Cattle Droving in the Early Nineteenth Century
In the Universal British Directory of 1792, Goudhurst was referred to as the site of livestock fairs, in August and November, at which Welsh and Scotch cattle were for sale. This raises some important questions on the movement of cattle, generally, throughout the British Isles before the construction of the railway network (1830 onwards).
George Watts, in his serial articles on drove roads (Hampshire Field Club Newsletters, 40 & 41), notes the difficulties encountered in identifying drove roads due to their ephemeral character. He has identified, in the north of Hampshire (HFC Newsletter 41), three long distance drove-ways (Fig 12b): the Linway, the Harroway and the Welsh Drive.
The presence of Scotch cattle in Goudhurst is easily explained by Sir Walter Scott in his novel ‘Rob Roy’ (1818), suggests two helpful pieces of information. The hero meets Rob Roy in Darlington. At the period of the novel it must have been quite a task to send a scotch drove that far south. The second piece of information, entered in a three story related to the extent of his introductory note, refers to a freebooter and his son who were arrested with stolen cattle on the Lincolns. This highway was under the guidance of Rob Roy a shrewd and just 60-70 miles accomplished in their 15 hours. This gives a fair estimate of the distance covered in a day’s drive, i.e., 25 miles in 12th Autumn. At this pace, it would have taken some eight days to drive a herd from Inveraray (Rob's farm) to east of Darlington and to the middle of the Vale of York.
K. J. J. Mackenzie, in his book, 'Cattle and the Future of Beef Production in England' (Cambridge U. P., 1979), refers to conditions prevailing post 1815. The situation in which calves became stores and were passed from one grazier to another, may have been a long established procedure. The present day Kerry breed of beef cattle is probably closest to the original Celtic black cattle. The Kerry is small, hardy and thrives on the roughest grazing. The animals, now, however, though still (KJ) very small, but of cattle, would have been ideal for the upland grazing of Wales and Scotland. Calves, when weaned, could have been driven to lowland pastures for fattening. Because of the slow development, animals would be ‘sold on’ every six months and only at the end of three years would be fattened on rich grazing for the butcher.
Considering, then, these animals destined for the London market, it can be seen that the three years growth to a Scotch store, would be divided into six feeding periods; each commencing with a third of 10 miles; 25 days (that would not 'set back' the animal to any serious extent. Furthermore, it would point the final fattening process to take place quite near to London and ensure the animal arriving at the market in prime condition. This search for drove roads in the sparsely populated uplands of Wales and Scotland, and the Southern Uplands and Cheviots and the Pennine Chain would go to prove, or disprove, the hypothesis outlined above.
Ancient routes, such as the North and South Downs Ridgeways would have been of particular use to livestock drovers coming from the Blackwater Fair (Watts, quoted above), Margary, in 'Roman Ways of the Weald' (Dart & Sons, London, 1965), notes a late ‘Roman’ road from Wortham, on ‘the Pilgrims’ Way’ (North Downs Ridgeway), to Turbridge Wells and beyond. Crossing from Tunbridge Wells to Goudhurst, Cranbrook and Hensden, the Roman road to Ashford, Canterbury and Fordwich would have become available and the Ridgeway merged into the 2000 Saxon drive ways. The purpose of this derivation would have been to take advantage of the easier crossing of the Medway above Tonbridge rather than encounter the more difficult crossing on the Ridgeway at Snodland below Maidstone. This would also have made Goudhurst a pivotal fair of graziers in the SE corner of Kent, including the Romney Marsh.
R.J. Ovenden