The Red Dust Generation: Growing Up in Victorian Moor Row

The lives of children in Moor Row between 1880 and 1900 is in stark contrast between the "modern" childhood we recognise today and the miniature adulthood of the late Victorian era.

By 1880, Moor Row was no longer just a collection of farmsteads; it was a "red village," dominated by the haematite iron ore industry. The dust from the Montreal Mines coated everything – including the children.

The World of Work

For children in Moor Row, the transition from play to work happened early. While the Education Act of 1880 made school attendance compulsory until age 10 (raised to 11 in 1893, then 12 in 1899), the pressures of poverty often meant children, particularly boys, entered the workforce the moment they legally could.

Boys: The Pit and The Line

• The Iron Mines (Montreal, Crossfield): The Montreal Mine was the beating heart of the village. Unlike the coal mines of the earlier century where very young children worked underground, the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act of 1872 had set stricter limits. Boys under 12 were generally prohibited from working underground.
  • Surface Workers (10 – 12 years): Before going underground, younger boys often worked on the "screens" or "picking belts" at the pit head. Their job was to separate rock and debris from the valuable haematite ore by hand. It was cold, outdoor work that left their hands raw and their skin stained red.
  • Underground (12 – 16 years): Once old enough, boys joined their fathers underground. They often started as "trappers" (managing ventilation doors) or helping to maneuver tubs of ore. By 16, a boy was essentially doing a man's work, facing the constant dangers of rockfalls and flooding that plagued the West Cumbrian mines.
• The Railways: The opening of the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway (1879) and the station at Moor Row created new opportunities. Boys worked as:
  • Grease Monkeys: Cleaning axles and moving parts.
  • Messengers/Porters: Running errands between the stationmaster and the signal box or carrying luggage for passengers transferring to the "Bowthorn Line."

Girls: Service and The Home

Employment options for girls in Moor Row were narrower but no less demanding.

• Domestic Service: This was the primary destination for girls aged 13 – 16. They might start as "day girls" for the slightly better-off families in the village (shopkeepers or mine officials) or move into live-in positions at larger estates like Summerhill.
  • Duties: Scullery maids spent their days scrubbing stone floors, blacking grates, and fetching coal. It was a 14-hour day with half a day off on Sundays.
• Farm Work: Seasonal agricultural work was common for both genders but often fell to girls and women during harvest. Farms surrounding the village employed children for turnip thinning and potato picking.
• The "Little Mother": Many girls were kept home from school illegally to look after younger siblings while mothers took in washing or did needlework to supplement the family income.

Education

During this period, school was often seen as a secondary obligation by struggling families.

• The School Experience: Education was strict and rote-based. Children learned the "Three Rs" (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic).
• The "Half-Time" System: A common practice in industrial areas allowed children (usually aged 10 – 13) to spend half the day at school and half the day working. This meant a tired child often fell asleep at their desk in the afternoon after a morning shift at the mine or farm.
• Absenteeism: Logbooks from West Cumbrian schools in this era frequently note low attendance due to "harvesting," "gleaning," or simply "no boots" (families unable to afford footwear for their children in winter).

Play and Leisure

Despite the hardships, children found ways to play. The landscape of Moor Row – part industrial, part rural – became their playground.

Street and Field Games

• Iron Ore Games: Children often played on the spoil heaps (waste tips). They used old pieces of mining equipment or barrel hoops (guided by a stick) to race down the unpaved streets.
• Traditional Games:
  • Whip and Top: A wooden top kept spinning by whipping it with a leather strip.
  • Marbles: Played in the dirt lanes, often for "keeps."
  • Knurr and Spell: A game similar to trapball or rounders, popular in northern mining communities.

Dangers of the Landscape

Play was often hazardous. The area was riddled with:

• Subsidence: The ground above the mines was unstable. Children were warned (often unsuccessfully) to stay away from "crowning in" holes where the earth had collapsed into old workings.
• The Railway Lines: With Moor Row being a busy junction, the tracks were a magnet for daring children, leading to frequent accidents recorded in local newspapers.

Organised Treats

• Sunday School Treats: For many children, the highlight of the year was the Sunday School trip or "Treat." This usually involved a tea party and sports on a local farmer's field, or occasionally a train excursion to the seaside at St Bees or Seascale.
• Band of Hope: Temperance movements were strong in mining villages. Children joined the "Band of Hope," marching in parades to pledge against alcohol, often rewarded with buns and tea.

Summary Table: A Child's Day in Moor Row (c. 1890)

Time	Activity	Notes
05:30	Wake Up	Lighting the fire, fetching water from the village pump/standpipe.
06:00	Work Begins (Boys)	Boys aged 12+ head to the pit bank or railway yard.
08:45	School Bell (Younger)	Younger children walk to school. Inspection for clean hands (often failed due to ore dust).
17:00	Return Home	Fathers and working sons return. Girls help prepare the main meal.
18:00	Play / Chores	Street games if light permits; otherwise darning socks or rag-rug making.

Discipline during the 1880-1900 was a harsh landscape where "sparing the rod" was viewed as a moral failure. In a village dominated by dangerous mines and railways, obedience was not just about manners; it was often a matter of survival.

Punishment was swift, physical, and public. It was administered across three distinct spheres: the school, the workplace/law, and the home.

School Discipline: The Cane and The Book

For the children attending the village school, discipline was rigorous. Teachers were under immense pressure to ensure pupils passed the "Standard" exams to secure government grants, and they used fear to maintain order.

• The Cane: This was the primary instrument of control. It was used on the hands (or "loof") for minor offences like talking, blots in copybooks, or lateness. For more serious rebellion or fighting, boys received strokes on the posterior.
• The Log Book: Every punishment was supposed to be recorded in the School Log Book. For a child, having their name entered here was a significant stigma.
  • Common Offences: In Moor Row, "truancy" was a major offence. However, this was often a clash of survival vs. education; children were caned for missing school to help with the harvest, pick coal from the spoil heaps, or deliver meals to fathers at the mine.
• Humiliation: Psychological punishment was common.
  • The Dunce’s Cap: A child struggling with lessons might be made to stand in the corner wearing a conical hat or a sign saying "Dunce" or "Idle," facing the class to be jeered at.
  • Segregation: Misbehaving girls were sometimes made to sit on the "boys' side" of the room (and vice versa), which was considered mortifying.

Industrial and Legal Justice

In a "Red Village" like Moor Row, the line between mischief and crime was thin. The mines and railways were private property, and the law protected them fiercely.

• The Birch (Legal Whipping): If a child under 14 was caught stealing (e.g., taking coal from the railway sidings or apples from an orchard) or causing damage, they would be hauled before the Whitehaven Magistrates.
  • The standard sentence for a boy was often "six strokes of the birch rod." This was a bundle of birch twigs used to whip the bare buttocks. It was inflicted by a police officer immediately after the court hearing, often with the parents present.
• Trespass Fines: Playing on the railway lines (common in Moor Row due to the junction's size) or near the mine shafts resulted in fines. Since children had no money, the parents had to pay. This often led to a second, more severe beating at home for "taking food out of the family's mouth."
• Workplace Fines: For the older boys (12 – 16) working at the Montreal Mine pit head, "larking about" could result in being "docked" a day's pay – a disaster for a struggling family.

Home and Domestic Service

• The "Clout": At home, discipline was informal and physical. A "clout round the ear" was the standard correction for insolence or laziness.
• Domestic Service Rules: For girls aged 13 – 16 working as scullery maids in larger local houses (such as the properties around Summerhill), punishment was financial or employment-based.
  • Breakages: The cost of a broken plate was often deducted from their wages.
  • "Character": The ultimate threat was being dismissed "without a character" (a reference). This effectively blacklisted a girl from future employment, forcing her into the most menial labour or the workhouse.

Summary of Punishments

Offence	Typical Punishment	Administrator
Talking in Class	1 – 2 strokes of cane on hand	School Teacher
Truancy	Caning or "The Dunce Cap"	School Teacher
Stealing Coal/Wood	6 strokes of the birch rod	Police / Magistrate
Railway Trespass	Heavy fine (paid by parents)	Magistrate
Larking at Work	Docked wages (fines)	Mine Overseer
Insolence at Home	"Clouting" or sent to bed hungry	Parents

The concept of a "school dinner" as we understand it did not exist in the village during this peak industrial era.

For a child in Moor Row, the midday meal was entirely the responsibility of the parents. Depending on the family’s proximity to the school and their financial situation, children either returned home, carried "bait," or simply went without.

The Long Lunch: Heading Home

Most children were given a generous midday break, often lasting between 90 minutes and two hours. Because Moor Row was a compact village, the majority of children walked home for their main meal.

• The Typical Meal: This was usually the "poverty diet" of the West Cumbrian working class. It consisted heavily of bread, potatoes, and "dripping" (the fat collected from roasting meat).
• Suet and Broth: On better days, children might have a bowl of broth or a suet pudding. Meat was a luxury, usually reserved for the working men (the miners) to ensure they had the strength for the pits.

Carrying "Bait"

Children whose parents lived further away, or those whose mothers were working in domestic service or at the farms, had to carry their food. In the North, this is universally known as "bait" – the same term used by their fathers in the mines.

• The Bait Tin: Food was wrapped in cloth or carried in a small tin. Unlike the modern lunchbox, these were simple metal containers designed to keep out the dust from the iron ore mines.
• Door – Stoppers: The most common bait was "door – stoppers" – thick slices of homemade bread. These were often spread with lard, dripping, or cheap jam.
• The Jam and Cheese Sandwich: A peculiar but common staple in West Cumbrian mining communities was the combination of jam and cheese, providing a quick hit of sugar and protein.

Going Without: The Reality of "Empty Bellies"

For the poorest families in Moor Row, particularly during "slack sets" (when the mines were not working full time) or after a family tragedy, children frequently went to school with no food at all.

• Charitable Intervention: Before the 1906 Provision of Meals Act, any food given at school was purely charitable. Local church groups or "Band of Hope" societies occasionally organised "Soup Suppers" or "Penny Dinners," but these were treats rather than a daily service.
• Teacher Welfare: School log books from the era often mention teachers using their own small wages to buy milk or bread for children who were visibly fainting from hunger in the classroom.
• Foraging: Children were known to "scrump" apples from local orchards or, in desperate times, pull turnips from the fields on their walk to school to stave off hunger.

Summary of School Meal Provision (1880 – 1900)

Option	Description	Common Foods
Going Home	The standard for village children.	Potatoes, broth, bread, and dripping.
Taking Bait	For those living on the village outskirts.	Jam "door – stoppers," cheese, cold pie crusts.
Charity	Irregular and event – based.	Pea soup, cocoa, or "Penny Dinners."
Going Without	Common during strikes or illness.	Water from the school pump.

The Red Dust Environment

Life in Moor Row was defined by the mines. For a child, this was not just a place of work, but a sensory environment that dictated their physical appearance and health.

• The Iron Stain: Haematite iron ore is incredibly staining. Children’s clothing, usually made of heavy fustian or wool, would be permanently tinted a deep rust - red. Even their skin, particularly around the nails and hair, often carried a reddish hue that soap and a scrubbing brush struggled to remove.
• Sanitation and Disease: Like many rapidly expanded industrial villages, Moor Row struggled with drainage. Children played near "middens" (open waste heaps) and shared outdoor privies. This led to frequent outbreaks of Scarlet Fever and Measles, which are often noted in local parish records as the primary cause of childhood mortality in the 1880s.

The Sunday Contrast

If the week was "red" and industrial, Sunday was "white" and disciplined. It provided the only true break from the rigours of the pit head.

• The Sunday Best: Even the poorest families prioritised a set of "Sunday Best" clothes. For girls, this was a pinafore or a simple cotton dress; for boys, a clean collar and a cap.
• The Band of Hope: This was the social hub for Moor Row children. It was not just about the "temperance pledge"; it provided magic lantern shows, choir practice, and a sense of belonging outside the mine's shadow.

The "Half - Timer" System

The tension between education and industry was most visible in the "Half - Time" system, which persisted despite increasing legislation.

• Legal Strains: Between 1880 and 1900, the tension between the School Board and the Mine Owners was constant. Parents often viewed the School Board officer (the "School Bobby") as an enemy who was preventing the family from earning a vital extra shilling.
• Physical Toll: A child starting a shift at the mine screens at 06:00 before attending school at 13:00 was often in no fit state to learn. Teachers noted that "Half - Timers" were frequently the ones receiving the cane because they were too exhausted to focus on their lessons.

Corporal Punishment Illustration