Doris Louisa Stevens

11 th August 1966

Jon-Paul Amesbury

Rebecca Amesbury

Laura Maude

Mary Richards

Tiffany Jane Ortman

Norman Joseph Pool Amesbury

Doris Louisa Stevens

Louis Parker Farrow

Laura Rose Amesbury

George

Amesbury

Mary Jane

Amesbury

William Amesbury

Legend

n. birth year

n.l: birth location

c: christening date

c.l: christening location

m: marriage date

m.l: marriage location

ce: census details

d: death year

d.l: death location

b: where buried

Cornelius Amsbury

(2) Joyce Harris

Thomas W R Amesbury

John Tudor Harris

Deborah Tudor Harris

Paul David Herring

Wendy Tudor Harris

Mark Edward Dewes

Richard Tudor Harris

Rebecca L Blakemore

Joshua Paul Herring

Isaac James Herring

Max Joseph Herring

Thomas A Herring

Christina R Harris

Samara Louise Harris

Dominic Joseph Dewes

NOTES:

Having two forenames is rare prior to 1900.

May be because of illiteracy.

A high percentage of christenings and marriages took place in the winter months, presumably because so many people worked on the land and were busy from spring through autumn

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Bread and Blood Riots 1817

On the last day of february 1817 mine owners from Paulton, Radstock and Clandown reduced employees wages by 10% on the grounds that trade was slack. There was already considerable unemployment and miners went on strike. The riot act was read out in the villages and a reward of twenty guineas was offered for the discovery of the strike leaders. despite this the miners took possession of several pits. The military were called in including a detachment from Royal Lancers from Bristol and the militia of the North Somerset Yeomanry under the command of Col T Strangeways Horner of Wells.

On the Saturday the miners split into two groups of around 2,000 each, one remaining in Paulton and the other heading to Radstock armed with bludgeons, and upon the approach of the cavalry they resisted and cried out "bread or blood" and "we are starving"

Two men at Paulton and three at Rastock were arrested. By the following Tuesday all men were back at work. The following were arrested: John Simes, George Bruton, William Brooke, William Norris and William Amesbury.

They were found guilty of Riotious Assembly and sentenced to18 months imprisonment

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Mining

Coal has lain under North Somerset for millions of years. It was known to the Romans and no doubt to those who came after them. Unlike metals that could be extracted from the ground and made into useable items, coal was only good for burning! In that regard wood and charcoal were both easier and cheaper to obtain.

From at least the end of the 16th century it was known that coal seams ran obliquely to the surface and that in some places there were outcrops. Stratton on the Fosse, Holcombe, Clutton and High Littleton were places in North Somerset, where such outcrops could be found, so it was only natural that coal mining should be undertaken first in places where the coal was on or close to the surface.

During the first part of the 17th century coal was largely obtained by either excavating the outcrops or driving an incline, which involved following the seam into the ground and making a tunnel as one went. The amount of coal that could be won by these methods was necessarily limited and so bell pits took their place. These were vertical pits, about 4 feet in diameter at the top and as much as 60 feet deep, which were widened out at the bottom to provide manoeuvrability and to develop the coal face. Ladders were fixed to the sides and coal was brought to the surface in baskets. As a further development baskets were brought up on ropes attached to a windlass operated by manpower and later by horsepower. When all the coal that could safely be extracted from a bell pit had been recovered, another pit would be sunk close by to intersect the seam and the waste from the second pit thrown into the first pit and so on.

Mining was probably carried on first by landowners, who extracted coal from their land for their own domestic fires. There would have been a small local demand for coal from larger householders, smiths and lime burners. Landowners generally were not interested in speculatively searching for coal, digging it up and selling it but the opportunity was not wasted on some of the more entrepreneurial members of the working class, who were willing to invest a bit of muscle and sweat if they could find someone to back them, in return for a share of the rewards, if any. Small partnerships were formed, which typically consisted of a coal miner and two local tradesmen, who would provide limited finance for a mining undertaking, hoping to make a profit between them. A lease was then negotiated with a local owner, under whose land coal was likely to be found, and in return for freeshare - such as one eight or tenth of all coal landed - paid to the owner, the partners were granted a lease for so many years. Any coal they found would have been sold locally or in Bath. Surviving records show mining being carried out in High Littleton from the early 1630s and in Hallatrow from before 1704 but this would certainly not have been the beginning of mining in the parish. As the years passed, mining became more prevalent as demand for coal grew and the rewards to the entrepreneurs grew.

By the middle of the 18th century coalmining had already become the biggest single industry in High Littleton and few parts of the parish had not been explored at some time or another. The owners of land, who received "freeshare" and the partners in the coalworks became rich and the miners, who earned a good wage for digging the coal, also benefited. Although the work was hard, the employment opportunities attracted many would be miners from other parts of Somerset. The ever-increasing number of entries in the parish registers indicates that the population of High Littleton more than doubled between 1760 and 1800.

The miners came to recognize the various different seams of coal that were repeated predictably in the Somerset mines. As early as 1719 John STRACHEY, a gentleman and amateur geologist from Stowey, sent a letter to the Royal Society, describing the strata found in the coal mines of Somerset. Seventy five years later William SMITH unlocked the secrets of strata, whilst surveying Mearns Pit in High Littleton, which eventually enabled him to draw the first stratographic map of Britain and predict with some accuracy where coal could be found.

As miners became more knowledgeable about the ground they worked in, they ventured deeper and deeper, lining shafts with bricks, propping the roof of the tunnels and sinking air-shafts in strategic places. In 1763 a coal seam was discovered at Old Pit, Radstock at a depth of some 450 feet and further seams were found down to 900 feet. Deep shafts were subsequently sunk successfully at Paulton, Timsbury and Camerton and the "Somerset Coalfield" was born. From 5 pits in the 1760s there were 26 pits operating in Radstock and northwards in 1795, employing some 1,500 men and boys. Not surprisingly the greater depths increased the physical danger to miners.

Thomas NEWCOMEN invented a steam engine, which first saw service in a colliery in Staffordshire in 1712 but it was not until 1781 that the first "fire engine" was used in the Somerset Coalfield for pumping water. Soon after steam was used for winding up coal. However, the traditional method of using horse gins to raise coal continued in many of the local pits throughout much of the 18th century, Paulton Engine Pit being a notable exception.

As new and more sophisticated machines and equipment were introduced, the capital required by coalworks became even greater. The cost was beyond the humble miner and local tradesmen, so mining partnerships were formed between larger numbers of people with money, such as the local gentry and wealthy financiers from further afield. To spread their risk the new mining partners would normally have small shares in several coalworks rather than a large share in one. Some grew rich and became very influential, none more so than the MOGGs and their successors the REES-MOGGs, who had long connections with Farrington Gurney, High Littleton and Cameley.

Apart from the cost of winning the coal from the ground, the cost of transporting it to the market place was of vital importance. Unless a pit had good access to road, canal or railway, it was hard to compete with pits which enjoyed these benefits.

The smaller mining partnerships in the Somerset Coalfield gradually fell by the wayside, when their pits became exhausted. As pits closed in one village, miners moved to other villages in the Coalfield, where there was a demand for labour in new pits. The last pit in High Littleton closed in about 1832 but, throughout the whole of the 19th century, coal mining remained by far the largest represented occupation in the parish. The population of High Littleton slowly declined from the 1840s onwards but it remained a very convenient dormitory village for pits in Timsbury, Paulton, Farrington Gurney and Clutton, which were within easy walking distance and where mining activity continued.

Some High Littleton miners moved to the north of England but many more went to South Wales to work in the pits or at the steelworks. Some stayed for a few months, some stayed for several years, others went to and fro several times. Many settled there permanently with their families, while others married girls from High Littleton, whose families had also settled in Wales. Several of these miners were removed back to High Littleton in the 1850s and 1860s, when they could no longer work because of illness or permanent injury and needed parish relief. Some of the unfortunate ones ended their days in Clutton Union Workhouse. The South Wales telephone directories abound with easily recognizable North Somerset surnames today and many who think they are Welsh are surprised to learn that their roots lie in Somerset.

As profits in the Coalfield dwindled or became non-existent, owners tried to reduce miners' wages in an effort to prolong the life of pits. The Unions would have none of this and pit after pit suffered long running strikes. This only served to precipitate the inevitable pit closures. One by one the Somerset coal pits closed and the erstwhile "coal barons" had to look elsewhere for their unearned income. One notable exception was Sir Frank BEAUCHAMP, who was fortunate enough to own the Norton Hill pit. This was so profitable that it became known as BEAUCHAMP’s Goldmine. The year 1947 saw the end of private ownership with the nationalisation of the coal industry.

Compared with pits in other parts of Britain the seams in the Somerset Coalfield were very narrow and much of the coal was of poor quality, which made it very difficulty to compete financially. After years of losses and dwindling coals reserves the last pit in the Somerset Coalfield was closed in September 1973.
>

Copied from www.highlittletonhistory.org.uk

84 Maidavale Crescent

Coventry

Glebe Crescent Kenilworth

Cassidy Kai Amesbury

Sebastian Zane Amesbury

The Breaker Boys!

Women and children were employed in mines during the 19th century. By the late 19th century, the younger children no longer went into the mines, but were employed as breaker boys. Their job was to pull out slate and rocks that were mixed in with the coal. The small hands of the children were considered more effective for this than the large hands of adults. It was grueling work and easy to injure hands with the rocks and coal moving by. They would stoop over the chute where the coal passes and with their nibble fingers they would pick out the impurities. In breakers were water was not in used to wash the coal, the air was laden with coal dust, and in winter their little fingers would get cold and chapped, and at all times when the machinery was in motion the noise from revolving wheels, crushers, screens and the rushing coal was deafening. This made for a terrible environment for children to be in, much less to have to work in. And likely as not a supervisor with a cane would strike the boys deemed not to be working hard enough.

They also usually went uneducated, because of the long hours at the coal mines, there was no time for school. So the chain was rarely ever broken, child follow the father in this work for generation after generation, and kept most families in poverty. There were no other opportunities for them, except for the hard, drab and extremely dangerous work of the coal mines.

But despite these barriers, a number of boys who began life under these conditions were able to rise to prominence in the various spheres of life.

After a time improved machinery for cleaning coal began to replace the breaker boys and also child labor laws preventing children from working at such jobs, spelled the end of the breaker boys and children all together from working in the mines. But for many years the practice of hiring and working children went on, and this cost a lot of children, some of their limbs and, and far too often even their lives.

A coal miners day was long and arduous, and they lived constantly in the shadow of harm from the explosion of mine gas, the slumping of coal piles, or the collapse of tunnels. Even the miner's equipment and environment in which he operated -- the explosive powder used to dislodge coal, the flame in his lamp, the gases within the mine -- packed lethal potential, compounded by a persistent failure to heed safety measures.

News of accidents was announced by the unexpected blast of the steam whistle that marked the rhythms of the day, alerting residents of the village of possible disaster. People streamed out of their homes to see where the wagon bearing bodies would visit; some residents later recalling that if a family of the deceased were not at home, the company would simply place the body on the porch to await their return. In many cases, bodies were simply never recovered.

Such catastrophes were not the only peril facing miners. Having survived the sudden hand of fate, miners faced the protracted fate of occupational disease. Most famously, miners were vulnerable to "black lung" disease, also known as "miner’s asthma", from years of inhaling particulate matter in the cold, damp underground environment. During the nineteenth century, few mining companies made provisions for the care of ailing workers, and many miners spent their final years convulsing from coughs, with family members as their only medical care.

Collieries, or mining operations, often required miners to provide their own tools and powder, with company stores providing the goods for sale, and the cost deducted directly from the miner's wages. Many colliers required their employees to purchase goods from the company store and enforced this rule by paying them scrip redeemable only at the company store. As a result of this system of enforced purchase of goods sold at inflated prices, employees fell perpetually into debt for both their company-owned homes and their store debt. If an indebted miner died, the company might require his sons to continue working to pay off their father's debts.

Their lives were hard and it wasn't until the middle of the 20th century, did things get a little better. Although the life of a miner has improve somewhat, the dangers of the mine are always present. Clearly a miners life was one full of hardships, heartaches and disasters.

Coupling Boy

This young boy, like many others, had the dangerous job, even for a man, much less a young boy of his age of coupling and un-coupling the train cars in the loading area of the coal mines.

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Florence Amesbury

Leonard C Luxton

Gilbert Amesbury

Frederick Amesbury

Ernest Wm Amesbury

Mangotsfield Church

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Eliza Annie Hobbs

Elizabeth

Sarah

Thomas

1652:

War with Netherlands (to 1654)

1653:

Oliver Cromwell appointed Lord Protector of England Scotland and Ireland

1654:

Union of Scotland & England.

start of Anglo-Spanish war.

1655:

Jamaica captured from Spain.

Cromwell bans Anglican Services.

1656:

war with Spain (to 1659)

Quakers in Bristol re-enact arrival of Jesus in jerusalem.. arrested for blasphemy.

1658:

Oliver Cromwell's son Richard Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England and Scotland.

1659:

The first known cheque written for 400 pounds

1660:

Samuel Pepys starts his story.

Post Office founded.

The 10 who signed death warrant of CharlesI are drawn and quartered and disembowelled their bowels being burned in front of them.

Charles II crowned.

1661:

To hold public office you must be Church of England.

body of Oliver Crowell exhumed and postumusly executed.

1662:

2 women in Bury St Edmunds executed for witchcraft

first record of "Punch & Judy" show.

1663:

Guinea coin introduced.

The english province of Carolina formed.

1664:

Peter Stuyvesant surrenders "New Amsterdam" to British who rename it "New York".

1665:

War with Netherlands (to 1667)

first plague victims in London

1666:

great fire of London started in Pudding Lane. lasts 3 days destroys 10,000 homes & St Pauls.

1667:

John Milton, blind and poor, sells "Paradise Lost" for 10 pounds.

Dutch fleet sail up Medway and steal royal barge

1669:

Last of Samuel Peypes diaries due to his failing eyesight.

Duke of Tuscany visits Tower of London and invents the term "Beefeaters"

1670:

Charles II signs a secret contract with the French with the intention of coverting the English reigion to Catholism.

1671:

Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman attempts to steal the crown jewels but is caught because he is drunk.

1672:

At war with Netherlands (to 1674).

Roman Catholics excluded from public offices

1673:

Christopher Wren is knighted

1674:

2 skeletons found in Tower of London of two princes.

1675:

Royal Observatory build is started.

1678:

"Pilgrims Progress" first published.

1679:

Habeas Corpus Act past.

1680:

Blackbeard the pirate (Edward teach) born in Bristol.

1681:

Royal Chelsea Hospital for retired soldiers started.

1682:

Edmund Haley predicted sighting of Haleys Comet this year and lived to see it.

1683:

River Thames freezes.

1684:

Sir Isaac Newton reads his Theory of Relativity to the Royal Society.

Chipperfields Circus starts

1685:

James II dies.

Monmouth rebellion.

soldiers pay 12.6 pounds/yr

1687:

Nell Gynn dies

1689:

war with France (to 1714)

A conspiracy invites William of Orange to the crown... James II flees to France

1690:

crime at its peak due to poverty, death penaly for crimes such as a seamstress stealing a bobbin of thread.

1693:

King William III leads english army to defeat the French

1694:

British Army is 90,000 strong & navy has 207 man-o-war.

1695:

Corrupt Practices Act passed to stop bribary in elections.

1696:

Window tax introduced. 2 shillings/house plus tax on windows over first 10. said to be start of the saying: Daylight Robbery

1697:

St Pauls reopened after being distroyed by fire in 1666.

1698:

Czar Peter of Russia spends 4 months in London studying ship building.

Palace of Whitehall destroyed by fire.

1698:

Steam engine first developed.

1700:

Turnip starts to be grown instead of leaving ground fallow, therefore cattle have feed for winter, so not slaughtered, so more milk, more butter.

1701:

Tull invents seed drill, increases productivity.

1702:

Queen Anne accedes.

1703:

Duke of Marleborough captures Cologne, Bonn, Limburg & Guilders

Daniel Defoe is stocks for sedicious libel.

Storms in South England destroy Eddystone Lighthouse.

1704:

Duke of Marlborough wins Battle of Blenheim. Rewarded with land & built Blenheim Palace.

1705:

Duke of Marlborough captures Barcelona.

1706:

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough wins battle of Ramilllies.

England & Scotland merge to form Kingdm of Great Britain.

1707:

formation of the United Kingdom.

Scotland joins union.

1708:

Churchill captures Minorca.

1709:

Alexander Selkirk rescued after shipwreck.. basis for Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe"

1711:

South Seas Co formed with monopoly to supply Spanish colonies with goods. See 1720

1712:

steam engines used to pump water from coal mines

1713:

Spain cedes Gibralter to Britain.

England gets licence to sell slaves to Spanish colonies.

1714:

Landholders compelled to take an oat of allegiance to The Protestant Church and renounce Catholism.

Queen Anne dies, she had 17 pregnancies, none survived.

George I crowned.. lived in Hanover & could not speak English.

1715:

Jacobite rebellion.

Riot Act, if 12 or more people assemble & fail to disperse it is a felony. felons are either hung or branded on thumb.

1716:

end of Jacobite rebellion Bonny Prince Charlie takes refuge in France.

1717:

Handels water music played for first time from a barge in the Thames.

1718:

The quadrupal alliance of Gt Britain, France, Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch declare war on Spain.

1719:

Transportation Act, felons sent to the colonies for 7 or 14 years.

1720:

South Sea Co shares go ballistic, then collapse.. The South Seas bubble.

1721:

Smallpox innoculation introduced.

Walpole is first British prime minister.

1722:

"Moll Flanders" by Daniel defoe first published.

1723:

The poor are classified as : Able bodied, idle poor or impoverished poor. First and last qualify for parish relief.

1724:

Jack Shepherd & Joseph "Blueskin" Blake hanged as highwaymen.

1726:

Invention of gridiron pendulum improves accuracy of clocks.

1727:

George II came to throne.

At war with austria and spain.

1728:

Beggars Opera first performed.

1729:

Tornado in sussex and Kent.

1731:

Robert jenkins, trader in Cuba has his ear cutoff by Spanish Customs in Cuba starting the "War of Jenkins Ear".

1732:

Downing Street becomes official residence of Prime Minister.

Royal Opera House opens.

1733:

British colonists found Savannah Georgia.

John Kay invents the flying shuttle which was a factor in the start of the Industrial Revolution.

1734:

Bank of England moves present location in Threadneedle St.

First copyright act introduced by Hogarth

1736:

Captain Porteous orders his soldiers to fire on rioters killing 6. Found guilty of murder. Taken from cell by crowd and beaten to death and hanged.

1737:

astronomers at Greenwich see the planet Venus eclipse Mercury, the only time this has happened.

John Wesley launches Methodism

1739:

John Wesley preaches the principles of Methodism at Avon St Bristol.

1740:

first rendition of "Rule Britannia".

All immigrants to colonies receive British citizenship.

1741:

Handell composes "Messiah"

1742:

Walpole loses election.

1743:

Britain has 40,000 troops in Europe.

1744:

France declares war on Britain.

first verion of "God Save the King"

1745:

Bonnie Prince Charlie lands in Britain.

1746:

Battle of Culloden.

1747:

Last beheading by axe at Tower Hill.

James Lund discovers that citrus fruit fight scurvy.

1748:

Liverpool overtakes Bristol as Britains largest slave port

1749:

Charles Wesley of Bristol wrote: "Love devine all loves excelling" & "Hark the herald angels sing"

1750:

Sir Henry Fielding, author, started the Bow Street Runners, the first police force, but only in London.

1751:

George III crowned Prince of Wales.

Last year of the old calender, New Years day was modern March 25.

tax on gin, the drink of the masses.

farm labourer earns 5 pounds + board & lodging.

1752:

Ben Franklin proves lightning is electricity by flying a kite.

Gregorian calender accepted. date jumped from Sept 2nd to Sept 14th.

1753:

First time that New Years Day fell on January 1st

Jews to be allowed be British citizens

decision to establish a British Museum.

1754:

Marriage Act: marriage must take place in parish of residence.

George II founded Columbia University in Manhatten.

1755:

7 year war starts in Europe.

Earthquake in Lisbon causes Tsunami 90,000 dead.

Eddystone lighthouse destroyed by fire.

A mayor earns 15 pounds yr

baker earns 5 pounds year.

1756:

First St Patricks Day parade in New York.

Seven year war with France begins.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born.

1757:

Black hole of Calcutta. Calcutta captured.

Admiral John Byng executed by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch for breach of articles of war.

Battle of Plessey when 3,000 British troops under Robert Clive defeated 50,000 Indians.

1758:

Batlles this year include: Bay of Bengal (twice) , Nova Scotia, New York, Indian coast.

Halley Comet returns.

1759:

British victories at Fort Triconderosa New York and Niagara Quebec & Battle of Quiberon Bay.

1760:

first commercial canal opens in britain.

Death of George II.

George III to throne.

1761:

British capture Pondicherry.

2 earthquaqes in London.

riots are commonplace as workers do not have the right to vote or form a union.

1762:

France surrenders Canada to britain.

Britain declares war on Spain.

Britain takes Havana Cuba.

British East India Co take Manila.

1763:

War with France and American Indians ends.

Treaty of Paris ends 7 year war.

Indian chief Pontiac challenges the British at Mackinaw City to a game of lacrosse, during game the Indians hit the ball into the fort, chased after it and locked the British out of their fort. Recaptured two months later at Battle of Bushy Run.

1764:

considered start of The Industrial Revolution.

John Wilkes expelled from House of Commons for sedicious libel.

1765:

Stamp Act intorduced, direct tax on American colonies to be paid to Britain to cover the cost of war in America.

Isle of Man incorporated into United Kingdom.

curate earns 40 pounds per year.

head gardener 38 pounds + Lodging.

1766:

Bonnie Prince Charlie becomes the Stuart claimant to the British throne.

Stamp Act repealed due to reaction from America.

1767:

Daniel Boone explores the Cumberland Gap & reaches Kentucky.

First whalers reach Antartic.

1768:

First purchase tax introduced on common products.

John Wilkes imprisoned for critism of king.

1769:

famine in Bengal kills 10 million people. British East India Co insist their production levels must not fall.

Captain Cook on HMS Endeavour arrives Tahiti.

lightning hits church in Italy causing fire which reaches 200,000 lb gunpowder store and blew up 1/6 city of Brescia, as a result the Roman Catholic Church reversed its objection to lightning rods.

1770:

Boston Massacre-5 Americans killed by British Troops, event hastened War of Independance.

14yr old Marie Antoinette married 15 yr old Louis, later Louis XIV, fireworks at wedding caused fire killing 800.

Captain Cook claims East coast of New Holland (Australia).

1771:

Spain cedes Falkland Islands to Britain.

first water-wheel powered textile mill.

labourer earns 3.5 pounds year

apprentice baker 5 new pence\week.

1772:

servant earns 6.3 pounds\year

1773:

Captain Cook first to cross the Antartic circle.

British East India Co given monopoly of tea trade with American colonies.

experiments using chlorine as a disinfectant.

1774:

The Quartering Act states that American colonists must open their homes to British soldiers.

The first year that "Liberty" appers on american flag.

1775:

Parliament declares Massachusetts to be in rebellion, govenor ordered to quell with an iron hand.

Revolutionary war starts, "the shots heard around the World", george Washington appointed commander in chief of Continental Army.

Execution in Germany for witchcraft.

1776:

American declaration of Independance on July 4th.

British troops lave Boston

1777:

44% of children in Britain died before their 5th birthday.

Washington defeats Cornwallis at Battle of Princeton.

Stars & Stripes adopted.

1778:

Captain Cook reaches Hawaii names them Sandwich Islands.

France recognises American independance and declares war on Britain.

France opens first state controlled brothel.

three day riot in London

1779:

First all Iron Bridge built over River Severn in Shropshire.

1780:

First Sunday newspaper: British Gazette & Sunday Monitor

First Epsom Derby.

1781:

Pitt the younger enters Parliament

planet Uranus discovered by Herschel.

Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown ending the armed struggle of American Rev War.

1782:

Spain takes Minorca from Britain.

preliminary peace accord reached in Paris for American Independance.

British loyalists forced to leave America, some go to Bahamas.

Treaty of Versaille ends war with France.

1783:

Great Britain formally declares ceasation of hostilities with America.

Spain lifts seige of Gibralter.

1784:

John Wesley charters The Methodist Church.

Ben Franklin invents bifocals

1785:

First edition of Daily Universal Register later changed to The

Times.

steam engine powered looms caused boom in textile industry.

1786:

first convict ship leaves for Botany Bay with 820 convicts

1787:

11 convict ships leave for Australia.

1788:

Colonisation of New South Wales and Australia.

1789:

Start of the French Revolution

1790:

First purpose built lifeboat launched River Tyne.

First Methodist chapel opened in Bristol.

1791:

THe "Observer" first published

1792: start of French Revolution. Louis XIV in custody.

1792:

settlement of freed slaves in Sierra Leone.

slave trader threw 133 slaves overboard then claimed on insurance, outrage helped the abolitionists.

1793:

Louis XIV executed by guillotine, followed by Marie Antoinette

War with France. 10,000 british soldiers in Flanders.

1794:

cotton gin patented.

Nelson loses an eye at Calvi Corsica.

Britain declares war on France.

1795:

meetings of more than 50 made illegal.

1796:

carpenter/bricklayer earns 7 new pence per day.

farm labourer earns 5 new pence per day + drink

<mower @ harvest-time 7.5 pence per day + drink.

women @ harvest-time 2 pence per day+ drink.

1797:

habadasher wears the first top hat causing a crowd to gather, fined 50 pounds for public nuisance.

First one and two pounds notes printed.

Nelson loses arm at Battle of Santa Cruz

1798:

hoeing earns 30 new pence per acre.

head farm hand 10 pounds\ year.second farmhand 7 pounds \yr

1799:

income tax introduced at 10%

HMS Lutine sank with large gold cargo.

1800:

dairymaid earns 3-5 pounds\yr

1801:

20% popultaion live in town (see 1851)

1802:

factory act: apprentices max 12 hrs \day 6 days\week

1803:

Napolean planning to invade England.

1804:

Sargeant in volunteers 7.5 pence\day

1805:

Battle of Trafalgar won by British but Lord Nelson killed.

1806:

1807:

1808:

British troops attack French in Portugal

1809:

British troops attack french in antwerp

1810:

coachman earns 15 pounds \yr + lodgings

1811:

Riots. workers smash machines which they believe cause unemployment.

1812:

French driven out of Spain, Portugal & Germany.

War of 1812, america at war with England & Canada.

In cotton mills 8% of workforce were UNDER 11 yrs old. 30% were aged 11 to 16.

Prime Minister assassinated.

1814:

British burn Washington DC.

depression due to cost of wars in Europe and America

1815:

Napolean defeated at Waterloo and sent to St Helena.

Corn Laws introduced with very severe effect on the poor.

1817:

labourer earns 8 pounds\yr + Board & lodging

1820:

GeorgeIV crowned.

53% of children died before their 5th birthday.

Cato St Conspiracy plan to kill parliamentary cabinet. All conspirators hanged.

1822:

Over 200 offences carry death penalty.

1825:

9000 a year emigrating to America.

400 a year emigrating to Australia.

1826:

school master earns 100 pounds\yr

1828:

Catholics allowed to hold office incl MP

Stockton to Darlington railway opens.

1829:

Robert Peel starts police force. "peelers" & "bobbies"

1830:

William IV crowned

factory wages:

under 11 yrs ......2s 3p per week

11-16.................4s 1p per week

17-21.................10s 2p per week

32-36 (max)......22s 8p per week

32-36 (women)....9s 8p per week

Reform Act, until now towns like Birmingham & Manchester dont have any MPs.

1831:

Farm riots workers smash machines, 4 hanged, 50 transported.

1832:

cholera outbreaks due to streets not paved, overcrowding, overflowing cess pits draing into water wells.

1833:

Factory Act: defined the working day as 5.30am to 8.30pm with 9-13 yr olds max 9 hrs\day and no nights. 13-18 max 12 hrs\day less 1.5 hrs breaks. Same for females

1834:

Six Dorset farm labourers sentanced to be transported to a penal colony for trying to form a trade union.. The Tolpuddle Martyers.

Slavery abolished.

Poor Law Amendment Act passed: No able bodied British man can receive assistance unless he enters a workhouse.

British east India Company loses its monopoly to trade with China.

patent for Handsome Cab.

patent for sandpaper.

Gottlieb Daimler born.

1835:

Charles Darwin arrive in Galapogas Islands on HMS Beagle

First commercial railway in Europe opens in Belgium.

Municipal Corporation Act introduced the idea of a national police force.

1836:

Charles Darwin arrives Falmouth.

Bristol Riots, large crowds protest the defeat of the reform act, over 100 houses burnt, including the Bishops Castle, Customs House,, Mansion House and release prisoners. Dragoons quell riots and 100s die.

A bristol Police force started.

1837:

Rowland Hill heads a commission investigating the idea of puuting a bit of paper on letters to indicate postage has been paid.

death of King William IV.

Queen Victoria crowned.

1838:

Samuel Morse demonstrates electric telegraph.

Start of British- Afghan war

Start of steamship atlantic service.

1839:

First commercial electric telegraph system between West Drayton & Paddington.

British East India Company capture Aden.

mason earns 75-80 new pence\week

blacksmith/carpenter/plasterer earns 75 pence per week

1840:

Penny post introduced , teh penny black.

Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert.

RMS "Brittania" a Cunard paddlesteamer starts service from Liverpool to Nova Scocia.

Britain invades Beirut.

Third of Irish population depend on the potato for their survival.

1841:

British troops invade & annexe Hong Kong.

first British census on 7th June

1842:

patent for sewing machine.

First serious train crash in Paris, 59 dead.

min age in a mine now 10

1843:

SS Great Britain launched in Bristol.

First tunnel under The Thames.

Charles Dickens publishes Christmas Carol.

1844:

YMCA formed in London.

Fleet prison for debtors abolished.

safety match invented.

Factory Act: age 8-13 max 6.5 hrs/day. 13+ max 12hrs\day for 5 days + 9 hrs saturday.

1845:

Third of Irish potato crop destroyed by blight.

1846:

Potato blight in Ireland ruins 2/3 of crop causing famine

1847:

Factory Act. max 63 hrs\week

1848:

Factory Act.. max 58 hrs\week

5,000 miles of railway track.

Public Health Act. towns able to demand all new houses have drains & lavatories & provide refuse collection.

1849:

250,000 a year emigrating to America. 19000 a year emigrating to Australia.

cost of passage to America from 3 pounds 10 shillings to 5 pounds.

Ships provided 1 lb flour, 5lb oatmeal, 2lb rice, 2oz tea, 1/2 lb sugar, 1/2lb mollases per passenger for entire voyage

1851:

Second British census on 30th

march

50% of population live in towns.

1853:

Sir Richard Burton disguises as a muslim & visits Mecca. First known christian to do so.

1854:

Start of Crimean War

1855:

David Livingstone discovers & names Victoria Falls. "Smoke that Thunders"

80% of American emigrants are from Ireland.

estimated that over 1 million pounds is sent each year from emigrants to their UK families.

1856:

Law passed that all counties must establish a police force. Sir Robert Peel origin of the terms peelers and bobbies.

1860:

sewers being installed to remove waste.

1861:

Third british census on 8th April

1881:

Fourth British census

1867:

most workers in towns given vote.

1870:

Piped water to homes.

1871:

Bank Holidays, skilled workers to get 1 weeks paid vacation per year.

Trade Unions now legal

1872:

voting made secret.

1877:

Victoria crowned Empress of India.

1885:

schoolmaster earns 180 pounds/year

1889:

London dock strike for 6 pence per hour. (2.5 modern pence/hr)

1890:

stitching gloves at home 25 pence / dozen pair.

1891:

minimum working age raised from 10 to 11

Fifth British census

1900:

farm worker74 pence/week

1901:

Queen Victoria Dies

Last published British census

Events of the Time

Where currency is quoted the old guinea, pounds, shillings and pence have been converted to modern decimal pounds.

PLEASE NOTE:

Clicking on underlined text will link you with families.

Clicking on the arrowhead of white boxes wil show you personal details.

My Amesburys from Bristol

page 1

Blanche Emma V Turner

Doris Blanche Lee

George left Mangotsfield and moved to South Wales in his teens seeking better employment prospects. He followed in the footsteps of his relation Job Amsbury . To follow his family and future, click for the Amesburys in Wales. His younger brother Albert also moved to South Wales but not until he was over 50, but still working as a collier.

Eliza Annie Hobbs

Mary Ann Amesbury

Albert George Amesbury

Walter Gilbert Amesbury

Edgar C Amesbury

Alfred George Amesbury

Dennis Joseph O'Shea

Ernest William Amesbury

Lionel Maxwell Amesbury

Florence Violet Amesbury

Henry Cecil A Griffin

Daisey A Amesbury

Florence Amesbury

Walter Amesbury was landlord of The Lamb Inn in 1901 in Mangotsfield

Ada Hodgkins or Mary Chandler

NAME INDEX for this page. First part lists Family name. Second part is first names of AMESBURYS. click on name to be taken to the appropriate family.

C. Chandler,

E. Evans,

G., Griffin

M. Mundy,

O.Ortman, Otte, Osborne,

S. D.L. Stevens, Smith , Stubbs,

W. Willbond, Weaver,

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Batisto, Beard, Butt , Blakemore , Bown , Bradley , Burdin ,

D. M A Dawes, Dewes, Dadds,

F.

H. Harris, Herring, Joyce Harris, Hobbs, Hurll, Hodgkins,
J.

L. Lee, Luxton, Lewis,

N.

P. A.M. Pool,

R.Rummins, Rea, Robertson,

T.Thomas, Turner,

V.

Jack Thomas Batisto

Arabella Kate Batisto

Our Homes.

over the years

Solihull England

Camberley England

"Abask" around the World

Fort Lauderdale Florida USA

May Elizabeth ------

Margery Betty Lee

The Lee Family in the 1920s

Rose J Lee

n: 1899

Rose's husband Alec

Weaver

Blanche Lee

nee Turner

n: 1892

William

J Lee

n: 1886

Mervyn

J Lee

n: 1891

May Elizabeth

Lee

Barbara

May's

daughter

Gertrude

Lee

n: 1874

Margery

Betty

Lee

Isabella

Lee

(nee Amesbury)

Jane's daughter

Muriel

Blanche &

William's daughter

Barbara

Natasha Bridget Amesbury

John william Burdin

Maria Agnes Burdin

Norman Harry Burdin

Walter Douglas Burdin