Industries

1841 British Census and the wider world

Put the 1841 British census in a world wide context, by taking a look at some of the global events that had an impact on the lives of our ancestors, see how your family history connects to the past.

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St Katherine’s Dock

Why would London’s poor fight to earn a pittance of 4d a day in London’s Docklands? Were your relatives building the docks, living in the slums or competing for the work?

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  1. St Katherines Dock key to understanding life in London’s Docklands 19thC Ancestors who were London dock workers would have been familiar with St Katherine’s Dock…
  2. The Difficult passage across the Thames in C18th & C19th The growth of London in terms of population and trade demanded the need for more crossing points of the River Thames….
  3. Salford and the Industrial Revolution Salford, Manchester in the UK, was, at the end of the C19th, a small cotton, calico and silk weaving town with a population of about 7000 people. The Industrial Revolution brought great factories and mills to the town of Salford and not only did it become one of the most important mill towns in the……
  4. Manchester Ship Canal 1894 The Manchester Ship Canal was opened in 1894 and was the largest river navigation canal in the world. It took six years to build and cost £15 million. It was 58km long and started at the Mersey estuary in Liverpool and terminated at the dock in Manchester. It allowed the newly created Port of Manchester……
  5. Richard Trevithick and the Rotherhithe Tunnel 1807 The Cornish mining engineer, Richard Trevithick, was asked to undertake the incredible engineering feat of digging a tunnel under the River Thames from the Parish of St Mary Rotherhithe to the other side. The growth in docks, wharves, ship builders and a multitude of other manufacturers made it imperative to build some means of crossing……
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Invention of the whippletree

The Chinese invented the whippletree, this allowed two oxen to pull a single cart together, this meant double the load, so halving the journey time. This invention probably dates between 190 – 209 AD. Related posts:Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge 1826 Thomas Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge opened on 30th January 1826. It was the first modern…

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  1. Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge 1826 Thomas Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge opened on 30th January 1826. It was the first modern suspension bridge. For some great pictures of the bridge and to read about Robert Stephenson’s rail bridge, follow the link….
  2. Who declared war on Britain in 1812? During the Napoleonic war, Britain was concerned with preventing France from trading with neutral countries, including America. The Navy sought out and intercepted American merchant vessels and sometimes removed the crew and ‘pressed’ them into serving the King’s Navy. Needless to say the Americans were not happy with this turn of events and on 12th……
  3. Absence from school in rural areas 1876 The Rural Poor and Education 1876…
  4. Remember the smell of carbolic in schools? Joseph Lister discovered that he could reduce infections in hospitals by using carbolic dressings, soaps and sprays. Within years, carbolic soap and powder used in many schools, to try to curb the incidences and deaths from contagious diseases such as diphtheria, measles and scarlet fever which spread through schools at an alarming rate. Schools were……
  5. Education Acts of 1870, 1873, 1876, tough on poor families? The affect of the Education Acts on poor families…
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Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge 1826

Thomas Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge opened on 30th January 1826. It was the first modern suspension bridge. For some great pictures of the bridge and to read about Robert Stephenson’s rail bridge, follow the link. Related posts:The new London Bridge opened 1831 The old London bridge was a bridge like no other. It was a…

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  1. The new London Bridge opened 1831 The old London bridge was a bridge like no other. It was a thoroughfare, jammed full of houses and shops and passable only with caution and if you had time to spare. The old bridge was not able to cope with growing demands of an expanding city and so a new bridge was designed by……
  2. Empire State Building New York Building the Empire State building 1929…
  3. London Bridge Census 1811 Crossing Old London bridge in 1811…
  4. Did your ancestor die abroad or onboard? Where did your ancestor die?…
  5. Who declared war on Britain in 1812? During the Napoleonic war, Britain was concerned with preventing France from trading with neutral countries, including America. The Navy sought out and intercepted American merchant vessels and sometimes removed the crew and ‘pressed’ them into serving the King’s Navy. Needless to say the Americans were not happy with this turn of events and on 12th……
Read More