The Diaries of Josiah Chater, Cambridge – 1844

A rare and detailed diary kept by Josiah Chater, a young shop assistant in Cambridge in 1844. Covering October to December, it records everyday working life, food, religion, leisure, and local events

Overview

This diary documents the daily life of Josiah Chater, employed in a Cambridge shop run by Mr Lilley, during the final three months of 1844. It provides a continuous, highly detailed record of work, social life, and the wider town environment.

Chater’s entries combine routine detail with sharp observation, making the diary an important source for understanding working life, urban change, and social conditions in mid-19th century Cambridge.

Work and Apprenticeship

Chater worked long hours in the shop and counting house, where his duties included:

• delivering letters and parcels across Cambridge
• bookkeeping (“posting”) and preparing invoices
• assisting customers and handling wholesale orders
• supporting large-scale retail activity such as clothing clubs

Work frequently continued late into the evening. Although his employer, Mr Lilley, could be supportive, the diary reveals the pressures of strict discipline and limited freedom typical of young workers.

Food and Living Conditions

Food is a recurring theme throughout the diary. Chater often complains of:

• insufficient bread and butter
• unequal distribution of food in the household
• being denied preferred meals (e.g. potatoes instead of turnips)

Suppers were often improvised in the counting house—roasted potatoes, onions, or bread. Parcels from home, containing fruit or treats, were especially valued.

These entries provide insight into diet, scarcity, and domestic tensions in a working household.

Religion, Music, and Self-Improvement

Chater’s life was strongly shaped by religion and self-improvement:

• regular attendance at chapel and church services
• participation in a chapel choir and singing classes
• borrowing books from the Mechanics’ Institute
• interest in lectures, concerts, and public meetings

Music (flute, accordion, singing) appears frequently, suggesting both leisure and moral discipline.

Cambridge in 1844

The diary captures a lively and changing town:

Urban development

• wooden paving near Trinity
• railway construction along Newmarket Road and beyond
• discussion of railway expansion towards Lincoln

Public life

• Jubilee Bazaar at the Town Hall
• political meetings and local elections
• concerts attended by university figures

Entertainment

• Van Amburgh’s travelling circus on Jesus Green
• fairs, lectures, and exhibitions

Crime, Accidents, and News

Chater records several dramatic events:

• fires at Orwell Hill, Exning, and the Pitt Press
• a suspected infanticide case in Sidney Street
• sudden death in a chemist’s shop
• reports of theft and robbery

These entries reflect how news spread informally and rapidly through the town.

Town and Gown

There are glimpses of tension between townspeople and university members, including:

• disturbances involving railway workers and university men
• crowded public gatherings in St Andrew’s Street
• awareness of university presence at civic events

Weather and Hardship

Daily weather observations highlight:

• persistent rain and fog in autumn
• severe frost and snow in December
• shortages of coal due to disrupted supply from Newcastle

The cold winter affected daily life, comfort, and food preparation.

Family and Home

Chater maintained strong ties with his family in Saffron Walden, exchanging letters and receiving parcels of food.

His Christmas visit home provides a vivid contrast:

• church services and festive meals
• games, music, and social gatherings
• visits around the town, including Bridge End Gardens

This section offers a rare glimpse of family life and seasonal celebration.

Significance

This diary is a valuable primary source for:

• working life and apprenticeship in Victorian Cambridge
• food, poverty, and domestic arrangements
• religion and self-improvement among young workers
• urban development and transport (railways)
• everyday experiences rarely captured in official records

Key People

• Josiah Chater – diarist
• Mr Lilley – employer
• Mr Blunson – colleague
• Mr Goody and family – domestic household
• William (brother)
• Various local customers, tradesmen, and townspeople

Excerpts:

November 1844 – The Circus

Friday  8th November

Van Ambing is building a large brick place on Midsummer common for the purpose of showing off his wild beast & also his horsemanship Mr J Doughty attempted to pull it down but was very soon stopped & the mayor gave them leaf (leave?) to stop for a fortnight

Monday 11th November

Before Breakfast went as far as Jesus Green to see Van Ambings circus it is a very large place I saw them raising the tarpauling. About eleven O’clock they came down Market Street I went up & looked out the Garret Window & saw them all very plainly

Wednesday 20th November

This evening Goody his wife & family went to see Van Ambings

Wednesday 20th November

I went round to William this morning & he told me he went to Van Ambings last night

Thursday 5th December

John Cook is gone this evening to see Van Ambings this is positively the last night but two

December 1844 – Christmas

Friday November 15th

Last Night about ½ past one or two I heard the wates [waites]that is 3 or 4 persons that go about the streets from the middle of November to Christmas day playing on instruments which sounds beautiful in the dead of the night Stephen & I got out of bed for a little while

Wednesday November 20th

Last night I again heard the wates [waites] about the usual time

Tuesday December 10th

On my way from Mr Lilleys this morning before breakfast I went in to Emmanuel to see if there was any skating & there were 7 or 8 on the pond so I stopped a few minutes & had a slide & came off

Saturday December 21st

This morning after Mr Lilley came down the first opportunity I could get I said to him if you please sir can I go home on Tuesday & back again on Friday & he said yes certainly and Charles so I wrote home today we should be just _ rid of _  _ about 4 O’clock & I went & told William in coming thr’o the market I saw a large quantity of Mistletoe I ever seen & a very great deal of poultry Stephen bought a goose weighing 10 ¾ lbs for 6/6

Tuesday December 24th

About 2 O’Clock after dinner I went round to Williams for him to go home with me we started about ½ past 2 & walked as far as Hinxton which when we set out we did not intend & there Father met us with the pony & cart it was fixed that he should meet us about Stapleford however we got home about 5 in the evening so we had some tea some ham & a lot of other things then I went down to see Grandmother after that I went & had my hair cut at Butterfields whilst we were there in came William Jenkines? so we walked about the town for about an hour & on coming home just  _  Mr J Fiskes? the band was playing beautifully we stopped and heard 2 or 3 tunes & then went home supper & went to bed

Wednesday December 25th

We got in about 8 O’clock had our breakfast & about ¼ to 11 we went to Church they sang as usual the Xmas hymn & also the Anthem _ to us and I _ _ a Bass solo CODE? came out ¼ before one had roast Beef & plum pudding for dinner but I had light pudding with the gravy from the beef in the afternoon Mr and Mrs William Jenkines? & Mr & Mrs H Butterfield came to tea with us in the evening we had such as romp we played at forfeits & laugh & say nothing when I blacked poor Williams face for him & we had such a laugh we had damson and apple and mince pies for supper with ham & cold beef about ½ past nine we parted company also Charlotte was with us & Nancy came on last Saturday & is going away on next Eliza & I talked about her going & I advised her to go by all means which I think she will do in the Spring Mrs C is getting very fat indeed & I think she is as stingy as ever I am not at all sorry I am away

Thursday December 26th

Rose about the same time as yesterday morning after breakfast father & W & I went to see H Butterfield from thence to Miss Redheads then to Mr Ledgetons then to Mr Stokes from there to Mr Hemps? to get a pair of gloves William had a pair but I could not get a pair to fit then we went to Bridge end Gardens we ran the maze Twice & after that we call to see Amelia & Charlotte who gave us some stewed damsons which were very nice then we made our way to Jack _ had some of Mrs _ home made grape wine which was capital & some biscuits we asked John & Polly & Sarah who was staying there to come and have some tea with us which they did from there we call at poor old Mrs Hadsons? came round by east street and gave _ a call then marched off to Grandmothers stayed there perhaps a quarter of an hour then went to Mr Jones had a mince pie & a glass of parsnip wine after that had our dinner after that we went into the yard and had a game at Marbles logging? great rings we played about 2 or 3 games when Jack _ came then we had some good games Polly & Sarah came to tea after that we had a game at forfeits & laugh & say nothing blacked poor Jacks face & about ½ past eleven William went home with the 2 Miss _ I am afraid Polly is going into a decline Oh I forgot to say that after tea we all went to the Girls school to see the prize given away Mr Jones & Father & Mr C_ spoke & we sang & then they gave each of them a 3d bun I mean the Sunday School children Ellen & Gray Francis have had the scarlet fever very bad

Friday December 27th

After we had our breakfast we went & I bid Grandmother goodbye had a glass of brandy & water? And some gingerbread cakes & then we started for Cambridge just about ¼ past 10 O’clock Jo Augur? drove us as far as Stapleford Turnpike then he set us down & we walked the rest of the way so that we got home about ¼ to one I did not do anything before dinner but after dinner I went into the counting house and began posting so when I got in Mr Lilley asked me how I was &c this morning before I came away Nancy gave me 3/6 to get a Silk Scarf with it is about 10 O’clock at night & I am writing my journal from Tuesday but I feel very poorly indeed we  had some currant pudding for dinner not plum