Victorian Knighton - Bleddfa around 1840

Knighton and district
Some Victorian maps

	Bleddfa around 1840
	The map below is based on the tithe map of around 1840, and it gives us an idea of the hamlet of Bleddfa in the early part of Queen Victoria's reign. From the map we can see that this small community developed at a point where the roads westward into Wales cross high ground.

TITHE MAPS
In Victorian times almost everyone had to pay tithes to the Church of England. At the beginning of the reign the tithe became a tax on your property. The maps were drawn to see what property everybody had

	The census returns for 1841 tell us who lived and worked here around that time. Even this small parish was a thriving community. Most of the inhabitants were farm labourers, but there were others earning a living in other ways. There were 2 shoemakers and 2 carpenters. At the mill in the village lived the miller John Evans with his young wife and child. The Old Hundred House Inn was run by publican Richard Hamer, who had an engineer lodging there at the time.
	A mystery! The 1841 census also records one Elizabeth Phillips living in the village. She was earning her living as a mantumaker. This sounds very impressive but we have no idea what that is ! Mystery solved! We have discovered that a mantua was a loose gown for women, so a mantuamaker was a dressmaker !
	Compare with Bleddfa in 1903...
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