I’ve been watching a documentary on TV about Kensington Palace and was interested to note that the visiting public are not shown around by Tour Guides, but by Explainers. I know that job titles are forever being changed, but I never thought that Guides would be replaced by a more descriptive word. At STAA, we guide visitors around St Ann’s Allotments, but most of our time on site is spent explaining who, where, when and what. Much of that explanation revolves around the activities of past tenants.
The 1851 Census, for example, tells us that on one particular day 170 years ago, there were 156 people living on the Hungerhill and Gorsey Close Gardens, of which 84 quoted an occupation and 72 were either children or wives/mothers undertaking domestic duties. Although most men were in a paid occupation, many women and children were also undertaking paid work. Most of the quoted job titles are clear, but others require some research. I haven’t yet come across a Saggar Maker’s Bottom Knocker, probably because it’s a job associated with the Potteries, unless Sankeys of Bulwell employed a few bottom knockers in the production of plant pots.
However, in 1851 there was a tambourer living on the gardens. Apparently, she would have made Tambour lace by using a hook to draw threads through a fine net stretched over a frame. That makes sense, for Nottingham was renowned for its lace. In fact, among the garden residents in 1851, there were numerous occupations linked to lace, including a lace manufacturer, drawer, dresser, maker, mender, worker, embroider and runner. Framework Knitting was the other main occupation for 13 men and, as one would expect, gardening was also a source of income, with occupations as diverse as Gardener & Seedsman and Keeper of Leisure Gardens.
We know that by 1939 there were only six people still living on the allotments, but next year will see the release of the 1921 Census and so we should be able to extend our knowledge of individual plots.
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