School Records, Family Migration and Community History: Insights from Sudbrook and the Construction of the Severn Tunnel
Author: Gant, Robert
Source: Family & Community History, Volume 11, Number 1, May 2008 , pp. 27-44(18)
Publisher: Maney Publishing
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Abstract:
Few rural settlements built in support of major engineering projects during the Victorian era have survived. Sudbrook, constructed to house workers on the Severn Tunnel in south east Monmouthshire, is an exception. Set within the phased construction history of the tunnel, this article introduces and evaluates the information content of school admission registers and school log books. It blends evidence from these statutory documents with census enumerators' books, church baptism registers and civil registrations of birth to illuminate patterns of family migration and residential 'persistence'. Notwithstanding shortcomings in information coverage, the technique of household reconstitution is used to triangulate compatible historical sources and demonstrate the potential of school records for micro-level demographic studies. Through the creation of representative family histories, the study illuminates migration processes and aspects of community life between key census enumerations, and at a time of fundamental change in the regional economy.Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1179/175138106x293084
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