Find out about everyday working lives in Walpole in 1871
Walpole Old Chapel, Halesworth Road, Walpole, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 9AZ
This exhibition takes as its starting point a transcription of the 1871 census records for Walpole. One of our community history volunteers has been analysing these records specially for this year's Heritage Open Days.
Of particular relevance to the theme of this year's Heritage Open Days is the occupational structure of the population of the parish at that time. What were the jobs that local people were commonly doing? And, maybe, was anybody employed in occupations you wouldn't expect in a rural Suffolk parish in the 1870s?
Other sources have been used to research and try to reconstruct what the daily patterns of some of these occupations would have been.
What was your working life like if you were an agricultural labourer in Walpole in 1871, for example?
And what occupations were available for women? Were they restricted to being just maids and servants, or were there any other opportunities? What did their everyday working lives entail?
How long was a child typically in education before they were expected to start work? How long did people work before they retired?
We cannot assume that the chapel congregation would necessarily have reflected the general occupational structure of the population in Walpole as a whole. But cross-checking chapel records with the census returns may give us some idea.
Timings
- Saturday 12 September:
- 10.00 till 16.00
Location & directions
Walpole Old Chapel, Halesworth Road, Walpole, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 9AZ
- Directions:
- Free parking is opposite the chapel
- Contact on day:
- Simon Weeks
- Telephone number:
- +447790518589
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
Visitors should be aware that the chapel is an old building with some steps and uneven surfaces
