The Diary of Nathaniel Bryceson (Part 8)

[Ruskie]

Yes true enough about the coat (cloak actually  ), but you would think that she'd have one from last winter?

I've been thinking about the arrangement of the rooms in Richmond Buildings and wonder if it may have been a bit like a flat of today, with a main door (Nat's 'outer room door') to a communal hallway. Then inside the flat would be a number of rooms ... bedrooms and possibly a kitchen/living area. These rooms would have had ('inner room') doors.

When Nathaniel describes his family renting the rooms at a certain amount per week, I wonder if each flat was charged according to the number of bedrooms, so when we see several families at the same address they are probably just renting a single room within a flat? Similar with Ann at Mrs Kennington's in Stephen Street - in the 1851 there is also the Cock family and John Burns living there, so perhaps 4 rooms in the flat unless some are sharing a room/bed?

[dee-jay]

If you go back to May, the preparations for occupation of the two rooms 2nd floor back, Granny Shepard, well into her 70s, took several days to clean them and, of course, Nat's took priority, so in the interim Granny had to return to her former lodgings!   

[Ruskie]

If you go back to May, the preparations for occupation of the two rooms 2nd floor back, Granny Shepard, well into her 70s, took several days to clean them and, of course, Nat's took priority, so in the interim Granny had to return to her former lodgings!   

Yes she did ... but she may have willingly taken on the task.

Nat's took priority,

Well we don't know that for certain ...

so in the interim Granny had to return to her former lodgings!

She may have paid rent in her old place up until a certain date and did not need to move to Richmond Buildings immediately ....

[deb usa]

Hi Everyone

was not sure what this refered to ...so googled:
The Mint, that focus of crime and misery in the Borough of Southwark, it is expected will be shortly demolished.

see here:
 
http://www.economicexpert.com/a/The:Mint.htm

"The Mint was a district in Southwark in London, England named for King Henry VIII having set up his mint there.........
The Mint's primary population was debtors. Those who were in danger of being thrown into debtor's prison could, if they were lucky, run to The Mint to hide. Once in The Mint, such debtors risked immediate arrest if they were found outside of it. Debt collectors (known as "duns") would stand along the main roads out of The Mint and wait for any suspected debtor. Sometimes the duns were bill collectors in the modern sense, and sometimes they were thugs who would beat and seize the debtor. Within The Mint, life was hard. Since persons there could not leave (except on Sunday, when no debts could be collected), they could not get jobs to raise money enough to pay off their debts. Those who would attempt to leave The Mint on Sunday to gather money from friends or lenders were often called "Sunday gentelmen," as they would attempt to appear prosperous to hoodwink lenders."

deb 

[dee-jay]

If you go back to May, the preparations for occupation of the two rooms 2nd floor back, Granny Shepard, well into her 70s, took several days to clean them and, of course, Nat's took priority, so in the interim Granny had to return to her former lodgings!   

Yes she did ... but she may have willingly taken on the task.

Nat's took priority,

Well we don't know that for certain ...

so in the interim Granny had to return to her former lodgings!

She may have paid rent in her old place up until a certain date and did not need to move to Richmond Buildings immediately ....

I don't think we can escape from the entry for Monday 16th May:  ' Old Granny Shepard sleeps at her lodging tonight, the room not yet being in readiness for her, though mine is prepared for me.  Slept in it for first time this night.'  [The previous day Nat was out gallivanting with Ann ..... ]

It appears that there is an error in page format of the transcription as a date follows for Wednesday that has not been separated into a new heading but the inference is clearly that Granny's room was not in a state of readiness for her to sleep there until Wednesday night and we know that Nat's mother was very ill at this time - confined to her bed for almost the whole month according to Nat.   

[Ruskie]

If you go back to May, the preparations for occupation of the two rooms 2nd floor back, Granny Shepard, well into her 70s, took several days to clean them and, of course, Nat's took priority, so in the interim Granny had to return to her former lodgings!   

Yes she did ... but she may have willingly taken on the task.

Nat's took priority,

Well we don't know that for certain ...

so in the interim Granny had to return to her former lodgings!

She may have paid rent in her old place up until a certain date and did not need to move to Richmond Buildings immediately ....

I don't think we can escape from the entry for Monday 16th May:  ' Old Granny Shepard sleeps at her lodging tonight, the room not yet being in readiness for her, though mine is prepared for me.  Slept in it for first time this night.'  [The previous day Nat was out gallivanting with Ann ..... ]

It appears that there is an error in page format of the transcription as a date follows for Wednesday that has not been separated into a new heading but the inference is clearly that Granny's room was not in a state of readiness for her to sleep there until Wednesday night and we know that Nat's mother was very ill at this time - confined to her bed for almost the whole month according to Nat.   

So dee-jay, are you inferring that Nat was spoilt? 

Maybe Nat had seen Ann the previous day but he does hold down a full time job. He was probabaly too tired to help Granny Shepard clean.   

Living in a patriarchal society perhaps Nathaniel's needs/wants were given priority over everyone else's even his old Granny. Maybe she just liked to fuss over him? Also remember he was an only child. 

Boys probably weren't expected to engage in such activities at that time. Even my old Gran thought that boys should not engage in domestic chores (something nipped in the bud and not passed down the generations  ). Nat admitted a while back that he was selfish (when Mr Galangal(?) gave him a talking to?). It was probably just the way things were in those days and everyone had the same attitude.

I don't think we should judge Nathaniel by our attitudes today.

[dee-jay]

I don't think we should judge Nathaniel by our attitudes today.

But Mr Ballingall's letter of censure was contemporary ..... 

[steve_gus]

I dont think there has been an entry as exciting as today's before 

[Ruskie]

I dont think there has been an entry as exciting as today's before 

Oi, you being sarcastic?