An Honest Boy in Bovingdon
 "I
went to an infant school a little while, say a few years with my sister
Mary, until she was burnt to death in the year 1844, Feb 14th.
[ St. Lawrence Church register of burials lists Mary Durrant as being
buried on the 8th of February 1840.]
" She was buried in Bovingdon Parish church yard by the side
of her brother. She was a good girl and her mother loved her very much.
After that my younger brother named Edward started to go to school with
me, he being two years younger than me, full of life and mischief, but
my mother put him under my charge while going to school together. He would
run into puddles of water and ponds as we went to and from school and I
got a scolding through not keeping him out of the mud. But in 2 or 3 years
my father was taken very ill, so much so that he had to keep to his bed
and I was compelled to quit school and go to work for 3 pence per day which
was 6 cents in American money."
"Bread was very scanty with us, butter put on and then scraped off
again, potatoes very scarce, but very few fell to my lot.
[The poor man lived on bread. Bread and onion if the poor man were lucky,
or bread "and--," the "and" consisting of potatoes or bacon, while ...
wife and children had only bread--the breadwinner being the one who needed
to keep up his strength. He ate cheese rather than butter, fish rather
than meat--because they were cheaper.] (Pool, p. 203f)]
 "After
a long spell of sickness my father got better and went to work for Mr.
Brooking, the Parish Parson, as coachman and gardener. I went back to school
for a little while until my father could not do the work and I had to go
with him to clean the curbs and bits and weed the gravel paths and coach
road. What pay I earned I do not know as my father took my pay. Late in
the fall I went to school again. During the winter at school there was
a boy by the name of William Barnes.
[According to the 1851 census return, William was the youngest son of
Stephen Barnes, an agricultural laborer, and two years younger than John.]
"He was a very bad one, he would fight and then lie worse than
any other boy at school. One night in the spring he went home and told
his mother that I had cut the buttons off his coat and she told her husband
and he told my father. It had taken several weeks to get around to me.
I had left school and was working with my father again. He called me to
him and said, "I understand you have been in mischief. Don't say no, I
am going to take you down to Mr. Barnes and let him hand you over to the
policeman, if you don't tell me the truth."
"Now he fully expected by what he had been told that I was going to
say "Yes" and beg Mr. Barnes' pardon But no sir. My father threatened to
whip me. I burst out crying and saying, "I will go down with you, Father,
to Mr. Barnes when you are ready, I saw him cut them off himself to play
at buttons with other boys on the playground." Now the footman speaks up,
"Durrant, I told you that boy was innocent, I never caught him in a lie."
My father said, "No, I never caught my boy John in a wilful lie."
Now the footman hearing the trial went and told the maid servants and
the cook sent me out some currant cake which I thought was very nice. In
running to open the large gate to let the carriage come in, up home, Mrs.
Brooking throwing me out a copper penny, I picked it up and said, "Here's
a penny I have, it is all my own."...This Mrs. Brooking was a good kind
lady but she was taken ill and died and was buried in Bovingdon Yard soon
after. The nice span of horses and carriage was sold and my father and
I had to leave and seek work elsewhere.
[Reverend Arthur Brooking was the curate of the parish church at Bovingdon
-- St. Lawrence's. It an ancient church and dates from 1320. It fell into
a dilapidated state and was rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, and
reopened for divine service in March 1846. The house associated with the
church is large, having eleven bedrooms. The large iron gate is behind
the house to the right and the carriage house/stable immediately adjacent.
Until the year 1868, the Vicarage was a perpetual curacy. In that year,
under the provisions of an Act of Parliament, it became a vicarage.]
The Shadow of Death
"I found work at Berry [Bury] farm close to home. The
farmer's name was Giles Austin. He was a tyrant and very cruel to boys.
But I was compelled to work for him for 18 pence a week, for boys were
plentiful. But what was worse my father was getting worse until my mother
thought it best to send for the parson, Mr. Brooking, to pray for him before
he died. After praying for him, he, the parson, asked my father if he was
ready to meet God, and he shook his head, and so the parson prayed again
but his breath was soon gone. He died in the year 1847 and was buried in
the Bovingdon church yard by the side of my grandmother, brother James,
sister Mary and a baby boy, Huben. [Reuben]
[In mid-century working-class areas it appears that 8 per cent of the
children lost both parents by the time they were fifteen and almost a third
had lost at least one. According to St. Lawrence's register of burials,
William Durrant was buried 22nd of March 1847. Four children preceded him
in death. The infant John was buried 11 April 1822, 5 year old Mary in
1841, 7 month-old Rheuben in 1842 and James, fifteen, in December of 1843.
John was six years old when Joseph, his oldest brother died and not quite
ten years old when his father died.]
"Now when my father was buried I was not allowed the privilege
to leave the sheep which I was herding on shiphanger [Shot Hanger or
Sheet Hanger] common at the time they were burying my father. I was
about 8 years old [actually ten], my brother Edward about 6 years
of age. My brother Joseph was the eldest son, Henry was the next. Both
of my brothers were living away from home and they could only just provide
for themselves. Still there was one sister at home named Charlotte, about
12 years of age. She braided straws for a living, but was very slow at
it. The consequence was, we could not pay our rent and get sufficient to
eat.
[Strawplaiting was mainly a cottage industry. It was set up to supply
the hat making factories of Luton and Dunstable with scores of yards of
narrow braid. The braid was used by the hat makers to sew in coils to form
the shape of straw hate, bonnets and boaters. In those days it was unthinkable
to be seen out of doors without a hat on, so the plaiters were in great
demand. The Napoleonic wars (1789-1815) stopped the supply of fine quality
French and Italian braid, so the hat industry turned to the English.
It was discovered that if English straw was split into several equal
lengths, called splints or strippings, it would make a professional plait
that could rival the French or Italian types. The straw used for plaiting
was hand picked from the barns prior to threshing. Gadgets were invented
to split the straw, called "Sheens" (machines) or "engines." Also hand
mills were used to flatten and patten some splints. These tools were often
fastened to the door of the stairs. There were often yard marks notched
on the mantel over the fire to measure the finished plait.
Strawplaiting spread all over the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire,
Buckinghamshire and Essex. The work was clean, well paid and flexible.
Women could often be seen walking out plaiting, with the finished plait
coiled over one arm, with new splints tucked under the arm ready for use.
Plaiting was done with both hands moistening the next straw in the mouth.
(Dry straws were unworkable.) The finished braid would be trimmed to remove
the ends before being taken to market.
There were many different patterns of plait and each had a name,
such as `None so perty,' `Lovely Lady,' `Maidens Choice,' `Speckled,' and
`Five Strand.' There were day schools set up to learn plaiting. Children
as young as two and a half would go. Fires were not permitted, as the smoke
from the fire might have soiled the plait. In the winter, under stools,
little tins of charcoal were kept burning The children arranged their petticoats
around the stools so that no smoke could harm the plait. Family tradition
has it that John's little sister, Mary, caught her petticoat on fire while
doing plaiting which resulted in her death.]
"Mother was compelled to make application to the parish for
relief. The Gargence [guardians] agreed to allow mother and the
boy, Edward, who was hardly 7 years of age, half a crown per week for one
year. At the end of one year, mother was compelled to appear before the
Gargents again because they had taken off one shilling week, that left
18 pence per week for my little brother Edward.
[In 1843, Parliament amended the Poor Law Acts. Parishes were encouraged
to form "Unions." Large workhouses were built to house paupers who were
unable to support themselves. The responsibility of the parish for its
poor was now transferred to the Union Workhouses under the Poor Law Unions,
and Boards of Guardians were set up. Conditions were deliberately made
as unpleasant as possible in an effort to encourage the poor to seek work.
More importance was placed on `indoor' relief rather than `outdoor' relief.
The work of the Guardians was closely and strictly supervised by the Poor
Law Commission in London and the three Poor Law Commissioners.]
"Giles Austin, one of the parish Gargents, told the others
that my mother could go out washing and churning for her support. He, Giles
Austin, had a large family to support. His wife was very sickly and she
needed someone to help the hired girl wash. I was working there and washing
day came once in three weeks. My mistress said to me one night a long time
afterwards, perhaps eleven months, "Jack, I want you to tell your mother
to come down tomorrow morning and help us wash." My mother thinking it
very short notice and very strange, but after a while concluded to go and
help although her health was not very good. She went down to work when
I did, in the morning at half past five, the water being put in the large
copper and boiled over night and the steam stopped in as much as possible,
ready for early morning, so everything was ready for mother to start working
with the hired girl. Breakfast at 8, dinner at 1, tea at 5, brings her
supper home at 8 in the evening, with the skin rubbed off her fingers and
bleeding and all for 9 pence, which would be 18 cents in American money.
"I used to say, if it was not for rent I would have enough to eat, but
having to pay 2 shillings per week robbed us of three loaves of bread per
week. But we got behind with the rent and we were threatened to be turned
out of the house. Mother said it was hard to be turned of the house after
living in it for the last 40 years and paying rent for it.
[The Durrant family lived near to the vicarage in what was referred
to as the "flannel district." Those who lived there were said to be in
need of a "flannel" - a washcloth to clean themselves so they would not
offend others at church and in public.]
"Our next door neighbour went to make application for it because
there was a small piece of land for a garden, about 3 rods. But the reply
was, "Mr. Bird, would you have me turn out that poor widow from house and
home for the sake of that small garden?" This garden was wee, fanced with
a live hawthorne bush. It was planted with small fruit trees, such as gooseberries
and currants, which helped us to a few shillings in the fall of the year.
"My two oldest brothers and two aunts, namely, Ann Hill and Charlotte
Hill, all four having standing wages, drawn sufficient to pay up the rent.
They could not afford to see my mother and 3 smallest children without
a home to live in. Soon after, my aunt Ann got my sister, Charlotte, a
place in Kent - Mr. Gardens Hadlow House, Tornbridge Wells - near Kent
with her. [Turnbridge Wells, in Kent]. Mother was very pleased because
she could earn sufficient to clothe herself moderately well and pay the
rent of the house for us to live in. Now you see how the Lord has His eye
over us for good.
[The 1851 Census for Bovingdon indicates that both John and his younger
brother, Edward ("cousins") were living in the home of Eliza Stewart, "head
of house, straw plaiter" at 38 Bridge Row. John's mother, Mary is listed
as 50 years old and a servant for Samuel Phillips at St. Collins Farm.
The meager circumstances of the Durrant family economy reveal a family
just getting by and doing whatever work is necessary to keep body and soul
together another day.] |
