Description
On a remote piece of agricultural land at Hinkshay Farm in Dawley parish, Shropshire, three rows of houses were built in the 1820s, first 48 back-to-back dwellings called ‘Double Row’, then ‘Single Row’ and ‘New Row’, bringing the total to 78 houses. They were built by the Botfield family to house workers for a new ironworks, Stirchley Forge and Mill. Families moved there from the iron-making areas of the Midlands, from small rural hamlets, and some from Dawley itself. The settlement was in existence for 144 years and, at its height, the population of the Rows reached almost 500.
A close-knit community developed with many finding a marriage partner from neighbours. Large families were the norm and work was plentiful, including for women and girls – the Shropshire pit girls. The nearby White Hart Inn together with Hinkshay Mission Church provided a focus for community activities.
Gradual decline in the iron and coal industries in the late 19th century meant that many Hinkshay families decided to leave. Communities of Hinkshay migrants became established in Scotland and South Wales and Durham. But others stayed at Hinkshay, some until the end of the Rows in 1968 when they were demolished and the community of Hinkshay was lost.
This unique and detailed account tells the life stories of those families who came to Hinkshay, those who migrated and those who stayed. It is the product of many years of expert research. a Shropshire industrial community.
Heather Duckett was born at Charlton, a village near Wellington and after attending Wellington High School for Girls joined Shropshire County Library service. In the late 1960s and early 1970s she was librarian at Dawley where she first heard of Hinkshay. For 26 years she was librarian at New College Sixth Form College, Wellington. In 1998 she gained a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (first class) degree from the Open University.
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