How much did folk move between villages in 1700s

[Maiden Stone]

how much did folk in the 1700s, early 1800s move about between villages. For instance did a families children move far away or was this dictated by work

This was the period of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
2 of my families, 1 headed by a nail-maker, 1 by a stonemason, each moved around 20 miles, one from a village in the south of Lancashire, the other from north Lancashire. They settled in an expanding village in mid Lancashire which needed their respective trades. The village was less than 5 miles from the principal road through that part of Lancashire which connected the ports of Lancaster and Preston. This was around 1800. All children of both families had been born before they moved. The stonemasons built rows of cottages for weavers and workshops for nail-makers. An adult son of my stonemason family moved with wife & children a few miles further south to a rapidly expanding town in late 1820s. A railway had been built to transport stone from the village to the town. Workers used to travel in or on top of the railway wagons.

Some factory owners brought labour in from outside their district. Early textile mills in rural/semi-rural areas employed local labour. Some of those workers were ag. labs or members of farming families who regarded weaving as a winter occupation and returned to their normal farming jobs when winter ended. Factory owners needed full-time workers all year. Some attracted them from the locality. Other owners made agreements with parishes to take orphans as apprentices and in some cases entire families who were already receiving Poor Relief in their home district or who were on the verge of poverty.

Another reason people might leave their home area is if they were servants. A substantial number of staff at the Hall in a town where some of my ancestors lived were denoted as not born in the parish on the Return of Papists 1767. The family at the Hall had other properties in England, including London and were related to other gentry families in the county and elsewhere. Neither of my two 5xGGMs on the Return were born in the parish; I know they came from adjacent parishes. The curate who compiled the Return put how many years a person born outside the parish had lived there; years for my ancestors matched the length of their marriages.     

[Rosinish]

Example I am looking at my family roots around Durham and the Chester Le Street area. I seem to have a family with kids from Cow Close, Lamesley and I was wondering if its "safe" to assume they are related.  This say 1755 to 1770. Same name "Wind", but there are so many Winn/Wynn/Wind/Wind folk in the same region.

I haven't yet read the following replies to your original post but, no, it's not safe to 'assume' anything but furthermore, you haven't given any examples of what could be 'assumed' (which would need further research), no names/dates/sponsors to baptisms or christenings, no witnesses to marriages, no occupations of subjects, no steady flow of family names in following generations i.e. how can we possibly tell you it's 'safe' to assume anything?

It's always best to research all you can if you think there could be a connection & possibly find a conclusion but 'assuming' is a no.

I find many online trees to be wrong because of assumptions & only in the last few days while helping on another thread, it was discovered an 'assumption' was completely wrong as info. was 'assumed' from a death index of someone of the same name which turned out to be someone completely unrelated.

Annie

[LizzieL]

I have several instances where families moved relatively long distances and almost discounted them as the same family. One couple in 1760s had first few children in a village in Dorset and later children in a village in Hampshire 20 miles away. The connection was confirmed by the will of one of the children who did not marry and divided his estate between his siblings and nephews and nieces. He named them in great detail with residence and whether they were older sister, younger brother etc. He also mentioned the illegitimate son if one of his brothers.
Another family moved about Surrey a bit and eventually settled in the south of Sussex. A relatively rare surname helped, but again family wills and apprentice records helped confirm relationships.
My biggest move (albeit temporary ) was a man who I thought was rooted in Yorkshire marrying in London. I found he was the valet (mentioned in employer's will) for a gentleman who had a second residence in the same London parish and had himself married in the same church a few years earlier. Again an usual surname helped, but until I found the will, I had believed the marriage in London (200 miles away) at right sort of time with right groom's name and right bride's forename, was just a huge co-incidence.

[Ray T]

Family legend says that one of my G Grandfathers walked two miles every morning to work down the pit and then two miles back again to the coal face - he knew where he was becaus they could hear rumble of the trams above.

[LizzieL]

My grandmother walked 2 miles each way to school, which included crossing a river by ferry (small boat rowed by hand) She would have been about 8 or 9.

[Albufera32]

I am not sure how much this applies to the OP, but it is also worth remembering that the registers usually relate to the parish, not just a specific village within the parish - and sometimes it was actually easier to register the event at the neighbouring parish because it was actually closer.

I have several instances of family members who lived in New Monkland Parish in Lanarkshire, but whose births, deaths and marriages (when they are registered at all) are registered in Slamannan Parish in Stirlingshire. Similarly, even after the introduction of statutory registers, I have a number of relatives whose births are registered in Calderhead, but where the place of birth is listed as Cambusnethan (technically a different parish/district).

In short - look at a map. It may seem odd at first if someone in Lanarkshire marries someone from Stirlingshire, until looking at an old map reveals they grew up on neighbouring farms.

[medpat]

As someone born in what is now called the West Midlands I have many relatives who moved to the area because of the Industrial Revolution.

The West Midlands has many canals and people were carried on the canals with similar stages as coach travel. Some boats took goods as well as people, others just transported people. One firm that had people only boats is still well known today - Pickfords.

Here is a link to tell you a little about the history of canals

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_British_canal_system

[Maiden Stone]

My grandmother walked 2 miles each way to school, which included crossing a river by ferry (small boat rowed by hand) She would have been about 8 or 9.

So did I, although my journey didn't include a ferry., just a lot of big puddles + picking safe routes along paths & roads eroded by heavy rain or landslides. Winter journeys in darkness, mornings & evenings. 

[Seelife]

Thank you so much for the feedback. Really useful, and yes I have been resorting to maps to check proximity, and no, I dont assume anything without a source, I learnt the hard way