Tailors and Cordwainers

[Mandie]

One of my ancestors was a cordwainer (maker of new shoes) in the early/mid 1800's and another was a tailor. I'd love to know more about these trades for that time period - but I don't know where to begin. Both were living in the Durham area, and I'd like to know whether there trades were mainly aimed at serving the upper classes or if ordinary folk would use their services. Oddly all their children went on to become miners and didn't carry on their fathers trades.

Can anyone suggest any useful links?

[Jo Simpsons]

I have a family, Chaytor, that were shoe makers and tailors and they were from Durham area and the sons ended up miners too.
This web site says a lot about the cordwianers
http://www.thehcc.org/backgrnd.htm


Jo :)

[Mandie]

I have a family, Chaytor, that were shoe makers and tailors and they were from Durham area and the sons ended up miners too.
This web site says a lot about the cordwainers
http://www.thehcc.org/backgrnd.htm


Thanks for that link, Jo, it provided some much needed information. I never knew that corwainers still existed!
I would still love to know why families such as ours went into mining from these professions. Perhaps tailoring/cordwaining was in decline in the North East...?

[Roger47]

Hi couldn't help to notice your interest in cordwainers I worked for many years in Mare Street Hackney London at the Technical College and just down the road from us was The Cordwainers College granted that was a few years ago but it may still be there

Roger

[Barnzzz]

I think cordwaining (is that the right term ?) did decline in all areas in the 1800s with the introduction of industrial shoe making. In the Somerset area, Clarks Shoes took over a lot of this kind of business and no doubt there was something similar in the North East.

Also, my Grandfather left the North East (Hartelpool) at the beginning of the 1900s as he didn't want to be a coal miner and there was no other work available. He went South to Portsmouth and became a carpenter.

Sue