Our evening begun with an introduction by Alan Crosby, considering the context of working-class writing in the 19th century, including the practicalities of opportunity and obtaining materials, as well as the ‘big issues’ of motivation and literacy. Alan stressed the need for local historians to assess such sources critically, with questions about truthfulness, completeness and typicality considered – how can we use working-class writing to illuminate the key themes of people’s lives during this period, and what limitations or reservations might we identify? Alan drew on his experience editing The Family Records of Benjamin Shaw: mechanic of Dent, Dolphinholme and Preston 1772-1841 which has (in his words) been described as perhaps the most important publication in the field of working class autobiography to appear in the last seventy years, and it is now a standard text.

Following the excellent context provided by Alan the main body of the Hour was presented by us, Ruth Newman and Jane Howells, sharing our research on William Small (1820-1890), a painter and glazier of Victorian Salisbury. William spent his life in the city, working with his brothers in the family firm established by their father. He wrote about his family, his work, and the community in which he lived in ‘Cherished Memories and Associations’. Volumes 1 & 2 are at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre; we edited them for the Wiltshire Record Society, Vol. 64 published in 2011. Since then, two further volumes have come to light. For Local History Hour we selected some examples of the information William’s writing provides; here is an even briefer taste.

Family

William stated that his principal objective was ‘to say a little about my Dear & Honoured father & Mother’ [I,40]. William Small’s father, also William, and his wife Maria had eight children of whom William was the oldest; four lived to be adults. He enjoyed a stable childhood within a respectable, literate working family. The family moved in 1823 to Harnham Bridge on the edge of the city. Examples of William's beautiful copper plate handwriting, showed the ease of transcription. The Smalls moved into Salisbury settling in New Street where his parents and sister Henrietta were to die and where William wrote his memoirs. Henrietta's sudden death, aged 49, on Christmas Day 1877, was a disaster from which William never really recovered.  

William was a complex character as an adult, loyal and honest but always maintaining a tradesman's subservience. Later in life his loneliness dominated and he found it difficult to pay his rent. He faced the threat of eviction from his house making agonised requests for an extension in payment as ‘it is . . . winter, & work is very slack’. But eventually he was given ‘notice to quit'. In the sale of his goods we discovered details about William as an artist: ‘Mr Sheppard bought oil paintings  . . .  to the amount 3£ 6s 0d ... Landscape & bridge etc. By myself 45 years ago’ [III, 358-9, 360].  

Education

Education was important to the family, and William describes where he and his siblings went to school. The master wrote an annual ‘character’ in his ciphering book: ‘Thomas Berry is happy to say Master Small is a good lad and merits commendation’  [I,69]. William used the skills of literacy and numeracy throughout his working life, and these volumes demonstrate his enjoyment in reading and memorising poetry.

Trade

William Small senior appears to have been a sound businessman and their trade flourished. William junior ‘left school only 11 years of age to go to work as my father wanted me very much’ [I,68]. William senior was very highly thought of ‘he was called the cleanest painter in Salisbury, … where he did go once he was sure to be wanted again’ [I,53].

They repaired and re-glazed sashes, painted, varnished or grained frames and shutters. William Small described with pride a job they did for Mr Brownjohn

‘all the sashes were glaz’d ... by me with best Crown Glass, £11 a crate at that time [when Mr Brownjohn was asked] who glaz’d those sashes, he said young Small at Harnham, and he said I never saw better glazing in my life’ [I,38].

Smalls painted not just window frames but also walls, railings, boats and more, plus sign-writing on wagons, chapel seat numbers and name plates at the Races. Work for well known families in the Close shows their skill; at Mompesson House (now National Trust) ‘the elegant panell’d walls of the stair case with their beautiful plaster work were painted pea green and picked out a rich cream colour’ [I,157].

Politics and Religion

For the Small family, politics, religion and commerce overlapped. William Small senior had the vote and as a Methodist might have been expected to vote Liberal but his employers were mainly Anglican Tories. This posed a dilemma in an age before the secret ballot of 1872. 'So you can plainly see what a harassing state my father was placed in' [I,132-3]. On election day in May 1843 William's father abstained from voting and 'took a ride into the country' [I,131-2]. As a result of this 'betrayal' the Smalls lost business with the Methodists and suffered personal humiliation. This provides a clear example of the problems of open voting in the 19th century.

Methodism  

The Smalls attended the Methodist chapel in St Edmund’s Church Street and were employed regularly as tradesmen there. William emphasised the importance of Sunday Schools in teaching children to write as well as simple knowledge of the bible. New information showed that Methodists in Salisbury in the early 19th century faced considerable opposition. William's grandmother and others were taunted by mobs who ‘would follow them . . . with tin pots, kettles & frying pans [to and] from the Chapel & no one to interfere, no policemen, no order, no nothing' [I,49].

Leisure

Working people had little time for recreation.  William, and his father, were keen fishermen. Their garden on Harnham Bridge was a great source of pride: ‘the waters edge was well planted with blackcurrant trees which were generally loaded with fruit and we had to pick a great portion of them in a boat...’ [I,63-4]. Twice William climbed the cathedral spire, and adds ‘so we got down safely thank God for all his mercies’ [I,162-4].

Surviving writings of working-class people are rare. William Small's first-hand accounts add significantly to our knowledge of Victorian Salisbury.

Sources:  

Alan Crosby (eds), The Family Records of Benjamin Shaw: mechanic of Dent, Dolphinholme and Preston 1772-1841, Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire (1991)

** Jane Howells and Ruth Newman (eds), William Small’s Cherished Memories and      Associations, Wiltshire Record Society. Vol. 64 (2011)

Jane Howells and Ruth Newman, 'William Small Rediscovered', Sarum Chronicle 16 (2016), 58-78. This includes the discovery of Volumes 3 and 4 of William Small's 'Memories'. www.sarumchronicle.wordpress.com for information on back issues.

The ** starred Wiltshire Record Society volume is available for sale at £10 plus £2.65 p & p. Enquiries by email to Ruth Newman: ruth.tanglewood@btinternet.com. Please include name, address, postcode.

By Ruth Newman and Jane Howells