The Geographical Origins of Ashfords Population in 1851 - Essay Example

The Geographical Origins of Ashford’s Population in 1851 In the early 13th century, Ashford in Kent started its growth as a small market town. It is located near The River Ash and a ford is also build near the river and so it got its name "Ashford”. The different ways Ashford was spelt in olden times are Aishfor, Ashford, Aysford, Asseford and many more. In 1243, it was granted a charter (a document granting the people certain rights).Along with the weekly market, Ashford was allowed annual fair and later on, the revised charter (1348), allowed two fairs in a year. Soon, Ashford became a busy little market town with no more than a population of 1000 people or less. Despite the religious upheavals, Ashford continued to be a thriving market town and till the 18th century, its population increased only up to 1500 people. Agriculture was the mainstay of Ashford’s economy. However in 19th century the population of The Ashford started growing rapidly due to the military barracks, after the opening of railway works (1842).The military men setup their schools, shops and churches .In the second half of 19th century Ashford cattle market was one of the greatest markets in south of England. Wool fleeces were collected and auctioned and hops were grown on large scale .After the introduction of railways, more than 2000 traders used to visit Ashford every harvest time (lambert).The Ashford then got divided into east and west union districts. Further, the east union district was split into 25 parishes, divided into three sub districts, whereas, the west union district comprised of 13 parishes divided into two sub districts (Pearman, 2012). The town of Ashford was established in 1849.before that it was a part of The Town of Auburn .This town has its roots in the 9th century. There are various manors that surround the town including Repton, Licktop, Esture and Wall is the prominent ones. Famous families continued their ownership in these manors and estates and later in 18th century declared Ashford as a cheerful and neat town. Ashford continued to be an agriculture town and with the introduction of railways started becoming an attraction for migratory The railway company set up a society near the railway station .A factory for the repair of locomotive engines, residence for their workers and storage area for the railway carriages were constructed. (Knight, 1850) There has been a parish workhouse erected with workshops, storehouses, a large yard, with every necessary implement for the carrying on a complete manufactory on an excellent plan, for the bleaching of Irish linen, a process lately established here, in which about sixty poor persons are employed, who earn on an average about 1s. a week or 160l. Per annum (Knight, 1850) Ashford, at the time of doomsdays survey, was in possession of Hugo de Montfort .He was the companion of conqueror hither and was granted this estate along with many other estates of other different counties. After Hugo de Montfort, Ashford came in hands of his grandson Robert de Montfort. Robert went for pilgrimage to Jerusalem leaving the possession of Ashford to the king Edward and so Ashford came in the hands of crown .Soon after that it seems to have come in the hands of a family, who took their name from it, William de Asshetesford, and after that the family of Criol became the owner .later Simon de Criol received the charter of this manor and his son William de Criol passed it on to roger de Leyborne. The crown continued to pass in the hands of one to the other. The important name in the history of Ashford is Sir John Fogge who had a temporary dwelling in Ashford but he helped the poor and granted a lot for the repair works of St.Marry’s church (one of the oldest church in the history of Ashford). (Hasted) The church has great importance in Ashford as the river Stoure, ford and this St.Marry’s church were the highlighted topographic features of this area. It is a handsome old building, which reflects the tradition and history of the Ashford. It is 120 ft high building with a capacity of 1700 persons. The seats are open and beautiful and they are dedicated to the parishioners for worship. (Pearman, 2012).it has been renovated many times by the funding provided by the in possession person. The land nearby is granted to the poor for residence. a school and all other basic facilities are provided nearby. The church receives a huge amount of funding for its maintenance, every year. The population growth of the Ashford can be observed from the population chart below: YEAR POPULATION 1801 2151 1811 2532 1821 2273 1831 2809 1841 3082 1851 5007 (pearman) Not much material change can be observed from 1801 till 1841.However due to the introduction of urban facilities in the area, a rapid increase in the population can be observed in 1851.Moreover, the revision of poor laws also contribute to the increase in population of the area. The introduction of railways plays the major part in the employment and social activities of the people of Ashford. The people used to come to the area for trade or for attending the annual fair and then by observing the newly developed facilities, they used to settle down in the area. The railway society was further extended to provide housing facilities to the newly migrated ones. (www.ashfordkentfhs.co.uk) The introduction of railways and the use of bicycles and cars instead of walking helped the town spread out. It was mainly the transportation which made it possible to live in large numbers in the rural areas, but with urban jobs and life style. Initially Ashford had attracted a lot of families with children but after a certain time an outflow was observed for acquirement of further education. As the town did not have many universities and colleges. But later universities were introduced, gas lines were laid and roads were developed which attracted the people coming for employment in the area. The water supply was also provided to 60 streets near the church area and the electricity lit around 200 houses. The census for the religion of the people of Ashford town was carried out separately at the same time when the main census was carried out and according to it, it was assumed that everyone was Christian. Further it was to find out, to what Christian district the person belonged to. The information was gathered by counting the number of people attending the churches on census day. Assumed data illustrates that the people mostly used to visit the church nearby their area rather than going to the far away church. Only 1%was observed to travel to distant churches (Pearman, 2012). The occupation of the people residing in the area was wood cutting (as the ash forest was a good source of timber), railway servants, builders and traders .according to the census data (1851) of Ashford town, the people mostly are scholars, house servants or employed for public services like shoemakers, painters etc. the table below shows the details obtained from the census data: OCCUPATION CATEGORY NUMBER OF PEOPLE farmer 5 Agricultural laborers 12 manufacturing 8 Non-agricultural laborers 13 Retail trade and handicraft 2 professions 10 servants 5 others 3 From the census data we can assume that the people in 1851 in Ashford town were mostly non-agricultural laborers. Besides that many were professionals and agricultural labors. The reason behind the people were engaged in construction works and in factory areas was that the town was undergoing development, besides that the wool fleecing was also a highlighted field of this region so the labor was also engaged in this field of work. Many people were employed for the transportation of timber from one station to the other. Ashford being a connecting station of five railway tracks, was of great importance to the passers. (Knight, 1850)people residing in the ashford at the time of 1851 census,also comprised of scholar and writer.as the town was a neat and calm town,so the writers would have prefferd residing there.the railway history note must also have been a charm for the writers (Wrigley & Shofield, 1993). The Parish of birth identifies the regions from where the people belong. It is considered as the tutorial unit of church within a diocese. Using the data collected regarding residents of Ashford’s from where they belong, it is found that out of the data of 115 persons, 38 belong to Ashford itself. After Ashford, the residents of Ashford have the second highest population of people who belong to those who do not have the idea that from where their history belongs. 7 out of the the data of 118 persons identified are those who do not have the idea from where their history belongs. The region which is ranked third is referred to as the Maidstone. Although the number is identified in terms of the data is significantly lower i.e 6 out of 115. Maidstone is the region, which is approximately 32 mile or 52 km from London. The evidence of the people who belong to Maidstone can be found beyond the Stone age. In Maidstone itself significant level of ethnicity can be found with a combination of White, Asian, Black, Christian, and Muslim & Hindu. More than 90 % of population is white (Lysons, 1800)Therefore, it can be implied that the people who belong to Maidstone and moved to Ashford were mostly white people. Moreover, reviewing the data collected it can also be seen that the kind of people who ranked forth in terms of their exitence in Ashford is CanterBury. Preston, Kingsnorth, Romney & Marden are also the regions, which can be categorized in the same ranking. The number of people, which were identified from each region is 3per region. Looking the table it can also be found that the Charing, Willesboro, Norwood, Wye, Hothfield, Kingston & Hyth are categorized in the fifth category of ranking in terms of people who moved to Ashford but their parish of birth belongs to respective areas.The number of people moved to ashford from the respective regions is 2 individuals per region. In addition to this, all the remaining parish of births are equalliy categorized at the rank 6. From all the remaining parishes one indvidual from each parish moved to Ashford. Therefore, the data collected can help in identifying the people from differnt parishes and demographics of Ashford, which can be used to evaluate the type of people who moved to Ashford in the year 1851. Since the inhabitants of ashford were not very rich people,the government used to introduce poor laws which were revised according to the prevailing conditions of the area. The table below shows the number of male and female members in the town according to their age division: ages Less than 10 years Between 10-20 (inc)years Between 20-30(inc) years Greater than 30 years male 13 5 21 16 female 12 12 12 23 As per assumptions and the available data, the number of females is greater than the number of males. On average the men are employed compared to the women. According to the census records, majority of the females are not employed and the head of the family is engaged in employment.ma The live births recorded in the year 1851 were 1303.on the basis of assumption it is noticed that the average age of the inhabitants of ashford is between 60 above.the average age of marriage for females is 25-9 and males is 40-5.the migrated men in the ashford till the 1851 preffered marrying the divorced.the reason found was their well settlement in the area or they being the property holders.many of the women at those times got engaged in the church works. The early death rate had reduced till 1851 and by the passage of time due to improvement in the health conditions and construction of new hospitals and health centres in the town.till 1842 the number of hospitals and clinics was very less.but with the passage of time and due to migrations from the urban areas,the health facilities increased,reducing the death rate at the time of new births.the doctors from the outskirts of the region started migrationjs,adding to the population and good medical centres. Thus the geographical study of the population of Ashford town according to the 1851 census, may conclude that, the land of Ashford is a lucky land that was granted the charter for holding twice the trade fairs, which brought about people from the surrounding to dwell here and turn the village market into a prosperous town. Bibliography 1. Hasted, E., n.d. The Town & parish of Ashford. [Online] Available at: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol10/pp29-42 [Accessed 2015]. 2. Knight, C., 1850. Geography of the British Empire. s.l.:google ebook. 3. Lysons, D., 1800. An Historical Account of those Parishes in the coutnry of Middlesex. s.l.:T cadell,jun & W Davies. 4. pearman, a. j., 2012. history of ashford. s.l.:Forgotton Books. 5. Rate, P., n.d. Ashfordkentfhs. [Online] Available at: http://www,ashfordkentfhs.co.uk [Accessed 2015]. 6. Thomas, T., 1859. Church History of Kent. s.l.:Ward & Co.. 7. Wrigley, E. & Shofield, R., 1993. The population history of England 1541-1871. s.l.:Univeristy of Cambridge. Read More