In order to build up a picture of life during the 1880s within the Living Levels Landscape Partnership area, the 1881 census and other contemporary sources were analysed and interpreted by volunteers from the RATS (Research And Transcription Service). The relevant areas of all the Living Levels parishes from East Cardiff Moors to Chepstow were covered, and a selection of the RATS' work is presented here in the form of parish portraits.
The 1881 census documented the acreage of farms, numbers and types of farm labourers, and those children who attended school. Occupations, places of birth, ages, marital status and relationships to the head of the household were also recorded. This information, together with newspaper articles, parish registers and other archival material, helped to recreate the stories of individuals and those of whole communities.
Ordnance Survey mapping enabled the 1881 census information from all identifiable farmsteads to be made available at https://livinglevelsgis.org.uk/ under the Volunteer Mapping Projects tab.
DOWNLOAD Gwent Levels: Parish Portraits in the 1880’s (PDF 7.5MB)
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