Earl Shilton - Trade and The Civil War in America

Trade and The Civil War in America

In 1861 the Civil War had broken out in America, and Earl Shilton was hard hit by the fact that the Northern States blockaded the ports of the Southern States, so that cotton could not be exported. Something akin to famine prevailed in Earl Shilton as the chief trade of the area was frame-work knitting. Frames could be found in nearly every house. During these devastating times the Baptist minister, the Rev. Parkinson, had to resign through lack of funds, and the Rev. Freesdon said, "that a church that could not support its minister, and a pastorate that had commenced with so many signs of blessing, ended through a war raging on the other side of the Atlantic".

The Elmesthorpe Road was commenced during these dark days as Relief Work. Many of the workers received no more than bread and meat for their hard labours. At this time over 1,200 people were out of employment. The work was sponsored by the Right Hon. the Earl of Lovelace and his daughter, the Lady Anne Noel, and carried out in 1862-3. They also forwarded £800 to the unemployed cotton workers to work worsted instead of cotton.

The depression seemed to continue for many years, and the figures given by the Hinckley District Relief Committee in July, 1864, make interesting reading - Subscriptions raised in Earl Shilton parish were to the amount of £161 1s. 4d, while the destitute poor received from that fund £992 10s. 4d., in addition 195 barrels (31.0 m3) of flour, 30 sides of bacon, 100 tons of coal and left-off clothing were distributed by this fund in the district. (Foster)

Towards the end of the nineteenth century several parcels of land were held by the parish as charitable lands namely; Town land meadow, Town Land close, the Barn Close (near Hill Top), the Old Close and part of Breach Field. These lands were rented out and the income used for poor relief.

Among other relief the poor of the parish would receive bread at Easter and Coal at Christmas. Allotments were also set-aside for the poor. One set of plots was at the bottom of Shilton Hill and a second in the Townlands off Breach Lane.

Read more about this topic:  Earl Shilton

Famous quotes containing the words trade and, trade, civil, war and/or america:

    My trade and my art is living. He who forbids me to speak about it according to my sense, experience, and practice, let him order the architect to speak of buildings not according to himself but according to his neighbor; according to another man’s knowledge, not according to his own.
    Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)

    ...to many a mother’s heart has come the disappointment of a loss of power, a limitation of influence when early manhood takes the boy from the home, or when even before that time, in school, or where he touches the great world and begins to be bewildered with its controversies, trade and economics and politics make their imprint even while his lips are dewy with his mother’s kiss.
    J. Ellen Foster (1840–1910)

    [I]t is a civil Cowardice to be backward in asserting what you ought to expect, as it is a military Fear to be slow in attacking when it is your Duty.
    Richard Steele (1672–1729)

    Fiddle-dee-dee! War, war, war. This war talk’s spoiling all the fun at every party this spring. I get so bored I could scream. Besides, there isn’t going to be any war.
    Sidney Howard (1891–1939)

    That great America on the other side of the sphere, Australia.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)