Early Nineteenth Century Industrial Development of Clementhorpe

The Directories covering nineteenth century Clementhorpe do show that a growing number of railway-related workers were living in the area. However, Clementhorpe developed piecemeal as the demand grew for new housing. It was not built to an overall plan, or to provide labour for one or two large employers, though the expansion of the railway and confectionery industries in the later nineteenth century were undoubtedly stimulants. The industrial growth and decline of Clementhorpe was largely confined to a 100 year period between 1850 and 1950, though there was some industrial activity at an earlier date, and some lingered on to the end of the twentieth century.

White’s Directory for 1840, for example, lists 17 manufacturers and traders in the Clementhorpe area, as follows:

Trade/Profession	Name	Address
Bone crusher	William Richardson	Not stated, but probably Skeldergate Postern
Boot & shoe maker	George Collyer	7 Bishopgate Street
Brewers & maltster	Christopher Scarr & Co.	Clementhorpe
Corn miller & flour dealer	William Fisher	St. Clement’s Place
Shoe thread manufacturer	Robert Henry Nodding	Clementhorpe
Flax spinners & shoe thread manufacturer	Christopher Scarr & Co.	Clementhorpe
Beer house	Francis Mountain	Clementhorpe
Beer house	James Rolling	St. Clement’s Place
Patent flour machine maker	William Richardson	Skeldergate Postern
Nail maker	James Rolling	Clementhorpe
Nail maker	John Wilkinson	White Swan Yard, St. Clement’s Place
Shopkeeper	George Chapman	St. Clement’s Place
Shopkeeper	Joseph Hume	Clementhorpe
Sloop & boat builder	Richard Wray	Clementhorpe
Timber merchant (English wood)	Thomas Birch	St. Clement’s Place
Timber merchant	Thomas Vinor	Clementhorpe
Timber merchant	Richard Wray	Clementhorpe

 In 1841, 71.7% of the 3,235 women in employment in York were employed in domestic service. A further 22.3% were employed in ‘handicraft’ industries and retailing. Alan Armstrong[1] describes the unusually high proportion of men employed in ‘handicraft’ industries (44.5% of the 7,774 in employment). “Here are included the bakers, booksellers, butchers, inn-keepers, grocers, tailors, jewellers, pipe-makers, saddlers, drapers, wine merchants, brush makers, clock makers, etc., who abounded in York. No less than 44% of the group (males) and 75% (females) were engaged in the preparation of articles of dress and apparel, and in the retailing of food and drink.” Only 8.9% of the male workforce was engaged in what could reasonably be described as ‘modern manufacturing’.

What was going on around 1850?

Charles Dickens had recently completed David Copperfield with its scenes of urban and rural squalor. The Royal Border Bridge, carrying the railway from York to Edinburgh, had just been opened by Queen Victoria,, and construction proceeded on the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace.

In York, the United Gas light Company had recently been established. The first detective was appointed to the local police force. The latest typhoid and cholera[2] epidemics had just occurred, reflecting the poverty, poor housing and sanitation. Employment in the railway industry was booming. The growth of the railway industry attracted migrants, often to live in quite squalid conditions, but it also encouraged the development of the tourist trade.

[1] Ibid

[2] The burial ground on Station Road reminds us of the 1832 cholera outbreak. In 1849 there were around 150 deaths from a further outbreak.