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A Day in the life of Thomas Jones, a draper (morning)
Draper (Image courtesy of J.Bryan)
Good day to you, Thomas Jones’ the name. You’ve no doubt heard of me; most folks have. “The rich Jones” they call me and it’s true- you’ll not find a wealthier man in all the town. Now these labourers waiting here so early; they’re looking for work. Good fellows some of them – worked on my house and did a fine job. If they don’t find work and start lounging about the streets and causing trouble they’ll be sent packing, back to where they’ve come from, with a good whipping if they wait around too long. Mind you some are from my own parish – St Alkmund’s. – and we’ll have to look after them and give them outdoor relief – a bit of money to keep them going, and some work to do – mending roads mostly.
Ah! There’s the bells of St Julian’s ringing. As I say, St. Alkmund’s is my parish and our bells used to start and end the day, but now St. Julian’s have that honour. I must get going – my time is my money as I like to say.
I go to church here at St. Alkmunds. (Image courtesy of Shrewsbury Museums Service and www.darwincountry.org)
How true is "Days in the Life..."?
These dramatised accounts have been created by the Discovering Shropshire's History team. We used information taken from biographies of these individuals as researched by Bill Champion, author of "Everyday Life in Tudor Shrewsbury". These biographies, with the sources he used, can be seen in full by clicking on the "in depth" buttons on each page.