John Mumford and Family
John Mumford, Emily's paternal grandfather, was born in Greenwich, London in 1846. When he was 20, he married Amelia Shepherd, who was 21 and also came from London. James, Nana's father, was the 5th of their 7 known children, 4 girls and 3 boys. When James was only 5 and Cornelius, his youngest brother was only 2; their mother Amelia suffered from 'Disease of the heart' and 'Congestion of the lungs' which lasted for 5 days, until she eventually died on 12th April 1882 at the age of 37. Respiratory diseases like this were common in industrial towns like Manchester at the time, due to the high level of pollution from the factories. One of Amelia’s neighbours, Phoebe Hall who lived a few doors away with her husband Samuel, a blacksmith, and her 3 children, was the main person present at her death. Like many of the working class people of the time, Phoebe could not write and so signed Amelia’s death certificate with her mark, a cross.
Mourning the Dead in Victorian Times
Death was a common domestic fact of life for Victorians and there were elaborate rituals developed to deal with it. Queen Victoria herself mourned the death of her husband, Prince Albert, for 40 years. She dressed in black every day and kept the house exactly as it was the day he died. The deathbed became a focal point for families who were in the process of losing a loved one and typically, one or more grieving relatives would surround the bed waiting to hear the last words, signifying the transition from this world to the next. As Amelia took 5 days to die, this bedside vigil must have been quite an ordeal for the whole family. But even though she was dying, John, her husband, would not have been able to afford to have time off work as he had a family of 7 children to support and this would probably explain why it was Phoebe, a friend and neighbour who was with her when she finally died.
Photographs, death masks and portraits of the recently deceased were also produced, as well as jewellery with a locket of the dead person's hair, although these objects would more than likely be unaffordable for the Mumford family. After the loved one had actually passed away, women were expected to follow a complex code of mourning that lasted for two and a half years during which time they were forbidden from socializing. For 12 months and a day, they wore a plain, black dress made of a drab, blended fabric, which covered the entire body, including a cap. Black ribbon was tied to their underwear. After two months, two flounces could be added to the skirt. After one year, the women could then switch their dress fabric to silk, which could be coloured in lavender, mauve or violet.
These rituals provided stability and refuge during an era of sweeping changes, which included scientific, technical and industrial progress and blatant challenges to religion such as Darwin’s theory of evolution. Mourning therefore created a powerful sense of being bound to the loyalty of the past, but these rituals may have been a luxury that many working class families could not afford to partake in. Their lives were inextricably bound to the present and satisfying immediate needs such as hunger would have been their first priority.
Life Goes On
Only 5 months after Amelia’s death, on 21st September 1882, John re-married a lady called Agnes Rebecca Foster Harrison in Oldham, Manchester and she was about 6 years his younger. This may seem to be a surprisingly short time after the death of his first wife, particularly when considering the customary code of mourning, but John had more important things to consider. Who would look after the children and the family home? He had 7 children to support and the practicality of having a woman to look after the house and children was paramount. 2 years after their marriage, they had their fist known child, Lily, followed by Blanche and then Albert.
Intrepid Travels in Search of Work
John and his family did much travelling around the country in search of work and for at least part of these travels, William, who was probably his elder brother, travelled alongside John with his own family in tow. Both families set off from London some time after John's first child, Mary was born in 1869, and they all lived in Gainsborough, in Lincolnshire. They did not stay there long, and by 1871, both families had moved to Kingston-Upon Hull, which was an industrial city situated on the River Humber. It was developing fast as an international port and fishing base and had long seafaring traditions, including a thriving whaling industry which had recently come to an end in the 1860's. As a result of this, the fishing and shipbuilding industries boomed, so workers with skills in these areas would have been in demand. Both John and William followed in their father William Mumford’s footsteps and worked as Boiler Makers. They probably worked within the ship-building industry, given the boom in the local shipping industry and the fact that many of John's neighbours also worked within the shipping industry as fellow 'boiler maker', ‘fireman on board streamer’ and ‘ship engineer’.
The Hazardous Job of a Boiler Maker
Boilermakers generally worked on boilers, tanks, and other pressure vessels and were exposed to conditions which ranged from extreme heat and humidity to extreme cold. These extreme working conditions were also often accompanied with damp, poor ventilation and exceptionally high noise levels. Their work was hazardous, with a higher rate of injury than any other manufacturing industry, and this remains true to this day. They often had to work close to dangerous equipment and handle heavy material. They would be expected to climb to considerable heights, working on high scaffolds or crawl inside cramped boilers, vats, and tanks. They generally worked on projects, and had to travel to find work, following project after project around the country. This made settling in one area difficult and would explain why John and William travelled around the country with such regularity.
Work in the boiler-making industry must have been difficult to find, and by 1881 both John and William had decided to set up business for themselves in Oldham, Manchester, where William became a Coal Merchant and John, along with his wife Amelia, became 'Pop Makers'. John was described as a 'Mineral Waters Manufacturer' on his wife's death certificate and a John Mumford at 39 Piccadilly was recorded as an to a manufacturer in Slater’s directory of Manchester & Salford in 1886.
Mineral Water in the 19th Century The drinking of either natural or artificial mineral water was considered a healthy practice in the 19th Century and pharmacists, who were selling most of the mineral waters, started to add medicinal and other flavourful herbs to the unflavoured beverage: e.g., birch bark, dandelion, sarsaparilla and fruit extracts. Shops with soda fountains became popular as customers wanted to take the drinks home with them and by 1850, a manual hand & foot operated filling & corking device was first used for bottling soda water. Thus, the soft drink bottling industry started, with Ginger Ale being created in Ireland in 1851, and the term 'Pop' being introduced in 1861. Root Beer was first mass produced for public sale in 1876 and by 1881 the first Cola flavoured drink had just been introduced.
By 1891, John was on the move again and he moved to Southampton, where he worked as a publican in a hotel called The Pembroke Hotel, situated in Pembroke Square, just to the east of Bargate. There was a long tradition of public houses on this secluded site and was commonly called ‘Kim’s Kosy Korner’ Charles Kimber who was the landlord in the 1890’s, but it was demolished in the 1930’s as part of the Bargate redevelopment. The Hotel had 1st, 2nd and 3rd class bars and his 19 year-old daughter Rachel was a barmaid there and James, Nana’s father, at the age of 14, was a billiard marker. He would have worked in the 1st class bar and his job would have been to attend to the billiard players in the billiard room and record the progress of the game. The game of Billiards had become so much the fashion amongst ‘gentlemen’ of the time, that it was considered ‘boorish’ to be a novice at it.
Mourning the Dead in Victorian Times
Death was a common domestic fact of life for Victorians and there were elaborate rituals developed to deal with it. Queen Victoria herself mourned the death of her husband, Prince Albert, for 40 years. She dressed in black every day and kept the house exactly as it was the day he died. The deathbed became a focal point for families who were in the process of losing a loved one and typically, one or more grieving relatives would surround the bed waiting to hear the last words, signifying the transition from this world to the next. As Amelia took 5 days to die, this bedside vigil must have been quite an ordeal for the whole family. But even though she was dying, John, her husband, would not have been able to afford to have time off work as he had a family of 7 children to support and this would probably explain why it was Phoebe, a friend and neighbour who was with her when she finally died.
Photographs, death masks and portraits of the recently deceased were also produced, as well as jewellery with a locket of the dead person's hair, although these objects would more than likely be unaffordable for the Mumford family. After the loved one had actually passed away, women were expected to follow a complex code of mourning that lasted for two and a half years during which time they were forbidden from socializing. For 12 months and a day, they wore a plain, black dress made of a drab, blended fabric, which covered the entire body, including a cap. Black ribbon was tied to their underwear. After two months, two flounces could be added to the skirt. After one year, the women could then switch their dress fabric to silk, which could be coloured in lavender, mauve or violet.
These rituals provided stability and refuge during an era of sweeping changes, which included scientific, technical and industrial progress and blatant challenges to religion such as Darwin’s theory of evolution. Mourning therefore created a powerful sense of being bound to the loyalty of the past, but these rituals may have been a luxury that many working class families could not afford to partake in. Their lives were inextricably bound to the present and satisfying immediate needs such as hunger would have been their first priority.
Life Goes On
Only 5 months after Amelia’s death, on 21st September 1882, John re-married a lady called Agnes Rebecca Foster Harrison in Oldham, Manchester and she was about 6 years his younger. This may seem to be a surprisingly short time after the death of his first wife, particularly when considering the customary code of mourning, but John had more important things to consider. Who would look after the children and the family home? He had 7 children to support and the practicality of having a woman to look after the house and children was paramount. 2 years after their marriage, they had their fist known child, Lily, followed by Blanche and then Albert.
Intrepid Travels in Search of Work
John and his family did much travelling around the country in search of work and for at least part of these travels, William, who was probably his elder brother, travelled alongside John with his own family in tow. Both families set off from London some time after John's first child, Mary was born in 1869, and they all lived in Gainsborough, in Lincolnshire. They did not stay there long, and by 1871, both families had moved to Kingston-Upon Hull, which was an industrial city situated on the River Humber. It was developing fast as an international port and fishing base and had long seafaring traditions, including a thriving whaling industry which had recently come to an end in the 1860's. As a result of this, the fishing and shipbuilding industries boomed, so workers with skills in these areas would have been in demand. Both John and William followed in their father William Mumford’s footsteps and worked as Boiler Makers. They probably worked within the ship-building industry, given the boom in the local shipping industry and the fact that many of John's neighbours also worked within the shipping industry as fellow 'boiler maker', ‘fireman on board streamer’ and ‘ship engineer’.
The Hazardous Job of a Boiler Maker
Boilermakers generally worked on boilers, tanks, and other pressure vessels and were exposed to conditions which ranged from extreme heat and humidity to extreme cold. These extreme working conditions were also often accompanied with damp, poor ventilation and exceptionally high noise levels. Their work was hazardous, with a higher rate of injury than any other manufacturing industry, and this remains true to this day. They often had to work close to dangerous equipment and handle heavy material. They would be expected to climb to considerable heights, working on high scaffolds or crawl inside cramped boilers, vats, and tanks. They generally worked on projects, and had to travel to find work, following project after project around the country. This made settling in one area difficult and would explain why John and William travelled around the country with such regularity.
Work in the boiler-making industry must have been difficult to find, and by 1881 both John and William had decided to set up business for themselves in Oldham, Manchester, where William became a Coal Merchant and John, along with his wife Amelia, became 'Pop Makers'. John was described as a 'Mineral Waters Manufacturer' on his wife's death certificate and a John Mumford at 39 Piccadilly was recorded as an to a manufacturer in Slater’s directory of Manchester & Salford in 1886.
Mineral Water in the 19th Century The drinking of either natural or artificial mineral water was considered a healthy practice in the 19th Century and pharmacists, who were selling most of the mineral waters, started to add medicinal and other flavourful herbs to the unflavoured beverage: e.g., birch bark, dandelion, sarsaparilla and fruit extracts. Shops with soda fountains became popular as customers wanted to take the drinks home with them and by 1850, a manual hand & foot operated filling & corking device was first used for bottling soda water. Thus, the soft drink bottling industry started, with Ginger Ale being created in Ireland in 1851, and the term 'Pop' being introduced in 1861. Root Beer was first mass produced for public sale in 1876 and by 1881 the first Cola flavoured drink had just been introduced.
By 1891, John was on the move again and he moved to Southampton, where he worked as a publican in a hotel called The Pembroke Hotel, situated in Pembroke Square, just to the east of Bargate. There was a long tradition of public houses on this secluded site and was commonly called ‘Kim’s Kosy Korner’ Charles Kimber who was the landlord in the 1890’s, but it was demolished in the 1930’s as part of the Bargate redevelopment. The Hotel had 1st, 2nd and 3rd class bars and his 19 year-old daughter Rachel was a barmaid there and James, Nana’s father, at the age of 14, was a billiard marker. He would have worked in the 1st class bar and his job would have been to attend to the billiard players in the billiard room and record the progress of the game. The game of Billiards had become so much the fashion amongst ‘gentlemen’ of the time, that it was considered ‘boorish’ to be a novice at it.
The Billiard Marker – Extracts From:
October 1875 THE ETIQUETTE OF THE BILLIARD ROOM
When two gentlemen are playing at billiards, they are supposed to hire, not only the table, but the room, and the services of the marker. They pay a certain sum per game, or per hour, for these items, and they are, for the time being, fairly entitled to the uninterrupted use or each and all. The marker is their especial servant, and his duty is to mark the game, hand the rest, take the balls out of the pocket when a hazard is made, and act as referee if required. A marker who attends to the game can do nothing else at the same time. This being the case, we yet find in many billiard-rooms, and even in some clubs, that a gentleman will enter the room, at once call off the marker's attention from the game, and order him to get a brandy-and-soda, or beer, or change for a sovereign, and be quite unaware that he is committing as great a breach of etiquette as though he entered your dining-room and ordered your attending servant to run a message for him.
We were once at a local club, engaged in a match at billiards, on which several pounds were dependent, when the honorary secretary entered the room, walked straight to the marker's desk, and began questioning him about his weekly accounts, and we found our score left to take care of itself. Such a proceeding could only be due to gross ignorance of etiquette or simple impertinence. If you are compelled to employ the marker in any way, you should first ask the players if they have any objection to your marking the game whilst the marker does this or that for you; you then mark with care, hand the rest, &c., just as would the marker whose services the players are paying for. Such a. proceeding is not only etiquette, it is justice.
Every person, before entering a billiard-room, should either look through the holes cut in the door, for the purpose of seeing when a stroke is about to be made, or listen at the door, so as to enter the room when no player is aiming or making a stroke. In some places this necessary proceeding is entirely neglected, whilst in others a man will swagger into the room, and beg your pardon as he does so—an act somewhat similar to purposely treading on your toes and saying "Beg pardon."
When people sit in a billiard-room, they are supposed to do so in order to look on at the game; they should if possible sit, and remain quiet at least during the strokes.
That billiards is a healthy indoor game; that it brings out the various qualities of eye, hand, head, and nerve, cause it to be deservedly popular, and as it is now so generally played, we venture, as an old performer, to offer these few remarks on the etiquette of the billiard room for the benefit of those whose experience of a well-conducted room is not extensive, and who commit acts which every good billiard-player looks on as unpardonable.
It is the marker's duty, at the slightest hint from the players that noise or chaff is objectionable, to strike his rest on the floor so as to attract the attention of the visitors, and call, "Order, if you please, gentlemen." Such a proceeding will in almost every case produce the desired result, unless there are roughs in the room, or those who ignore all courtesy or etiquette; and when such should be present, the sooner they are taught manners the better for them, and the more agreeable for the law-loving company.
The Billiard News: December 25th, 1875
A good billiard-marker often differs from a bad one simply in the fact that the former does a hundred little civil services of his own free will, none of which he is absolutely called upon by duty to perform. All billiard-players know the really good marker, who, so to speak, "fields" for us round the table, who invariably puts the balls ready in the bottom pockets when put in previously at pool, who is always at hand with a lighted spill directly we have filled our pipes or opened our cigar-case, whose friendly hand assists us at leaving in that awful struggle with our great coat. By-the-by, why do we sometimes quarrel with our great coat when our last life at pool has been taken by a fluke? Yes, we all know this marker, civil, obliging, witty. The billiard markers as a class are generally civil, obliging, and good-tempered, but too often underpaid.
When two gentlemen are playing at billiards, they are supposed to hire, not only the table, but the room, and the services of the marker. They pay a certain sum per game, or per hour, for these items, and they are, for the time being, fairly entitled to the uninterrupted use or each and all. The marker is their especial servant, and his duty is to mark the game, hand the rest, take the balls out of the pocket when a hazard is made, and act as referee if required. A marker who attends to the game can do nothing else at the same time. This being the case, we yet find in many billiard-rooms, and even in some clubs, that a gentleman will enter the room, at once call off the marker's attention from the game, and order him to get a brandy-and-soda, or beer, or change for a sovereign, and be quite unaware that he is committing as great a breach of etiquette as though he entered your dining-room and ordered your attending servant to run a message for him.
We were once at a local club, engaged in a match at billiards, on which several pounds were dependent, when the honorary secretary entered the room, walked straight to the marker's desk, and began questioning him about his weekly accounts, and we found our score left to take care of itself. Such a proceeding could only be due to gross ignorance of etiquette or simple impertinence. If you are compelled to employ the marker in any way, you should first ask the players if they have any objection to your marking the game whilst the marker does this or that for you; you then mark with care, hand the rest, &c., just as would the marker whose services the players are paying for. Such a. proceeding is not only etiquette, it is justice.
Every person, before entering a billiard-room, should either look through the holes cut in the door, for the purpose of seeing when a stroke is about to be made, or listen at the door, so as to enter the room when no player is aiming or making a stroke. In some places this necessary proceeding is entirely neglected, whilst in others a man will swagger into the room, and beg your pardon as he does so—an act somewhat similar to purposely treading on your toes and saying "Beg pardon."
When people sit in a billiard-room, they are supposed to do so in order to look on at the game; they should if possible sit, and remain quiet at least during the strokes.
That billiards is a healthy indoor game; that it brings out the various qualities of eye, hand, head, and nerve, cause it to be deservedly popular, and as it is now so generally played, we venture, as an old performer, to offer these few remarks on the etiquette of the billiard room for the benefit of those whose experience of a well-conducted room is not extensive, and who commit acts which every good billiard-player looks on as unpardonable.
It is the marker's duty, at the slightest hint from the players that noise or chaff is objectionable, to strike his rest on the floor so as to attract the attention of the visitors, and call, "Order, if you please, gentlemen." Such a proceeding will in almost every case produce the desired result, unless there are roughs in the room, or those who ignore all courtesy or etiquette; and when such should be present, the sooner they are taught manners the better for them, and the more agreeable for the law-loving company.
The Billiard News: December 25th, 1875
A good billiard-marker often differs from a bad one simply in the fact that the former does a hundred little civil services of his own free will, none of which he is absolutely called upon by duty to perform. All billiard-players know the really good marker, who, so to speak, "fields" for us round the table, who invariably puts the balls ready in the bottom pockets when put in previously at pool, who is always at hand with a lighted spill directly we have filled our pipes or opened our cigar-case, whose friendly hand assists us at leaving in that awful struggle with our great coat. By-the-by, why do we sometimes quarrel with our great coat when our last life at pool has been taken by a fluke? Yes, we all know this marker, civil, obliging, witty. The billiard markers as a class are generally civil, obliging, and good-tempered, but too often underpaid.
From Publican to Herb Beer Maker
By 1901, John had moved yet again, this time to the seaside capital of the North, Blackpool. He lived with Rebecca, his second wife, 2 of his daughters from his 2nd marriage, Lillie and Blanche and his sister Hannah and her husband, who was also Rebecca’s brother, John. Hannah worked as a barmaid at a local hotel, and her husband was a traveller. They also had an 11-year old boy visitor, Frederick Killner from Manchester staying with them. Although John’s daughters were 18 and 19, neither of them worked, which would imply that John’s business of making herb beer, which was another fashionable version of mineral water, was a relative success.
The Making of Herb Beer
Herb beer originated in what is referred to as ‘small beers’ which are a collection of local beverages (some alcoholic, some not) which were made in local farmhouses from old rustic recipes that had been handed down over generations. Many people found that a tea, or ‘beer’, made from herbs was cheaper and less intoxicating than ordinary beer and therefore drank it freely. Dandelion stout was a particular favourite and plants such as nettles, agrimony (a plant with spiny fruits), yarrow (a plant with leaves resembling ferns), yellow dock and meadow sweet were also common ingredients. There was no one recipe for herb beer, but here is an example of a typical herb beer;
Herb Beer Recipe
Take 2 oz each of dried Dandelion and Nettle herbs and 1 oz of Yellow Dock. Boil in 1 gallon of water for 15 minutes and then strain the liquor while hot on to 2 Lb. of sugar, on the top of which is sprinkled 2 tablespoonfuls of powdered Ginger. Leave till milk-warm, then add boiled water gone cold to bring the quantity up to 2 gallons. The temperature must then not be above 75 degrees F. Now dissolve 1/2 oz. solid yeast in a little of the liquid and stir into the bulk. Allow to ferment 24 hours, skim and bottle, and it will be ready for use in a day or two. Honey was sometimes used instead of sugar
Blackpool at the turn of the Century
John and his family lived on Keswick Road, about ½ mile from the central pier, which was one of the many local attractions that had recently been developed in Blackpool. During the 19th Century there was a swift development of Blackpool as a major holiday resort for the rapidly expanding industrial working classes. Once the railway was introduced to the area, cheap excursion trains soon developed, bringing many thousands of working people from Lancashire and Yorkshire to the resort. In 1801 the town’s population was about 470, and during the latter half of the century it grew at a phenomenal rate. By 1881 the population had grown to 14,000 and 20 years later, during the time when John and his family were living there, it had reached a staggering 47,348.
Blackpool was a rapidly expanding seaside holiday resort and offered a combination of music-hall, variety and dancing with a broader array of attractions including opera houses, theatres, aquaria, lagoons with gondolas, pleasure gardens and exhibitions. Many of Blackpool's most famous attractions were built in the second half of the nineteenth century including, the North Pier (1863), the Central Pier (1868), the South Pier (1894), the Tower (1894), the Grand Theatre (1894) and the gigantic wheel at the Winter Gardens (1896).Blackpool was also the first place in the world to have electric street lighting in 1879, with the installation of the electric arc street lighting system. At the beginning of the 20th century, Blackpool Town Hall was built in 1900 and the Grand Theatre was built in 1904. The first cinema in Blackpool opened in 1905 and the Pleasure Beach began to develop and the first rides were built in the 1900's. With better working conditions and spare time for holidays, life was beginning to look up for many of the working classes.
The Making of Herb Beer
Herb beer originated in what is referred to as ‘small beers’ which are a collection of local beverages (some alcoholic, some not) which were made in local farmhouses from old rustic recipes that had been handed down over generations. Many people found that a tea, or ‘beer’, made from herbs was cheaper and less intoxicating than ordinary beer and therefore drank it freely. Dandelion stout was a particular favourite and plants such as nettles, agrimony (a plant with spiny fruits), yarrow (a plant with leaves resembling ferns), yellow dock and meadow sweet were also common ingredients. There was no one recipe for herb beer, but here is an example of a typical herb beer;
Herb Beer Recipe
Take 2 oz each of dried Dandelion and Nettle herbs and 1 oz of Yellow Dock. Boil in 1 gallon of water for 15 minutes and then strain the liquor while hot on to 2 Lb. of sugar, on the top of which is sprinkled 2 tablespoonfuls of powdered Ginger. Leave till milk-warm, then add boiled water gone cold to bring the quantity up to 2 gallons. The temperature must then not be above 75 degrees F. Now dissolve 1/2 oz. solid yeast in a little of the liquid and stir into the bulk. Allow to ferment 24 hours, skim and bottle, and it will be ready for use in a day or two. Honey was sometimes used instead of sugar
Blackpool at the turn of the Century
John and his family lived on Keswick Road, about ½ mile from the central pier, which was one of the many local attractions that had recently been developed in Blackpool. During the 19th Century there was a swift development of Blackpool as a major holiday resort for the rapidly expanding industrial working classes. Once the railway was introduced to the area, cheap excursion trains soon developed, bringing many thousands of working people from Lancashire and Yorkshire to the resort. In 1801 the town’s population was about 470, and during the latter half of the century it grew at a phenomenal rate. By 1881 the population had grown to 14,000 and 20 years later, during the time when John and his family were living there, it had reached a staggering 47,348.
Blackpool was a rapidly expanding seaside holiday resort and offered a combination of music-hall, variety and dancing with a broader array of attractions including opera houses, theatres, aquaria, lagoons with gondolas, pleasure gardens and exhibitions. Many of Blackpool's most famous attractions were built in the second half of the nineteenth century including, the North Pier (1863), the Central Pier (1868), the South Pier (1894), the Tower (1894), the Grand Theatre (1894) and the gigantic wheel at the Winter Gardens (1896).Blackpool was also the first place in the world to have electric street lighting in 1879, with the installation of the electric arc street lighting system. At the beginning of the 20th century, Blackpool Town Hall was built in 1900 and the Grand Theatre was built in 1904. The first cinema in Blackpool opened in 1905 and the Pleasure Beach began to develop and the first rides were built in the 1900's. With better working conditions and spare time for holidays, life was beginning to look up for many of the working classes.
Life for the Mumford’s in the 20th Century
A Coal Merchants on Chester Street, Hulme, Manchester
Although I am not sure when he moved, John eventually returned to Manchester, where, during the First World War, he looked after his 2 young grandchildren, Elizabeth and Emily, whilst his son, James went to war. James was a master chair maker before he went to war, but after his return he took over a coal yard and became a coal merchant. His job would entail filling sacks with a hundred-weight of coal and stack them onto a flat bottom coal trolley and people would come to his yard to buy coal and take it home on one of his coal trolleys. He would also deliver the coal door-to-door, which was a typical method of selling wares for many tradesmen during this time.
Horse-drawn carts and vans were used by the coalman, dustman, baker, greengrocer and the rag and bone man would be a familiar sight on the streets whilst they made their regular door-to-door deliveries and collections. Hand carts would also be pushed by many, including the milkmen and the man who sold chopped kindling wood for lighting coal fires, whilst the ice-cream sellers rode tricycles. The knife and scissors grinder would use his bicycle to power his grindstone which was attached to a wheel, the muffin seller carried a baker’s tray on his head and they were all a familiar sight in the streets of Manchester.
Although I do not know what the Mumford’s home was like during this era, their house, as in most buildings and streets, would have been lit by gas lamp, which gave a much softer light than electricity. Cooking was usually done on a solid fuel range in the living room/kitchen or by gas on a stove in the scullery. There would also be a solid fuel boiler in the scullery used to boil the washing; a sink with a single cold water tap and possibly a mangle, used to squeeze out the water from the wet washing, and a portable galvanised bath. There would not have been a hot water system and probably there was no bathroom or hand basin, and the cold water tap in the scullery would have served all purposes. Although homes were still basic by today’s standards, they had certainly improved since John lived there 30 – 40 years earlier.
Horse-drawn carts and vans were used by the coalman, dustman, baker, greengrocer and the rag and bone man would be a familiar sight on the streets whilst they made their regular door-to-door deliveries and collections. Hand carts would also be pushed by many, including the milkmen and the man who sold chopped kindling wood for lighting coal fires, whilst the ice-cream sellers rode tricycles. The knife and scissors grinder would use his bicycle to power his grindstone which was attached to a wheel, the muffin seller carried a baker’s tray on his head and they were all a familiar sight in the streets of Manchester.
Although I do not know what the Mumford’s home was like during this era, their house, as in most buildings and streets, would have been lit by gas lamp, which gave a much softer light than electricity. Cooking was usually done on a solid fuel range in the living room/kitchen or by gas on a stove in the scullery. There would also be a solid fuel boiler in the scullery used to boil the washing; a sink with a single cold water tap and possibly a mangle, used to squeeze out the water from the wet washing, and a portable galvanised bath. There would not have been a hot water system and probably there was no bathroom or hand basin, and the cold water tap in the scullery would have served all purposes. Although homes were still basic by today’s standards, they had certainly improved since John lived there 30 – 40 years earlier.