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A Dairy in Hackney-London

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  • A Dairy in Hackney-London

    Just been forming a link with a second cousin that has made me look more critically at that line....they are a family of cow keepers In HACKNEY!

    When my Dad was here last week, and I mentioned this, he said, quite out of the blue, that Mum's family were involved in a Dairy, he told me where he thinks it was, and that fits with where this 2nd cousin thinks his family lived. But we are only talking about 1930-40's

    Any idea how I can track down if this is all true....are the electoral roles available. I've never had to consider stuff this recent!

    All help gratefully received
    Sue x


    Looking for Hanmores in Kent, Blakers in Essex and Kent, Pickards in East London and Raisons in Somerset.

  • #2
    Hello Sue

    It's certainly possible, some of my own family, including at times my 3xg grandfather, worked as dairymen in the East End, a little earlier in their case, between roughly 1870-1910, but they did keep thier own cow shed and livestock. I found a newspaper report from the 1880's where my 3xg grandads brother was one of four local cowkeepers/dairyman, convicted for watering down their milk!

    I found this very useful, (from Bethnal Green: Economic History', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 168-190.) I'd imagine the situation was much the same in Hackney them being neighbouring parishes, and it shows there were at least still half a dozen or so cow keepers & home dairies in Bethnal Green in the period your looking at 1920/1930's.



    "Cowkeeping was not dependent on pasture land. Like pigkeeping, which persisted into the 20th century, it needed so little space that cowhouses and styes were found in areas which had been built up. At least some of the vegetable crops were for fodder. Turnips, which were grown by Katharine Carter in a field 'back of Bethnal Green' in 1736, were used for cattle, as presumably were most of the beans and peas and crops such as the mangel-wurzels grown by John Ridge in 1842.

    There were at least 30 cowmen or dairymen c. 1850, most of them with cowyards in populous districts and presumably producing milk for local consumption rather than, as formerly, for the City. In 1848 one of the largest, in Wood Street, had 40-50 cows, and William Brooks the older and younger ran a dairy in Russia Lane, south of the nursery. Paradise Dairy, which had 16 cows and 20 pigs behind Paradise Row, was blamed for 'typhus' and there were large cowsheds and pig styes in Punderson's Gardens. There was a cowyard in Bacon Street, where there were two dairies and cowhouses occupied by William Pettit in 1871. There were 98 milk cows in Bethnal Green in 1866 and 408 cows and heifers in milk, kept by 37 people, in 1874, when only one person occupied land and there were 2½ a. of meadow or pasture. By 1884 stock was kept by 32 people, who occupied no land, and there were 352 milk cows, 4 ducks, and 51 fowl.

    In the late 19th century there were several cowkeepers, including the Royal Dairy, in Cambridge Road and cows were driven down the street and milked as needed. In 1901 most of the 65 people employed in agriculture were commercial gardeners and nurserymen; cowkeepers were probably classified with other food dealers. There were 40 in the 'agriculture' category in 1911. Fifteen cowsheds and 344 milkshops existed in 1903 but cowsheds dwindled from 13 in 1913 to 8 in 1935 as clearances replaced them by retail dairies"

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    • #3
      Electoral rolls are available at the relevant archives and library services (I think in Hackney Archives and also London Metropolitan Archives, but do check). You need an address though as they are arranged alphabetically by street and then numerically within each street.

      The electoral roll won't tell you whether someone ran a dairy though. But you might find the dairy listed in the trades directories. There are Kelly's and other directories in the relevant archives and libraries and in major London libraries.

      You might even find some information by googling.
      ~ with love from Little Nell~
      Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

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      • #4
        My 4 x great grandfather was a cow keeper around the same are in the 1850's so it did happen!
        Must say I had a giggle at the time when I thought about it :D

        Joanie

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        • #5
          Sue,

          I remember recently watching a documentary on Sky called "Hidden House History" which was about Dairies in and around the Charlton area of London.

          If you could find a copy of this it would give you an idea of what went on and how it was all set up.

          David

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          • #6
            Richard, Thanks so much for that bit of insight into cow keeping.
            My own family of Cow keepers were in the business from 1881 at least,that was my G Grandfather. From him I have no idea who carrried on the cow keeping business. The dairy just came as a surprise to me, Mum would have probably known but she is long gone. The dairy in question is about a mile and a half from where they first lived, a quarter of a mile from where I was brought up, but I don't remember it, we didn't walk on that side of the road!!!

            I have thought of writing to tha Hackney archive .

            In case anyone known the area they lived on the site which is now Tescos in Morning Lane, I know there were watercress beds there!

            Thanks so much for your input, you've got me thinking
            Sue x


            Looking for Hanmores in Kent, Blakers in Essex and Kent, Pickards in East London and Raisons in Somerset.

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