Differing Responses to an Industrialising Economy - eTheses ...

CHAPTER FIVE
ZONE B: THE SOUTHERN (CHAMPION) COUNTRY
As defined in Chapter 2, this zone, consisting of the five former Gloucestershire
parishes, three Warwickshire parishes and two Worcestershire parishes, lay along the
River Avon and was traditionally characterised as ‘champion’ country with less
woodland than the zones to the north. 1
Throughout the study period the Avon formed an
important artery linking this sub-district with the outside world and also provided a
source of power, fish, osiers and reeds.
In the late seventeenth century this zone was (fractionally) more densely
populated than Zones C and D, but in the eighteenth century it was overtaken in this
respect by the industrialising Needle District. 2
In 1676 the Champion Country’s
population lay between 2071 and 2966 souls, maybe growing by 53.3% to a figure of
3862 in 1801. In Period D it grew further, by 38.6%, reaching a total of 5351 in 1841
before decreasing thereafter. 3 Table 3.16 in Chapter 3 shows that, like Zones A and C,
this zone’s share of the study area’s population decreased over the two centuries as the
Needle District’s share grew relentlessly and rapidly. The possible economic reasons
behind the Champion Country’s demographic development are discussed later in this
chapter.
In 1660 Bidford, an entrepot on the Avon and small market centre, was in decline
probably caused in part by the improvement of the Avon Navigation in 1637, which
1 See Appendix 1: Parish Gazetteer, Appendix 1a: Map of parishes in the Study Area and the section ‘The
Division of the Study Area into Sub-districts’ in Chapter 2.
2 See Table 3.15 in Chapter 3.
3 See Tables 3.5, 3.7 and 3.14 in Chapter 3.
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