The Drover who died in Essex

 Above: The inscription on the tombstone of John Jones stating that he came from Caernavon and died on 21 November 1853.

In the churchyard of All Saints Epping Upland, in Essex, one particular gravestone is worth closer inspection. It is that of John Jones which can be found at the start of the yew avenue in the large country churchyard. It was uncovered when the churchyard was being renovated a few years back. It is made of Welsh slate and has a fine inscription. It is intriguing to think about how a Welshman from Caernarfon ended up being buried in 1835, in a small Essex churchyard, far away from his family and Welsh roots. The clue of course was in his trade, as the inscription proudly proclaimed him to be a ‘Drover’.

The cattle droves were an old, long established trade. In the 16th century William Camden visited a ‘beast fair’ at Northallerton, Yorkshire, where he found buyers from Middlesex. During the lifetime of John Jones from 1780 until 1835, the cattle trade was at it’s peak, but he was not to know that it had reached it’s zenith, and that the demise of his trade would be complete by the end of the century.

Above: It is rare to find the gravestone of a drover.

Mr Jones, as the inscription says, came from Madryn Isaf which is a tiny village – more of a collection of a few farm houses – in North Wales, a few miles from the seaside town of Pwllheli. It is likely that he started his journey somewhere in North Wales, around the Menai Straits or Anglesey. At that time some 60,000 cattle a year were making this journey, and in 1810 some 14,000 cattle came from Anglesey. A large drove would consist of hundreds of cattle with a team of drovers with their dogs and ponies.

Having arrived in the South East, the cattle would need to be rested, and fattened up for which they purchased the use of a field for grazing at a rate of a farthing or half-penny per head of cattle. On the journey they would have had way-side grazing or used common-land which was adequate for the Welsh cattle or ‘runts’ as they were termed. John Jones would have been familiar with the fairs at Hertford, Harlow Bush, Romford, Billericay, Brentwood, and the market at Smithfield in London. He may have visited Barnet fair on his way south, before moving into Essex.

Drovers were well respected members of their community. A drovers wage was twice that of an ordinary labourer. One document of the time records ‘8d per day for Dai Edwards to take cattle to Buscot’ in Wiltshire. Such men were entrusted with valuable livestock, but they were also relied upon to deliver letters and important documents as well as payments. After a successful drove, our man John Jones, would have been carrying large amounts of money, and his expensive tombstone bears witness to his status in life.

His tombstone states that he died on 21 November. He was probably hoping to be home for Christmas. One can only speculate on the reason for his death; falling from his horse, being attacked, or contracting cholera or smallpox which were common diseases at the time. The 1830s were a period of great depression, and hunger stalked the land.

Above: The gravestone is three inches thick and in very good condition.

Being buried so close to the town of Epping, it may be that Jones had been bringing his cattle to sell at Epping Market. His gravestone raises several questions:

Did John Jones have a wife, a son or other relatives ?

If so, how long was it before those relatives learned of his death and who conveyed the sad news back to North Wales ?

There is no slate in England. Most of it comes from mines in North Wales, not far from his home village.  Who paid for the expensive three-inch thick slate gravestone and how was it carried from a slate mine in Wales to Essex ?

If the family was so wealthy, why was John Jones not conveyed back to Wales and buried in his native village ?

Above: The tower of the ancient church of All Saints, Epping Upland, in Essex.

We shall never know the answers to those question but the grave gives a tiny glimpse into the life of just one humble drover. If the parishioners had not decided to clear the overgrown land in their churchyard surrounding their ancient church of All Saints, Epping Upland, this interesting gravestone to a John Jones would never have come to their attention.

The fascination of this gravestone to anyone who studies the history of London is that, until the advent of refrigeration and the building of the railways, all the meat consumed in London and its surrounding villages was brought to the markets by drovers. The principal place for cattle to be sold was, of course, Smithfield Market.

-ENDS-