bricklaying apprentices

[perth tiger]

hi
has anyone got any sites where i could find out about apprentices in the victorian era

thanks
perth

[behindthefrogs]

In the early Victorian period a bricklayer was much more likely to be what today call a builder.  He would often be responsibe for the design and complete construction of a house.

The most likely place to find any details of such apprentices is probaly the appropriate county record office.

The Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers does have records of apprentices up to 1894 and these can be found in Guildhall Library in London (check because records are moving about during refurbishment and may at the LMA.).  These will however mainly relate to the London area.

David

 

[perth tiger]

thanks david. what i really want is just an account of what an apprenticeship involved in terms of time and work

perth

[ricoba]

Don't know about then but when my hubby did his apprent it was 6 years and had to do all trades in with it .Now they say you can learn in 6 weeks!!!
He learnt that now  a lot of brickies labs turned to bricklaying after a few months but had no idea about setting a job out etc.

[behindthefrogs]

In early Victorian days an apprentice bricklayer would be bound to work for a master bricklayer usually for a period of seven years from the age of fourteen to the age of twenty one.  His hours of work were limited to be not more than twelve hours a day at least six days a week but less on a Sunday to allow him to attend church.  His only pay would usually be his board and lodging although he could be paid a small amount if he lived at home.

During that time he would at first be just a dogsbody but he would eventually cover all the skills of his master, until at the end of the seven years he became a journeyman (paid by the day from the French journee) bricklayer, often continuing to work for the same master but now able to seek work elsewhere.

David

[perth tiger]

Don't know about then but when my hubby did his apprent it was 6 years and had to do all trades in with it .Now they say you can learn in 6 weeks!!!
He learnt that now  a lot of brickies labs turned to bricklaying after a few months but had no idea about setting a job out etc.

its like that here at the mo. allthough i have heard that unqualified ones will be barred from next year. the 3 year apprenticeship they do now is very specific to what area they work in. they learn how to lay bricks and thats about it. anything extra is learnt on the job over the next few years. some o0f them do expect tradesmans wages straight away though, they soon get a shock.

thanks for that david, did you get it from a website? i want to send it to the new apprentice

perth

[behindthefrogs]

Sorry no website.  It mainly came from my own knowledge.

David

[perth tiger]

thanks again david, if you do come across anything pop it my way

[sarahsean]

I don`t have any specific information to help you Perth Tiger but just to say that one of my ancestors started as a bricklayer in 1851 and by 1881 was a master builder  employing 4 apprentices himself.

From watching some of the historical programs on television i did see that being a builder in those times was an extremely difficult trade with builders often making the bricks themselves in a huge kiln which they covered with clay to use in large building projects. The kilns were built on site and thousands of bricks were made at a time.  ( The program was one shown by the BBC, Victorian Farm Christmas and showed the participants 3 historians learning various skills).

Regards
Sarah