Reports of special assistant poor law commissioners on the employment of women and children in agriculture.

  • Board of guardians
Date:
1843
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reports of special assistant poor law commissioners on the employment of women and children in agriculture. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    1 lb. or 14lb. of cheese, bacon, salt beef, butter, tea, sugar, candles, and soap with beer on Saturday night. Our master allowed my husband small- beer during work Since my husband's deatb, the guardians allow ]*. 6d. a-week for the child, and I earn (December) 4s. Gd. a-week. I pay— s. d. 1 G a-week . 1 G ■ 0 4i „ • 0 2J „ • 0 H „ .02 „ . 0 5^ „ 4 4 The Is. 8d. that is left goes for firing, shoes, which cost a great deal, &c. My husband hired 54 lugs of land, and I continued it after his death ; with- out it I could not get on. It produces just potatoes enough for me and my child; also, this last year, three bushels of wheat. I manage the ground entirely myself. My father had a little property when I was young, and I was sent to school. I was at school just two years. I was afterwards maid- of-all -work with the master for whom I have always since worked, and afterwards in the dairy. I have always found that being maid-of-all-work was of great use to me after I was married. The work was hard in the dairy, but it never hurt me. For rent . 1^ gallons bread i lb. candles, i lb. soap i lb. butter Tea ... } lb. sugar Rent of allotment . No. 12. Jane Long, the Wife of Joseph Long, Agricultural Labourer, Studley near Calne, Wiltshire, examined. I am about 48 years old, and am strong and healthy. I began to work in the fields when I was quite a girl. I have worked for these 35 years in the fields. I cannot work now, perhaps, quite so much as formerly. I began to work at 12 or 13, or even before. I helped my father to bind up the corn when he was reaping when quite a girl. I have reaped myself as much as half an acre a-day, and tied it up. I and another have reaped an acre a-day between us. In harvest I have worked nearly night and day, at the time that I had four or five children. At other times of the year I have worked at all kinds of things in the fields, couching, turnip-hoeing, hay- making, and stone-picking. Hay-making is harder than turnip-hoeing, there is more ground to go over. I would reap quite as soon as be employed in hay-making. At hay-making and other times I went out at six in the morning, and got home at six in the evening; hours are earlier and later at harvest. I generally worked about six months in the year, sometimes, per- haps, rather more. I have been always paid about the same for the same kinds of work. At hay-time and harvest I am paid better than at other times. When a girl I got about 2*. a-week; afterwards 8d. a-day ; at hay-time I have always had Is. a-day ; and in harvest I am paid by the lump, and have earned as much as 4*. a-day. I never felt the work hurt me, not when a girl more than since I have been grown up. I often come home too tired to do anything, but always with a good appetite. I was always better when working out in the fields than when I was staying at home. I have had nine children; eight of them are now alive. The youngest, a girl, is 13; we have two other girls, one at service in London, the other at home; our other five children are boys. We had a little parish relief when our children were quite young, but none since the eldest