window [52kb] [Shropshire Archive reference: CM 2/10]

Travel

The area in which I lived was quite rural, and it was about two miles to Market Drayton town. Once a week, my mother used to walk in to market and catch a lift back on the cart which carried produce between the estate and the town. We didn't have our own horse, and the only way of getting around was on foot or by getting lifts from other people. We never went very far away from Market Drayton.

Before the advent of railways and canals, travel was expensive. There was a fairly good system of horse-drawn coaches running between towns and major cities, although no coach ran from Market Drayton until the 1830s.

If a traveller wanted to go to a place not on a regular route they would need to charter a coach - the equivalent of booking a long-distance taxi. You can find out more about this in the Coaches and carriers - How to use a trade directory theme.

The document on the right is a letter written by Annette Hill, who lived at The Citadel, Hawkstone. This letter is part of a series about the tour of England she went on after her marriage. She is writing from the Lake District. Read the letter, which is dated 1832: Do you think Annette is wealthy? How do she and her friends seem to be getting around the country?

The first page of Annette Hill's letter Larger image and transcription, in a new window [30kb] [Shropshire Archive reference: 811/31-33]

By the end of the nineteenth century, with the development of the railways, places like the Lake District and seaside resorts became popular tourist destinations. For the first time, workers in cities and towns in the Midlands could afford to holiday away from home.

Continue

Return to top of page