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:
“I look on trade and every mechanical craft as education also. But let me discriminate what is precious herein. There is in each of these works an act of invention, an intellectual step, or short series of steps taken; that act or step is the spiritual act; all the rest is mere repetition of the same a thousand times.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“If the world would only build temples to Machinery in the abstract then everything would be perfect. The painter and sculptor would have plenty to do, and could, in complete peace and suitably honoured, pursue their trade without further trouble.”
—Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)
“We find ourselves under the government of a system of political institutions, conducing more essentially to the ends of civil and religious liberty, than any of which the history of former times tells us.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“A war between Europeans is a civil war.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“Humanity from the first has had its vultures and sharks, and representatives of the fraternity who prey upon mankind may be expected no less in America than elsewhere. That this virulence breaks out most readily and commonly against colored persons in this country, is due of course to the fact that they are, generally speaking, weak and can be imposed upon with impunity. Bullies are always cowards at heart ...”
—Anna Julia Cooper (1859–1964)