Communities on the Move
Chair: James Parker
"The ‘married widows’ of Cornwall – questioning perceptions of wives ‘left behind’ by migrating miners” by Lesley Trotter
The nineteenth century saw unprecedented levels of emigration from the mining districts of Cornwall as successive waves of men left to work overseas, responding to an increasing international labour market and fluctuations in the mining industries at home and abroad.
This paper explores how the migration of the men involved in the mining industry affected the lives of their wives who were frequently 'left behind' in Cornwall. Limited past research and contemporary reports present a confused picture suggesting that these women were variously emotionally and financially impoverished, formed resilient matriarchal communities, were devastated, deserted, empowered, lonely, surrounded by supportive female kin, good money managers and wasteful ‘spendaholics’. Despite these conflicting representations, the overwhelming perception that has entered into the public mythology of this period is that these women were the passive victims of the Great Migration from Cornwall; ‘married widows’ deserted or half-deserted by their husbands.
In the light of the re-examination of the traditional gendered discourses on migration, this paper questions this perception, drawing on research that balances the available qualitative evidence, generally biased to the more unusual and dramatic, with a quantitative and longitudinal study of large cohorts of the wives involved.
"Slum dwellings or period housing: The Political Culture of Slum Clearance in Cambridge, 1960-81" by Phil Child
State-directed slum clearance in post-1945 Britain managed over a period of some thirty years to reshape the urban landscape in a brave new image of modernity. Urban renewal compelled residents to move from their homes to new environments; sometimes not wholly satisfactory to residents. Such new environments, whether redeveloped town centre or council estate, have fed into contemporary narratives of the decline of British urban society and contributed to the rise of “historic” as a desirable label. This reconfiguration of towns and cities across Britain has more recently provoked interest in the political and social experience of slum clearance by residents at the local level. Through a case study of Cambridge, this paper aims to challenge the assumption that residents of urban areas affected by slum clearance schemes were passive bystanders to changes wrought by unaccountable town hall technocrats, and were instead conscious actors in the slum clearance process. Moreover, I will examine how the language of slum clearance opposition was indicative of a growing cultural obsession with the “historical value” of buildings formerly considered obsolete. In understanding the politics of slum clearance, we may be able to construct a more measured narrative of a pivotal process in post-war British history.
"‘Riots are the voice of the unheard’: Bristol’s black community seeking a voice in 1980” by Simon Peplow
The 2011 riots provided a stark reminder, if needed, of their impact and devastation. When violence erupted in Bristol on 2 April 1980, it certainly came as a shock to many. Occurring against rising racial tensions and a recently re-elected Conservative regime pursuing a ‘short, sharp shock’ approach to law and order, the violence was directed towards the police following a raid on a café used as a meeting place for the local black community. The police withdrew from the area for almost four hours and were widely criticised afterwards for doing so - raising the question of their role in society and who they were accountable to.
This local community revolt was to become a precursor to subsequent uprisings throughout England in 1981. Despite repeated calls from local authorities and interested organisations, the government refused to hold a full independent public inquiry into this event believing the police would be ‘pilloried to no good purpose’.
Utilising recently released records, this paper will begin to address some of the unresolved issues from the period, often seen as a missed opportunity to learn and avoid the recurrence of violence the following year - some of the worst disturbances Britain has experienced.