Economic cornerstone

Introduction

Victorian Bournemouth (183) analyses the category of building artisans recorded as present at the resort, its suburbs, and the hinterland during the nineteenth century. It concentrates on inferences drawn from the data referring to the 1880s. The data comes from census listings. It finds greater specialisation amongst building artisans and speculates on the resulting changes to house structure, finish, and cost.

Victorian Bournemouth (183): Overview

Population trends

The analysis used here consists of all males in employment aged over fifteen. The 1861 census recorded just under a hundred of these working as building artisans. The number of men employed in the construction industry over this period increased by a rate faster than the area’s total population. Three decades later, the number of building artisans had increased to eighteen hundred. In 1891, the number of masons alone almost reached that comprising the total category for 1861. Although the rate of growth slowed, substantial numbers of building artisans came to the area. For example, during the 1880s, a further thousand construction workers came to Bournemouth, doubling the previous number. Carpenters accounted for over a third of the category, while bricklayers and painter-decorators, about equal in number, comprised another third.  During this period, however, technological innovations and craft specialisations added work opportunities. These included gas-fitters, electricians, carvers, and gilders. 

Geographic distribution

The residential geographic distribution of building artisans changed much during the nineteenth century. In the 1860s, most lived in Bournemouth. Early, the building artisans clustered in a working persons’ ‘ghetto’ in the area of Terrace Road. As the suburbs evolved, the skilled construction workers moved into them. In 1871, two thirds of building artisans resided in Bournemouth, but this figure had dropped to a fifth as the 1880s ended. In 1891, the census recorded 80% of such men as located in the suburbs. In 1871, skilled construction workers accounted for 5% of the town’s population, but this dropped to 1% after twenty years. In the intervening period, this group grew to 7% of all suburban inhabitants. Most dwelt in the block running from Malmesbury Park to Pokesdown, but noticeable numbers occupied Moordown and Winton. Thus, the suburbs became the residential zone for those who created the entire area’s built environment.

Victorian Bournemouth (183): trades’ survey

New job opportunities

As mentioned earlier, carpenters (and joiners) accounted for the largest category of skilled construction workers. Over the period, the proportion taken by them declined by degrees, while bricklayers remained at a steady proportion during this time. By 1891, however, within this category, a subdivision emerged. A few men described their occupation as ‘pointers’, a specialisation of bricklaying. Other trades, however, grew their proportions of the total. Painter-decorators increased above the total, moving from under a tenth in 1861 to a quarter by 1891. After piped gas reached Bournemouth, a new type of skilled construction worker arrived: the gas-fitter. Later, electricity also made its way to Bournemouth, repeating the process of creating opportunities for men having this skill. The number of masons also increased above the entire category. One or two men appear to have specialised as house furnishers. Thus, while the category grew, it incorporated new  skilled trades.

Greater finish

Early building in Bournemouth had an opportunistic, unplanned quality. Developers, often prospering builders, acquired leases from the landowners on a piece-meal basis. David Tuck, for example, had a lease for land on which he built  1 Westover Villas. Many of the early houses appeared to resemble large mansions. Over time, subdivision transformed these into apartments. Suburban residences took the form of terraced strips or semi-detached ‘villas’. The trends found amongst building artisans suggest that over time greater emphasis grew on finish and construction quality. The need for men to paint and decorate interiors outgrew the rate for men to lay bricks. Men described as carvers and gilders emerged as did paper-hangers. A growing presence of masons could suggest a preference for stone over brick in some structures. Specialised pointers would improve both quality and appearance of external walls. Overall, therefore, a greater appetite for finish may have developed.

Victorian Bournemouth (183): Economic structure

Construction popular but other choices opened

Early in the period, men born in Dorset or Hampshire (including Bournemouth) comprised most of the building artisans. As their population grew, the numbers from those two counties increased also. In the 1880s, men native to Wiltshire and Somerset looking to deploy their skills on construction sites arrived at a an increasing rate. The proportion of Dorset men declined, a growing proportion of natives from across the country arriving. Bournemouth exerted a wide appeal to skilled construction workers. Until the 1880s, building artisans who headed their household grew faster than the rest. The industry offered regular income to those seeking to form families. During the 1880s, however, this proportion declined somewhat. This may suggest that heads of household saw greater income opportunities beyond construction. The economic context may have evolved. Commercial activities grew their proportion. A retail business might offer more opportunity than construction. Literacy also widened employment choices.

Loose management of the opportunity

Skilled construction workers who had access to capital and confidence to manage projects became property developers. This required entrepreneurial and financial skills not available to all. Nevertheless, over the period, builders increased their number. They expanded faster than the rate at which all employment grew, though not as fast as skilled construction workers. Dividing the number of the latter by the number of builders provides an average size of ‘virtual building firms’. Over the period, ‘firms’ appeared to grow larger, running from 8 to 14 notional employees. In the 1860s, however, this number jumped to over 20, implying that builders had expanded their operational scale much greater than before. Amateur speculators saw property development as easy wealth. The economy overheated. Bankers grew cautious. A glut of bankruptcy happened in Bournemouth, causing trouble to builders small but also large, including Joseph Cutler. Thereafter builders employed fewer skilled workers in their projects. 

Takeaway

Victorian Bournemouth (183) has analysed skilled construction workers as an economic category during the nineteenth century, emphasising the 1880s. A cornerstone occupation for the economy, it appeared a stable component thereof, but experienced developments and even changes. Construction suffered some economic problems, but rebounded. Skilled construction work seemed to offer income sufficient to maintain and establish families through the period, though this may have lessened during the 1880s. Other employment opportunities began to grow.

References

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