EPISODE 1,229: EDWARD FREEMAN…”HATED MY JOB AS HEAD GARDENER — TOO MUCH PRESSURE”

EDWARD FREEMAN — INCOME AS HEAD GARDNER AT EYWOOD

What was Edward Freeman earning as head gardener at Eywood from

1898 to 2006?  I never asked him.  Is it too late to find out?  I mulled

that question over all night and discovered there is a way to remove

the cobwebs.

Average £110 pound a year / $536.00 (19th Century)

*lodgings included

In 1960 

british pound was  worth  $2.80  US

As mentioned earlier I had an interestng job in Southern Ireland in 1960.

There is an abandoned copper mine called Knockmahon on the western

edge of County Waterford.  In 1960 the African source of copper was in

jeopardy so Denison Mines contracted Hunting Technical and Exploration

Services to complete a surface survey of the site using A Turam electro magnetic

instrument.  Since the previous summer I had been using the Turam

system in Western Alaska the company sent me to Ireland.

My pay was $400 a month. The job lasted three months.  Help was 

to be hired in Ireland.  The daily rate of pay was one pound per day…i.e. $2.80 U.S. per day.

I hired a lot of people as the job was made difficult by herds of cattle

eating great swaths of our insulated copper base line. Then they would

ruminate and throw up balls of our wire terminating the survey.  Another

danger was feral pigs that Barney Dwan, my first helper, said had eaten

a Nun and all that was found were her shoes with feet in them.  Would you

believe that story?  No matter. I was strapped in to the Tjuram and needed

a man to lift me or push me through the bramble fences of small Irish

fields.  Another problem was training a linecutting crew to set up our

grid for the survey.  And a man or two men to guard our motor generator

which was used to create a magnetic field.  Why should you care?

All these employees had to be paid. So I discovered the rate of pay

in Ireland in 1960 was one pound per day ($2.80 U.S,.). Each Friday

was payday.  Seemed to me the rate of pay was low so I bought

packs of cigarettes and chocolate bars as sweetenters for the job.

Made me feel like a big shot.

 I really was just a field man gathering data for Dr, John Scam, a geophysicist,

to study and try to determine how much copper was beneath the ground.

John Hogan, a geologist was also present representing Dennison Mining Corp.

How could this experience help me discover what my granddad, Edward 

Freeman earned as head gardener at Eywood?   In 2020, historian Chantal Grayson 

researched the incomes of servants on great estates in England like

Eywood.  She averaged the rates of pay and arrived at a figure for

each class of servant.  Head gardeners earned an average 110 pounds

peer year.  Presto!  Now I knew what Edgar Freeman earned. $560 er year.

Or 46.6 cents per day…six day week.  Of course Edward also got a

house and perhaps food.

My Irish employees were getting $2.80 per day.  I was getting  $13.30 per

day plus room and board.  The cost of tuition at the University of Toronto

was $425.00 in 1960.

HERE IS THE BOMBSHELL

How did Edward Freeman earn enough money to bring his family to

Canada in 2006?  Why did he decide to emigrate.   I thought he had

a good job in England.   He liked his work at Eywood because

he talked about the place so much.  Grandpa and grandma corresponded

with many of the Eywood servants,

One day in 1955 or 1956, I asked him if emigration had been a big mistake.

Didn’t Edward Freeman love his job as Head Gardener?

“No, Alan, I did not like the job.   did not like having to tip my hat

to Mr. Gwyer.  Did not  like to indicate I was a  Commoner to my

‘betters’ so often.  My job as Head Gardener was filled with tension.

Food and flowers had to be produced.  Gardening is a chancy business…weather 

and weeds.  If I failed to produce then I would lose my job.

Then there was the job of  keeping the estate looking ship shape….those rotodendrons

“I thought you loved gardening.’

‘i do.  I love gardening here in Canada.  Look at that crop of

rhubarb…that’s ours.  Look at the orchard.  Those are our

trees.  When we moved here from Northern Ontario our wandering

ended.   Would we go back to Eywood even for a visit ?  No!”

I failed to ask him how he could afford to migrate to Canada. I cannot figure

out how he did it.   My cousin Ted Freeman who knew granddad

better than I did said he made a little money on the stock market

Is this correct?  I have no idea.

ALAN

POSTSCRIPT

GARDENING STAFF TASKS

1. Average wages for gardeners varied between £50 to £100 per year.
2. Wages depended on the gardener’s experience and the type of estate or garden.
3. Skilled gardeners, especially those working in large estates, earned higher wages.
4. Many gardeners received additional benefits, such as accommodation and food.
5. Seasonal work could affect earnings, with some gardeners earning less in winter months.
6. The rise of horticultural societies contributed to the professionalization of gardening.
7. Wages were generally lower in rural areas compared to urban settings.
8. The introduction of labor laws began to influence wage standards during this period.
9. Female gardeners typically earned less than their male counterparts.
10. Economic conditions and demand for gardening services also impacted wages.

NEXT STORY;  WANDERING THROGH THE WILDERNESS…FAILURE AFTER FAILURE