This house used to be one of a pair situated at 91 and 92 Lawrence Lane, Old Hill. They were built in 1886 and they represent the improved standards for working class housing that were set towards the end of the nineteenth century. The houses had a central entry and a fold at the back, however, one unit was rebuilt at the Museum with a side entry.
The date of the display setting is 1910. Originally the house was occupied by Edward Parkin, a fitter and anchor worker, but for the Museum's purposes the house has been designated as the home of a prosperous chainmaker. He would have been relatively well-off because at that time there was still a large demand for chain from the expanding ship building and dock trades. Machines for making chain were still not in general use so the chainmaker would have had plenty of work whether he worked in a factory or a smaller workshop. This is in complete contrast to nailmaking where machines had almost completely rendered the hand made nails obsolete.
The chainshop in the backyard is where the chainmaker's wife made chain from time to time. Again there was still a demand for the smaller, twisted link chain usually made by women. Therefore there were two reasonably secure wages coming in to this household.
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| Reference: | 527 |
| Keywords: | Lawrence Lane Working Class Parking Chain 1910 BCLM |
| Archive Ref: | Marketing Photograph Collection |
| Updated: | 6/9/2001 11:35:31 |