Making a Living From the Sea

Since the 17C, many Mumbles fishermen would have laid up their craft all along the shore as far out as Southend (outalong) and in stormy weather, in the shelter of the natural harbour known as the Horsepool.

For many years Horsepool House, occupied in 1734 by Philip Powell and his two daughters, looked out over this little haven. By 1764, John Griffith, Thomas Dunn, William Maddocks, David Lowarch, Richard Sheppard, Daniel Claypit, Mary Davies and Elizabeth Russel were each paying six pence per annum to the Lord of the Manor, for the use of oyster perches nearby, in which to store their harvested oysters, in addition to 'Keelage' of four pence for every ship 'which lies on the sand'. Francis David, William Williams, James Parry, John Morgan, Elizabeth Powell and Elizabeth Williams were permitted to fix nets 'for the catching of fish in the bay' at six pence.

By the early nineteenth century, the oystermen were paying £3..10s 'for the privilege of dredging and storing their oysters'. The 1871 census registered a preponderance of ‘old’ (many still recognisable) Mumbles surnames among the six hundred or so oystermen, who were involved in Mumbles' main industry and who would have set sail from the Horsepool at that time — Ace, Bydder, Davies, Evans, Eynon, Gammon, Givelin, Hoskins, Howell, Hullin, Jenkins, Llewellyn, Michael, Rogers, Smith, Webborn and Williams and some wonderfully charismatic ones such as Silvanus Bevan, Noah Davies, Solomon Howell, Hezakia Watkins and Reuben Webborn.

The skiff owners in the 1880s included Susanna Bennett; W. Bennett; W. Bevan; William Burt; D. Davies; Martha Davies; James and Richard Gammon; D. Howells; James Jenkins; Jenkin Jenkins; John Jones; Matthew Jones; D. Lloyd; James Lloyd; J. Matthews; W. Morgan; W. Morris; Stephen Powell; W. Powell; Thomas Hewett; John Thomas; J. Webborn; David Evans and David Evans Michael.

By 1891, George Dowman was the Licensed Victualler at the Marine Hotel, living there with his wife, Hannah and three daughters, a general servant and a barmaid. Nearby on the water’s edge were two cottages, one occupied by William Jenkins, a fisherman, his wife, Jane and their son, Alfred and the other by Thomas Llewellyn. also a fisherman and his wife, Martha.

These were just some of the men and women who spent their lives living and working around The Horsepool. Today, the Village Inn lies well away from the shore with Devon and Cornwall Places having been built on the reclaimed land in front, over a century ago.

Acknowledgments

1871 and 1891 censuses

Butcher's Trade Directory 1881

Carol Powell is a regular contributor to Mumbles Times and Oystermouth Radio