The Oddfellows in Victorian Bournemouth evolved from a small lodge in the 1850s to a significant mutual aid society by the 1880s, supporting working people with sick-pay, health-care, and funerals. Their financial model centered on investing membership fees into mortgages, demonstrating their growing social respectability and communal identity amidst changing attitudes towards laborers.
In the 1880s, cabmen in Bournemouth united against the Improvement Commissioners to safeguard their livelihoods amid growing tensions. They formed a union, facilitated social gatherings, and established a Slate Fund for mutual benefit. Their collective actions spurred political engagement, ultimately compelling the local authority to reconsider stringent regulations on cab practices.
Victorian Bournemouth (195) provides a summary of the recent subjects and themes covered in the last quarter’s articles.
Victorian Bournemouth (191) finds some extreme business methods practised by money-lenders during the 1880s.
Victorian Bournemouth (185) traces how successful local businessmen, from humble origins, stepped into wider civic and community roles.
Victorian Bournemouth (184) finds artisans in increasing number practising a widening array of trades and crafts during the 1880s.
Victorian Bournemouth (183) analyses the category of building workers present during the 1880s.
Victorian Bournemouth (182) summarises articles that touched on working people and different aspects of their lives.
Victorian Bournemouth (181) finds compassion on occasion softening the dark prejudice with which Guardians managed the local workhouse.
Victorian Bournemouth (180) observes how Guardians of its Union workhouse reacted to challenges occurring during the 1880s.