Montgomery and district
Earning a living
  Slaters directory: Saddlers to wheelwrights  
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In Victorian times the transport between the towns and villages in Powys was nearly all horse-drawn. (A few lucky places were connected by train after the 1860s).
Farmers and tradesmen used carts to get their goods about, so the job of saddler and harness maker was an important one.

By 1858 medicine had advanced and the role of doctor or surgeon was a more respected one. Montgomery had three surgeons including what appears to be two from one family - both Dr Cockerton.

 
  Like the dressmaker, the tailor had an important role in the community in Victorian times. With transport being more difficult and expensive, most people bought locally made produce. Those who could afford it would have their clothes made by a local tailor specially for them.
The poorer people would buy them second hand or alter clothes handed down to them. Sometimes they made their own.		  
  In 1858,transport was still horse-drawn so the wheelwright had a very important role in the community.
It was a very skilled trade, making wheels for carriages and waggons of all sizes out of wood, and then attaching solid iron tyres. 		 
 

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