In the Victorian period almost all the residents would have been employed either by the estate owner or on the farms, whilst a few craftsmen would have been self-employed.
The Farms section shows how many were employed on each farm on the early censuses. There were far more then than on a modern farm as almost everything was done by hand or horse-drawn equipment. Only later did steam-powered ploughing engines and threshing machines come into use.
Occupations directly related to farm work included carter, plough boy and shepherd, as well as the 'agricultural labourer' which could cover many different skills. Elsewhere on the estate you would have found gamekeepers looking after the 'sporting' side of the estate and woodmen to provide timber.
Oxenwood had a blacksmith until well into the twentieth century. Other trades mentioned in the census returns and parish registers include carpenter, sawyer, wheelwright, shoemaker and clock and watch maker.
Fosbury House and the farmers employed domestic servants, who were often local girls who only worked until they were married and had their own homes to care for.
By 1861 there was a shop at Oxenwood and this became a Post Office around 1900 which lasted for most of the 20th century.
The Kings Arms at Oxenwood was an inn, which in 1861 employed an ostler, suggesting that at least some of its customers had horses which needed to be attended to. Later in the 19th century it became an off licence - draught beer was still sold from wooden barrels but had to be consumed away from the premises, either at home or on the village green. The Kings Arms finally closed in 1960 when the licence passed to the village shop. It would appear that the profits were not that high, as some of the landlords carried on another trade as well, e.g. shoemaker, blacksmith. My own grandfather, who was the last landlord, was also a coal merchant.
