Thought I would drag this thread out of its mothballs
give it a shake, and post an update on research into "Thomas Davies of the Canal" post the construction of the canal. Plus discovery of a new piece of material relating to him has got me rather scratching my head now; so I thought I might post it here to see what other kind Roots-chatters might make of it.
First, we have now uncovered have a date and place of death for Thomas Davies. An entry in the deaths column of the John of Groat Journal Friday January 31, 1840 and in the Inverness Courier January 29, 1840 reads as follows: "At Inverness, on the 17th inst., Mr Thomas. Davies, Civil Engineer, late of the Caledonian Canal."
So this, plus the 1832 marriage announcement and baptisms in Inverness of two grandchildren for which he was around to stand as witness in 1824 and 1826 all suggest that, for whatever reason, whilst other contractors involved in the canal's construction moved away from the area and on to other projects upon its completion, Tom saw out the rest of his days in Inverness. He would have been in his mid-60s when the canal was completed (in 1822) -- perhaps felt that his body had had enough of this physically demanding (even for a contractor, one would imagine) work; plus by then he had married daughters settled and raising families in the area; so it would be perfectly understandable if he saw few temptations in moving on.
Now to the new piece of material -- unearthed on britishnewspaperarchive.com (and what a great resource that is!). This is the text of an advertisement that appeared in the Inverness Chronicle on Thursday, March 18, 1824:
"Houses, Gardens and Stables to Let.
In the close vicinity of the Caledonian Canal.
The Commodious HOUSE and large and excellent stables, lying contigious to the Road leading from Huntly Place to Telford Street, presently occupied by Mr Donald McKay, Horse-dealer. The House could be made sufficiently commodious to answer the purposes of an Inn, and the stables are, perhaps, the most extensive and complete in the Country. From the contiguity of these Premises to the Canal, on which Steam Boats and other Vessels regularly ply betwixt Inverness and Fort-William, such an Inn would be a convenient resting place to Passengers, which, with other advantages, would afford every encouragement to an eligible Tenant as an Innkeeper.
ALSO
Several other neat HOUSES with Gardens attached, which having a country exposure, are very desirable Residences.
Apply to Mr Thomas Davies, the Proprietor."
My guess is that all these properties were originally built for and used by middle-management involved in construction of the Canal (in addition to the apartments in Telford Street previously mentioned in this post, which I have now been able to pay a personal visit to!
) -- not to mention some also for the horses that provided the (literal) horsepower needed in the construction!
What I am completely bewildered about is how/why Thomas Davies, earthworks contractor on the canal, came to be their Proprietor (which I assume means 'owner'). Planning on remaining in Inverness when others moved on, did he perhaps do some sort of financial deal which left him with possession of these properties once the canal was finished, hoping to use rental income as, effectively, an early 19th century Old Age Pension?!!
Thomas Davies: canal-builder -- and property magnate?!!
What would have been alternative means of disposing of such properties? (And who originally had legal ownership of them, if constructed in the circumstances I suggest?!) Am I right in thinking that there would have been very few owner-occupiers in Inverness (and indeed other cities) at this time, and that people generally rented homes there, so that there simply would have been no market to offer these properties up individually for sale rather than rent?
I should be very grateful to have anyone's input as to what was likely going on here!
Many thanks.
CELTIC ANNIE
