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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: gazza on Friday 03 March 06 14:18 GMT (UK)

Title: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Friday 03 March 06 14:18 GMT (UK)
Hi ,can anyone read this please?
something meat shop?
(He lives next door to a butcher)

thanks
Gazza
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: Arranroots on Friday 03 March 06 14:20 GMT (UK)
Cats meat

(Now you have to worry about whether it was meat FOR cats, or FROM cats, LOL !

 ;D
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Friday 03 March 06 14:26 GMT (UK)
Very good Arran ;D..... Or for Human consumption or not :o

Seriously though, was there much call for cat meat in 1860's?? Would have though keeping pet cats was a luxury & rareity in those days.


Gazza
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: mc8 on Friday 03 March 06 14:26 GMT (UK)
yes-definitely cats meat
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: mc8 on Friday 03 March 06 14:33 GMT (UK)


Seriously though, was there much call for cat meat in 1860's?? Would have though keeping pet cats was a luxury & rareity in those days.

200,000lbs a week sold in London-see this interesting link which details the life of the catsmeat man http://www.victorianlondon.org/
 put cats meat in the search engine and choose this article
Victorian London - Publications - Social Investigation/Journalism - The Morning Chronicle : Labour and the Poor, 1849-50; Henry Mayhew - Letter XIII (its a long way down the page...)
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Friday 03 March 06 14:34 GMT (UK)
thanks for confirmation & link  Mc8.

Gazza
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Friday 03 March 06 15:44 GMT (UK)
What an insight Mc :o!!
How the mighty have fallen. From Kings of flanders & Jerusalem reduced to selling cats meat in Bethnal Green.
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: hlbradd on Friday 03 March 06 15:56 GMT (UK)
Thanks for the link m8

My lot were cats meat men in Bethnal Green too -  ;)

Hey Gazza - p'raps we're related ;D

Helen
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Friday 03 March 06 17:35 GMT (UK)
You never know Helen. I see you have adkins on your tree intrerests. I have 2 Atkins as witnesses on my Gt Grandfathers marriage cert ;)
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Friday 03 March 06 17:37 GMT (UK)
i dont know if anyone knows ,Helen maybe,but there were several "Knackers yards" in London.  Does anyone know which one was nearest Bethnal green?
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: hlbradd on Friday 03 March 06 17:46 GMT (UK)
Hi Gazza

Been a while since I had my Ferry file out - but I'm fairly sure I found something regarding knacker's yards.

Will have to dig it out and get back to you on that. ;)

Helen
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Friday 03 March 06 21:04 GMT (UK)
Thanks Helen. Looking forward to what you find out.
I know there was one Knackers yard next to metropolitan cattle market near Caledonian rd London where my rellies were also connected to.
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: Paul E on Saturday 04 March 06 00:42 GMT (UK)
It's interesting to search on 'Cat' on the occupation field of the 1881 census on Ancestry...

you'll find someone described as a 'Cat Driver' (although closer inspection of the original reveals this to be a mistranscribed Cab Driver.

But there's also someone described as a 'Horse and Cat Dealer (Dead)' ... with the 'dead' referring to the Horses and Cats, rather than the individual (one presumes!)

 :)

Paul
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Saturday 04 March 06 12:32 GMT (UK)
Looks like the occupation is still alive and well now, even amongst our very own members :o
Just seen the post for the RootsCat Meat in Manchester 11th March ;)

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,110988.0.html
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: manmack on Saturday 04 March 06 13:09 GMT (UK)
is the ref cat meat an abbreviation of cattle meat,the horse and cat dealer probably means horse+cattle dealer,the butcher next door may be a pork butcher,mack
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: Romilly on Saturday 04 March 06 14:59 GMT (UK)
Hi,

I can remember the Cat's Meat man delivering Fido-meat by horse & cart in S.London in the early 1960's!

(I hate to imagine what sort of meat it was, - but our cat loved it:-)

Romilly.
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Saturday 04 March 06 18:45 GMT (UK)
Does anyone know the precise locations of the Knackers yards in Bermondsey? Cant find much on google :(
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: hlbradd on Sunday 05 March 06 11:09 GMT (UK)
Have found the location for the knackers yard my lot used

" He then, with some of his brothers, was a 'butcher', a glorified name for a cat's meat man. The horse meat fed to cats was collected from the knacker's yard in Cheshire Street, Bethnal Green, usually by one of his daughters who carried a wicker basket, daintily covered with a gingham cloth"

Source - email from cousin.

And looking on a map was reasonably close to their address at the time (10-15 minutes walk?)

Helen
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: hlbradd on Saturday 11 March 06 21:53 GMT (UK)
Found a photo of a cats meat man (via a link on the Newham website forum)

http://www.photolondon.org.uk/whole_gallery/whole_gallery1.htm

Shame it doesn't give a name  ;)

Helen
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Saturday 11 March 06 22:18 GMT (UK)
Thanks for the info Helen and the link for the great picture  :)
I wonder what the big "ER" was on the building? The end of a larger word perhaps? Might give a clue as to where picture was taken.
Cheers
Gazza
Title: Re: can't read occupation fully
Post by: gazza on Sunday 09 April 06 21:04 BST (UK)
Helen, I found the Cattle Market south of the river by chance on the Booths poverty map. It was the "Foreign cattle Market" in Deptford , on the banks of the Thames, not far from Evelyn st.
Regards
Gazza