This road was relatively late to development in terms of the built environment.
Community researcher – Rachel Harriss
Telford Road was relatively late to development in terms of the built environment. The tithe map of 1844 shows a plot of 2 acres and 15 Perches, laid to garden and shrubbery, near to the river and belonging to a William Hooper Esquire. At the time of the ordnance survey map of 1888, the area was still fields and the first census to show records of human habitation, is 1911.
A terraced street of solid, single-fronted houses with bays and some nice polychromatic brickwork, its proximity made it attractive to employees of St David’s station. Of the 14 houses that made up the street in 1911, no less than 6 were headed by employees of the railway, with jobs varying from carriage examiner to cartage agent clerk. Heads of the household at Numbers 2, 4 and 6 were all porters, Exeter men born and bred. The station, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, had opened on 1 May 1844 by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, with the journey from London taking 5 hours.
A grand gala for 900 specially invited guests was held in the goods warehouse, with Brunel, the mayor and other dignitaries in attendance. The line to Paddington was later joined by the Exeter and Crediton Railway in 1851 and in 1862 the London and South Western Railway brought a line into the station from their own central station in Queen Street. By 1900, Brunel’s railway had shortened the London to Exeter journey time from 32½ hours by stage coach in 1800 to just 3 hours.
The railway system offered new chances for tourism, the transport of goods and the development of new businesses. Indeed railway mania and frenzied investment meant that £3 billion was spent on building the railways in England from 1845 to 1900; a not insubstantial sum.
The railways rapidly became one of the largest employers in the United Kingdom and for our residents it would have provided welcome, secure employment. Although wages were generally low, the railway companies were amongst the first to provide benefits such as pensions, sick pay, convalescent homes, staff housing, community facilities and social activities. Staff took pride in their work and were loyal to their companies and it is notable that in the census returns, several of our residents made sure they made mention of the company they worked for.
In July 1914, 28,755 passengers are recorded as passing through St David’s station and work would have been plentiful for our Edwardian residents.
However, by the time of the 1939 Register, the heyday was over and the number of jobs for porters and clerks had declined, with just three Heads of Household in the street now employed in the core roles of Guard, Shunter and Signalman.
The other significant area of employment for residents of the street in 1911 was as commercial travellers; proximity to the railway once again perhaps proving attractive.
The job had grown out of a century in which there was more manufacturing, more shops selling the goods being made and for some an increase in disposable income.
Between 1871 and 1881 the number of commercial travellers in England doubled to 40,000 and by 1891 it was almost 50,000. It was possible to make a good living, but it was also a testing life. A salesman could be away from home for lengthy periods and would often board with a family.
They might earn £100 to £200 basic salary a year, but their real income came as commission on a sliding scale. The censuses meanwhile, record the lives of the married women of the street as centred around domestic duties. They would not have afforded servants or hired help.