Differing Responses to an Industrialising Economy - eTheses ...

chemical labourers in Lower Bentley (in Tardebigge), who perhaps worked at the new
chemical works in nearby Stoke Prior. 413
Those termed as ‘gentlemen’ were always present. 414
Some ‘gentlemen’ circa
1700 were in fact ironmasters, while later ‘gentlemen’ included nouveaux riches, who
had profited from the needle-trade, for example the Millwards of Tardebigge. 415
Although the typical gentleman or esquire was literate and held much farming stock and
property, this was not always the case. 416
As noted earlier, gentlemen often followed
professional occupations such as land-steward or attorney, while one Studley gentleman
acted as a commissioner for Aston Cantlow’s enclosure in 1743. 417
In Period A the only servant for whom probate documents survive was John
Wilson; however, he is not a poor underling, but well-connected, probably a steward. 418
Domestic servants remain elusive in local records until the nineteenth century. In 1831
there were 49 male servants over twenty and 16 under twenty and 445 female servants
(7.7% of total females). In baptisms 1813-1840 only 1% of fathers were servants. 419 The
1841 census shows that some 5.1% of adult males were servants, while the percentages of
servants in the other age and gender groups were, as expected, much higher. 420
Some
413 A. Foxall, Old Redditch Pubs, (Warwick, Token Books, 2002), p. 204, mentions the white witch.
WoRO, Tardebigge 1841 census, the chemical workers.
414 Gentlemen are not included in the statistics of known occupations in my tables.
415 WoRO, probate of James Millward, Tardebigge, gentleman, 1785, and of John Millward, Tardebigge,
gentleman, 1791. Some of the parishes had resident gentry or aristocracy whose probate is listed under that
parish whereas others had absentee landlords. The probate of several gentlemen, ‘esquires’ and also
baronets, such as Sir Francis Throckmorton of Coughton, were handled by the PCC, but unfortunately
inventories do not exist to enlighten us about their investments.
416 Gentlemens’ probate inventories ranged from WoRO, probate of Thomas Measey, Redditch,
(Tardebigge), gent, 1685, £11-12-6 to that of William Sowley, Bordesley, (Tardebigge), gent, 1689, £1764-
6-0. The latter was in fact an ironmaster.
417 WaRO, B. AST. Pec.(P), Aston Cantlow enclosure award, 1743, mentions the commissioner, Edward
Chambers of Studley.
418 WoRO, probate of John Wilson, Ipsley, servant to Sir John Huband, 1680, (no inventory). His wife was
from a wealthy family of tanners, the Chestons.
419 Table 7.6.
420 See Table 7.8 above.
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