Memories and Pictures - Page 12
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Share your comments, memories and pictures of Pamber Heath or simply ask a local history question. I will do my best to answer you quickly. Click/touch to E-mail me and attach a picture if you have one. E-mail address will be published unless you ask me not to.
Page 12
Mar 21, 2007 WEST FAMILY HISTORY - a letter from David Rose requesting help with his family history research: `I am in the process of investigating my family history. My maternal grandmother was Rose West married to Arthur Thomas Kimber. She was born in 1879. Her father was John West born about 1842 and married to Emily Taylor. His father was William West born about 1818 and married on the 17 July 1840 to Jane Stacey.
My daughter-in-law is also a West whose family came from Pamber Heath and Tadley. Her paternal grandfather was Alfred born in 1909 and married to Florence Englefield. His father was William Henry West born on the 2 October 1877 and married to Susan Long. His parents were Daniel West born on the 16 April 1849 married to Emma.
I am trying to find a connection between the West side of my family and that of my daughter-in-law and have details of the Census Returns back to 1841 and some information from my mother who is in her 98th year and from my daughter-in-law's father. It would appear that my next move is to go down to the Records Offices in Winchester to find out details before 1837 unless someone connected with the Pamber Heath Archives web site can help. Regards, David Rose' (E-mail address became invalid. Perhaps he will be in contact again sometime).
Jun 22, 2007 LIVING CONDITIONS OF LABOURERS - Hi Raymond, my name is Darren Broadhurst. I am researching my family history and have found using your website and book extremely helpfull over the past few months since my family come from Silchester and Pamber Heath, so I must say from the start a big thank you for all your hard work in researching the history of Pamber. I have a question for you though, my family (as were most in the area) were agricultural labourers. I was just wondering if any information or photographs exist of the houses that these people used to live in? I am very interested in what the general standard of living was like for the labourers and their families in Pamber and Silchester (I'm guessing not very good). Many thanks. Kindest regards, Answer: Agricultural labourers were not very well paid and usually lived in rented accommodation. The dwellings shown in my book give a representation of how their homes looked. The one known as The Cabin in Burney Bit was a typical early home with about four rooms. One person in Burney Bit (Moses Rawlings) only had a 2 room cottage. They would have had thatched rooves originally.
There was no running water and they had to draw water from a well. Life was quite hard so the standard of living was poor but many kept a pig and chickens. From the early 1900s the typical dwelling of an agricultural labourer was a `two up-two-down cottage' rented from the better off.