Welsh Journals

MOBILITY, LOCALITY AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE: THE CASE OF NORTH CARDIGANSHIRE, 1851-71 DURING the nineteenth century England and Wales experienced two major demographic developments: a rapid increase in population and an acceleration of the urbanisation of the population. By 1851 the urban population exceeded that of the rural, the major cause of which was a steady inflow of migrants from the rural areas, attracted by higher wages and better employment opportunities. The pace of this movement had quickened during the second half of the eight- eenth century and, by the second quarter of the nineteenth century, the rural outflow began to affect the population size of rural com- munities. Between 1821 and 1851 the majority of rural communities in England and Wales began to experience a decline in population, in particular, those with a population of less than 500 and which were almost entirely rural.2 Larger parishes frequently had extractive and craft industries, which helped to keep their population stable for a longer period, although by 1871 the majority of these com- munities were also in decline. These demographic trends have been well-documented on both a national3 and a local scale;4 much less is known, however, about behavioural and demographic structure of rural communities during the same period. It has been claimed that these trends not only affected the size of rural communities but also their age structure, sex ratio and family organisation.5 At the same time, rural isolation was reduced as a result of increased links with distant towns and cities. The rural dweller became more mobile, not only in terms of migration but also in his day-to-day activities; no longer were rural horizons restricted to the 'locality'. With reference to a series of rural parishes, this study will investigate these themes in some detail 1 J. Saville, Rural Depopulation in England and Wales, 1851-1951 (London, 1957). Ibid. (1957). For example, A. L. Bowley, 'Rural population in England and Wales: a study of the changes of density, occupation and ages', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 77 (1914), 597-645; R. Lawton, 'Population changes in England and Wales in the late nineteenth century: an analysis of trends by registration districts', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 44 (1973), 55-74. In Wales, for example, B. Thomas, 'The migration of labour into the Glamorganshire coalfield, 1861-1911', Economica, 10 (1930); V. C. Davies, 'Some Geographical Aspects of Depopulation in Rural Wales since 1841' (unpublished University of London Ph.D. thesis, 1955); P. N. Jones, 'Some aspects of immigration into the Glamorgan coalfield between 1881-1911', Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (1969), pp. 82-98. Bowley, op. cit. For a consideration of this theme, see P. Laslett, The World We Have Lost (London, 1965).