How did women cope as Head of Household in 1901?
In this blog, Sarah Villiers examines the lives of women living in Easton, Bristol, in the 1900s. Her study reveals that life was hard for many of these women. Sarah gave a talk about her research at our last Annual Conference in October 2022, which was on Women and Money: A Historical Perspective. Having recently moved to Easton in Bristol, I found my house had been built in the early 1910s. I decided to find out more about my neighbours of that time. I focused on the triangle between three railway lines: to the west, one still extant near Stapleton Road station; a second (now a cycle path) on the east; and the third lying across the top of the triangle roughly following part of Fishponds Road. Most of this area had been market gardens until development rapidly took place. This period coincided with (was stimulated by?) the whole area being incorporated into Bristol City in 1897. Sources The 1901 census showed a number of households where a woman was identified as Head