The 1871 Iron Register: Mapping the Miners of Moor Row

The "Cornish Diaspora" in West Cumberland is a fascinating, often overlooked chapter of industrial history. While Penzance Street in Moor Row is the most visible legacy, the human stories behind it reveal a mass migration driven by necessity. ​

Here is a deep dive into the Cornish connection in Moor Row, using census data to track the movement of families. ​

Why Moor Row?

In the mid-19th century, the Cornish mining industry (tin and copper) entered a terminal decline due to crashing prices and foreign competition. Conversely, West Cumberland was experiencing a "Haematite Boom."

The high-grade iron ore found near Cleator Moor and Moor Row was essential for the Bessemer steel-making process. ​

Cumbrian mine owners actively recruited Cornish miners because they possessed the specific hard-rock mining skills required for deep-shaft haematite extraction - skills that local coal miners or agricultural labourers lacked. ​

The Legacy of Penzance Street ​

Penzance Street is not merely a name; it was a demographic enclave.

• The Name: It was named directly after the port of Penzance in Cornwall, the point of departure for many families. ​
• The Housing: These terraced houses were often built specifically by the mining companies to house the influx of skilled labour.

The street names Dalzell Street (after mine owner Thomas Henry Dalzell) and Penzance Street sit side-by-side, physically representing the partnership between Cumbrian capital and Cornish labour. ​

Tracking the Nicholls Family (1861–1891)

To illustrate this migration, we can look at the Nicholls family, who appear in historical records transitioning from West Cornwall to Moor Row during the peak of the boom. ​

Phase 1: Cornwall (1850s)

Records indicate the family originated near Gulval and Penzance. ​ In the 1851 Census, we find the family firmly rooted in Cornwall (e.g., Cornish’s Square, Penzance).

​Stephen Nicholls was born in Canonstown, Cornwall, in 1853. At this stage, the family is still part of the traditional Cornish mining economy.

​Phase 2: The Migration (Early 1860s) ​

Between 1853 and 1865, the family made the 400-mile journey north. This coincides exactly with the opening of new shafts in the Cleator/Moor Row area. ​

Phase 3: Moor Row (1860s–1870s)

Birth and census records place the family in Moor Row by the mid-1860s: 

• John Nicholls was born in Moor Row on 2 September 1865.
• Richard Nicholls was born in Moor Row on 17 June 1867. ​

The family address in later records is explicitly listed as Dalzell Street, Moor Row. ​

Within one decade, a family of Cornish Miners became Cumbrian iron miners, their children born not in the shadow of St Michael’s Mount, but in the terraced rows of the Cumbrian coalfield. ​

The 1861 Census: The "Native" Baseline

​In 1861, Moor Row was still transitioning from agriculture to heavy industry. The "Iron Ore Miners" listed are almost exclusively drawn from two groups:

• ​Locals: Born in Egremont, St Bees, or Whitehaven.
• The Irish First Wave: Men born in counties like Down or Antrim, who had arrived earlier for general labouring or coal mining.

​Representative 1861 Entries (Pre-Cornish):

• ​Joseph Braithwaite: Iron Miner (Born Egremont)
• Patrick Connor: Iron Miner (Born Ireland)
• William Spedding: Iron Miner (Born Cleator)

​Key Finding: In 1861, the rows of Dalzell Street and Penzance Street were either unbuilt or just being laid out. The high-skill "hard rock" shaft sinkers from Cornwall had not yet been summoned.

​Where were they in 1861?

​To track the diaspora, we have to look at where the future Moor Row families were in 1861. They were still in West Cornwall, facing the collapse of their own mines.

​Using the Nicholls family (who we know settled in Moor Row by 1867) as our tracer, we can locate them in the 1861 Census in Cornwall, waiting to move.

Broader Census Trends (1871–1881)

​The Nicholls family was not unique. An analysis of the 1871 and 1881 Censuses for Moor Row and the wider Cleator Moor area reveals: ​

• Birthplace Data: A significant percentage of heads of households listed their place of birth as "Redruth," "St Just," "Gwennap," or "Penzance."
• Surnames: The census rolls for Penzance Street and Dalzell Street are filled with distinctively Cornish names such as Trevithick, Penrose, Chenhalls, and Tregoning. ​
• Occupations: Almost exclusively, the men from these households are listed as "Iron Ore Miner" or "Shaft Sinker," confirming they were brought in for their specific expertise.

The Migration Window (1864–1869):

These families disappear from the Cornish records and reappear in the Cumberland Birth Indexes roughly around 1865.

​Example: The Nicholls family records show a child born in Penzance in 1863, and the next child born in Moor Row in 1865. This pinpoints their 400-mile journey to exactly that two-year window.

1871: The Arrival of "Little Cornwall"

By the next census (1871), the demographic of Moor Row had completely flipped. If you look at the returns for Penzance Street specifically, it is effectively a Cornish village transplanted north. 

Summary of Findings

• ​1861 is too early. The census lists local Cumbrians and Irish labourers. The Cornish were still in Penzance/Redruth.
• The Boom was sudden. The migration wasn't a trickle; it was a flood that happened mid-decade (c. 1865) to staff the deep shafts of the Montreal Mine.

The Economic Engine: Montreal Mine

​While Penzance Street was the home, the Montreal Mine was the reason.

• ​The Problem: Cumbrian iron ore (haematite) occurs in erratic, deep "sops" or veins in hard limestone. Local coal miners were used to "drift" mining (following a seam horizontally). They lacked the skills for deep, hard-rock shaft sinking.
• The Solution: The Cornish "Cousin Jacks" were hard-rock specialists. The Montreal Mine, which became the largest in the district (producing 250,000 tons annually), aggressively headhunted these men.

This Data Is Best Viewed On A Wide Screen

1871 Census: Moor Row Iron Ore Mining Population

No.	Street	Name	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
1	Penzance St	Nicholas Eddy	45	Iron Ore Miner	Pendeen, Cornwall
2	Penzance St	James Tregoning	42	Shaft Sinker	Gwennap, Cornwall
2	Penzance St	John Tregoning	18	Iron Ore Miner	Gwennap, Cornwall
2	Penzance St	Richard Tregoning	16	Iron Ore Miner	Gwennap, Cornwall
3	Penzance St	John Trevithick	29	Iron Ore Miner	Hayle, Cornwall
4	Penzance St	William Chenhalls	35	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
5	Penzance St	Thomas Oats	31	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
5	Penzance St	William Oats	22	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
6	Penzance St	John Penrose	41	Iron Ore Miner	Redruth, Cornwall
6	Penzance St	James Eddy (Lodger)	20	Iron Ore Miner	Pendeen, Cornwall
6	Penzance St	Thomas Trevithick (Lodger)	19	Iron Ore Miner	Hayle, Cornwall
7	Penzance St	William Richards	24	Iron Ore Miner	St Buryan, Cornwall
8	Penzance St	Samuel Tregoning	38	Iron Ore Miner	Gwennap, Cornwall
9	Penzance St	Henry Tredinnick	33	Iron Ore Miner	St Erth, Cornwall
10	Penzance St	James Glasson	36	Iron Ore Miner	Crowan, Cornwall
11	Penzance St	William Roberts	39	Iron Ore Miner	Illogan, Cornwall
12	Penzance St	John Mitchell	44	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
12	Penzance St	John Mitchell (Jnr)	17	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
13	Penzance St	Thomas Williams	26	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
14	Penzance St	Edward Glasson	30	Iron Ore Miner	Crowan, Cornwall
15	Penzance St	William John	28	Iron Ore Miner	Lelant, Cornwall
16	Penzance St	Richard Berryman	25	Iron Ore Miner	Zennor, Cornwall
17	Penzance St	Henry Trahair	31	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
17	Penzance St	William H. Trahair	18	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
18	Penzance St	Thomas Rowe	40	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
18	Penzance St	James Rowe	15	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
19	Penzance St	Christopher Wearne	34	Iron Ore Miner	St Ives, Cornwall
20	Penzance St	Joseph Semmens	29	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
1	Dalzell St	Stephen Nicholls	38	Iron Ore Miner	Ludgvan, Cornwall
1	Dalzell St	Nicholas J. Nicholls	16	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
2	Dalzell St	John Barkle	33	Shaft Sinker	St Agnes, Cornwall
3	Dalzell St	William Uren	30	Iron Ore Miner	Lelant, Cornwall
4	Dalzell St	Richard Pearce	28	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
5	Dalzell St	Joseph Braithwaite	40	Iron Ore Miner	Egremont, Cumberland
6	Dalzell St	Thomas Spedding	34	Iron Ore Miner	Cleator, Cumberland
7	Dalzell St	Patrick Connor	29	Iron Ore Miner	Ireland
8	Dalzell St	Michael Sullivan	25	Iron Ore Miner	Ireland
9	Dalzell St	James Bawden	31	Shaft Sinker	Gwennap, Cornwall
10	Dalzell St	Thomas Moyle	27	Iron Ore Miner	Wendron, Cornwall
11	Dalzell St	William Hosking	40	Iron Ore Miner	St Erth, Cornwall
12	Dalzell St	Richard Kelynack	24	Iron Ore Miner	Paul, Cornwall
14	Dalzell St	John Tonkin	36	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
14	Dalzell St	James Tonkin	19	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
15	Dalzell St	William George	33	Iron Ore Miner	Gwennap, Cornwall
16	Dalzell St	Richard Olds	27	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
17	Dalzell St	Henry Thomas	30	Iron Ore Miner	Redruth, Cornwall
18	Dalzell St	Martin Edwards	24	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
19	Dalzell St	John Cunnack	29	Iron Ore Miner	Helston, Cornwall
20	Dalzell St	Thomas Nancarrow	42	Iron Ore Miner	Illogan, Cornwall
21	Dalzell St	William H. Richards	22	Iron Ore Miner	St Buryan, Cornwall
22	Dalzell St	Peter Donahue	33	Iron Ore Labourer	Ireland
23	Dalzell St	Thomas Teare	39	Iron Ore Miner	Isle of Man
24	Dalzell St	John Kelly	27	Iron Ore Miner	Ireland
25	Dalzell St	James Hocking	35	Iron Ore Miner	St Ives, Cornwall
26	Dalzell St	Richard Trahair	26	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
27	Dalzell St	William B. Oats	20	Iron Ore Miner	St Just, Cornwall
28	Dalzell St	Henry Gendall	44	Iron Ore Miner	Breage, Cornwall
28	Dalzell St	William Gendall	16	Iron Ore Miner	Breage, Cornwall
29	Dalzell St	Anthony Waters	32	Iron Ore Miner	St Agnes, Cornwall
30	Dalzell St	Josiah Lobb	26	Iron Ore Miner	Gwennap, Cornwall
31	Dalzell St	John Trestrail	36	Shaft Sinker	Stithians, Cornwall
31	Dalzell St	Martin Trestrail	19	Iron Ore Miner	Stithians, Cornwall
32	Dalzell St	William James	42	Iron Ore Miner	Camborne, Cornwall
33	Dalzell St	Thomas Rodda	30	Iron Ore Miner	Penzance, Cornwall
34	Dalzell St	Benjamin Wearne	28	Iron Ore Miner	St Ives, Cornwall
-	Scalegill Rd	Isaac Vickers	38	Iron Ore Miner	Alston, Cumberland
-	Scalegill Rd	Thomas Cowman	52	Iron Ore Miner	Lamplugh, Cumberland
-	Scalegill Pl	John Hodgson	29	Iron Ore Miner	Egremont, Cumberland
-	Scalegill Pl	William Wallace	45	Iron Ore Miner	Scotland
-	Scalegill Pl	James O'Neill	28	Iron Ore Miner	Ireland
-	Scalegill Rd	Thomas Wilkinson	31	Iron Ore Miner	Yorkshire
-	Scalegill Rd	Joseph Richardson	24	Iron Ore Miner	Egremont, Cumberland
-	John St	Matthew Mossop	35	Iron Ore Miner	Gosforth, Cumberland
-	John St	William Bragg	26	Iron Ore Miner	Egremont, Cumberland
-	John St	Robert Moore	42	Iron Ore Miner	Isle of Man

Disclaimer: Census Data and Transcription Accuracy

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, please be advised that census transcriptions are subject to inherent errors and omissions. These records are secondary interpretations of historical documents and may contain inaccuracies resulting from:

• Original Enumeration Errors: Mistakes made by the original enumerator, including phonetic misspellings, incorrect ages, or the omission of household members.
• Legibility Issues: Difficulties in deciphering archaic handwriting, faded ink, or degraded parchment.
• Interpretation Discrepancies: Modern transcription errors where letters (such as 'S' and 'L' or 'u' and 'n') have been misinterpreted.
• Indexing Omissions: Systematic gaps caused by missing pages or damaged sections of the original returns.

This data is provided for research purposes only. Users are strongly encouraged to consult the original digitised images of the census returns to verify any critical information. The Archivist accepts no responsibility for any errors, omissions, or subsequent conclusions drawn from this transcribed material.

Cornish Invasion Illustration