Putting the story in context

When writing about my ancestors, I need to understand the local context and the surroundings of where they lived. I can find a lot on internet but visiting the places where they lived and worked helps enormously to discover their world.

My story about Ann Handley (‘Ann had no choice’) is based on her life in Coreley, Shropshire, England. I knew that this was a farming area and that her father was a farm labourer. To understand more about the village of Coreley, I decided to go there and visit Hemn Farm where Ann worked.

Prior to my trip, I looked at maps on internet. Using modern and old maps I could work out where the farm was and still is. Using Google Earth I could virtually walk down the lane and picture Ann on her way to work.

I still had the urge to actually go to Coreley to see Hemn Farm and fortunately my cousin Gerry Summers was interested to go with me.

Actually going there gave me the extra dimension of being in the same space as Ann was more than 100 years before. The old farmhouse, built in 1682, is still there. The current owner spoke to us and his dialect gave me an idea of how people may have spoken in Ann’s day. This is a short video of our visit to The Hemn: