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Trade profiles (2): builders (1)
Introduction
Trade profiles (2) shows the proportion of all Bournemouth commercial listings taken by building businesses as reported by directories published during the period 1859-1898. Listings used appear within the entire Greater Westover area.
Trade profiles (2): tables
| Building's share of all enterprises | 1859 | 1871 | 1880 | 1889 | 1898 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building & decorating | 6% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 5% |
| Else | 94% | 92% | 90% | 94% | 95% |
| Split between builders and craft trades | 1859 | 1871 | 1880 | 1889 | 1898 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Builder | 40% | 59% | 54% | 54% | 44% |
| Trades | 60% | 41% | 46% | 46% | 56% |
| Indexed growth rates | 1859 | 1871 | 1880 | 1889 | 1898 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Builder | 1.00 | 4.00 | 13.75 | 16.75 | 16.00 |
| Trades | 1.00 | 1.83 | 7.67 | 9.33 | 13.50 |
| Category | 1.00 | 2.70 | 10.10 | 12.30 | 14.50 |
| All categories | 1.00 | 1.99 | 6.35 | 13.64 | 19.65 |
| Geographic distribution across Greater Westover | 1859 | 1871 | 1880 | 1889 | 1898 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | 77% | 70% | 51% | 25% | 24% |
| Boscombe Pokesdown | 0% | 10% | 12% | 21% | 39% |
| Springbourne | 0% | 17% | 27% | 29% | 19% |
| Winton Moordown | 0% | 0% | 6% | 12% | 11% |
| Southbourne | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Westbourne | 0% | 0% | 2% | 12% | 8% |
| Rural Greater Westover | 23% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
Trade profiles (2): discussion
The building category includes those listed by directories as ‘builders’ but also those active in associated crafts. Thus, it includes decorators, painters, carpenters & joiners, plumbers, and bricklayers. Men working in this category made a fundamental contribution to Bournemouth, since they took it from an almost empty heathland to a complete town, including suburbs, within the Victorian period. Table 1 shows how, as a proportion of all commercial entities listed in directories, building grew to a maximum of 12% by the end of the 1880s. Thereafter, however, the category appeared to drop back in favour of others. Table 2 shows that men described as ‘builders’ accounted for about half the category, while the associated artisans and craftsmen comprised the rest. Many of the so-called ‘builders’, if not all, would have begun their working careers as an artisan or craftsman. Later, they graduated to become developers, that is ‘capitalists’.
Until the 1890s, the building category grew, in terms of its enterprises, at rate above that of all operating unites in the Greater Westover area. Within the group, a difference in growth rates separated the builders from the craftsmen and artisans. The former ran ahead of the latter until the 1890s, when the positions reversed. This might have occurred because the pace of new building slowed, whereas the opportunities for repairs and renovations on existing properties quickened. Distinct changes in geographic distribution occurred within this category. The table suggests that the siting of building enterprises expanded eastwards. At first, builders began to congregate within Springbourne, but by the 1890s the concentration had shifted into Boscombe and Pokesdown. Firms developed within the Moordown and Winton area also at this time. Thus, the category spread across the widening footprint of Bournemouth and its suburbs.
References
For references and engagement, please get in touch. For a starting point on directories please go here and here.