18th CENTURY VILLAGE LIFE
These four authentically reconstructed cottage interiors form part of The Buckler's Hard Story
and give an insight into village life during its shipbuilding era. A mixture of original and
replica items have been used, and all the characters shown actually lived and worked in
Buckler's Hard. You can even listen in to some of the conversations!
The Labourer's Cottage
The Bound family lived in this cottage, its contents and size a contrast to that of
the shipwright's. James Bound, as a labourer, was regarded as being unskilled and was usually
paid by the day. Continuous employment was rare and bad weather often meant no work and no
wages ... and still the children squabble over whose turn it is to play with the small
wooden horse.
The Shipwright's Cottage
The home of the shipwright, Thomas Burlace, and his family, this is a relatively prosperous
house. Shipwrights or ship's carpenters were skilled craftsmen in short supply in war time and
they could command above average wages. This allowed them to buy decorated tableware, a mirror
and, on occasion, small luxuries from the tinker. Arabella Burlace hopes it won't take her too
much longer to finish the rag rug for the bedroom. |
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Overlooking the shipyard, Henry Adams can be seen in consultation with one of the Navy Board
Overseers brought in by the Navy to supervise the work carried out. It was in this capacity that
Adams himself had first come to Buckler's Hard in 1744, taking over the yard in 1749. In 1793,
he left the day-to-day running of the business to his sons, Baltahazar and Edward, but still
retained financial control until his death in 1805. 
Here you can see the landlord, Joseph Wort, behind the bar in conversation with Charles Pocock,
tenant of Sowley Ironworks, and Richard Smith, the blacksmith. His daughter is planning to buy
something from the travelling tinker, while Nicholas Cory, the Salt Officer, stands to one side,
watching the shipyard foreman paying one of the workers. |
