Drover

Published in The Welsh Connection - July 2004 #52

By Val C Gregory
The English countryside was filled with noise of ironshod cattle trudging along the roads, and the
familiar cry 'Haiptrw ho!" was heard.
Economy and payment
"Drovers were the oil that lubricated the Welsh Economy" From the 16th century onwards, trade in
store cattle became very important and they became important features of Welsh life. Records of cattle
sent from the royal lands of South Wales for the King's household can be traced back to the fourteenth
century, and in the later Middle Ages, Welsh cattle were killed in London, the meat salted and sent to
the troops in France. In the time of Queen Elizabeth, oxen appear to have been worth from 1 to 5
per head. Not only were the dealers the channel along which passed innumerable messages and
commissions, but they were even entrusted with considerable sums of money by persons who had
bills to meet in London or a place on the way. They thus became the earliest bankers in the
countryside, for to avoid accident or robbery they took to leaving at home the moneys to be
transferred, and paying the bills themselves from the proceeds of the sale of the beasts. They formed
well known country banks at Llandovery, Aberystwyth, Carmarthen and other places in the eighteenth
century, and their notes, usually engraved with the heads of sheep or oxen, were thought better than
Bank of England notes among the farmers of the hills.
The Welsh were by no means unique in using cattle as a form of money. Glyn Davies in hisHistory of
Money, discusses what we can learn about this, from the study of primitive forms of money such as
cattle, on which he has three pages. He describes cattle as mankind's "first working capital asset".
The origins of several English words provide evidence for the importance of cattle in this connection.
The author points out that the words "capital", "chattels" and "cattle" have a common root. Similarly
"pecuniary" comes from the Latin word for cattle "pecus". Glyn Davies also notes that in Welsh the
word 'da' used as an adjective means "good" but used as a noun means both "cattle" and "goods".
The drovers carried out communications between relatives on business and family matters; William
Bulkeley, sent money to his prodigal son in London by 'Thomas Lewis of Trefeibion, Meyrig the
Drover' the latter was an Anglesey drover who had gained great wealth.
"8d a day for Dai Edwards to take cattle and sheep to Buscot" (18th century entry in the Gogerddan
farm accounts)
The Welsh cattle trade was indeed considered so important, that on 1 July 1645, the House of
Commons ordered that "Mr. Speaker shall have Power to grant Passes to such Persons as he shall
think fit, that shall desire to trade for the buying of Cattle in Wales and to drive and bring them to
London"
Our man the Drover
The ordinary Welsh drovers, had little English - one of them is supposed to have said that 200 words
were sufficient if business was good, but a few more were necessary if a hard bargain had to be
driven.

The symbol of the trade was the Drover, the romantic figure who journeyed eastward and westward at
regular seasons, following the ancient roads with his huge herds of beasts to the fairs of Essex, Kent
and Surrey.
Under the laws made during the reigns of Edward VI and Elizabeth I, all drovers had to be
householders, married men of at least 30 years of age, and they were required to hold licences, issued
annually by the Quarter Sessions of the County in which they had lived for three years. That they
might be free from penalties attached to the practices of "forestalling and engrossing," and also in
order that they should not be confused with vagabonds, of whom it was recorded in Tudor days "that
most that walke about be Welchemen". In those days he was a cattle dealer and often a man of some
substance; more than once a drover was suggested as sheriff for a Welsh county, but there was usually
some opposition to the nomination. The proceeds of the sales of cattle were of vital importance to the
country people; the drovers were not always honest, but they took great risks of loss, and they were
sufficiently successful to win the confidence of the farmer. It was not the custom to pay farmers when
the cattle were collected. 'The practice of giving credit to the English drovers who purchase the cattle
is very general through all North Wales, by which means the farmer seldom gets the money he
bargains for, for when the drover returns perhaps in a month or two, he always pretends to have made
a bad bargain, or has met with a dull market for the cattle Drovers were not universally popular, they
were accused of malpractice's as is seen from the following extract from a letter to Sir Robert
Williams, the Seventh Viscount Bulkeley's half brother" "I am really very sorry to find that a number
of your tenants have been defrauded of a considerable sum of money for cattle by a set of men, who
called themselves 'Drovers'. but who by the way are in general complete swindlers"
Alnwick, Northumberland - BUSBY Thomas, Butcher and drover
HINDMARCH Matthew, Butcher and drover
Ambleside, Westmoreland - GILL John, Drover
Brecknock, Brecknochshire - WALLERS David, Pig Drover
Moving along
Drove - a cattle road or track. It comes from the Middle English drove a past tense of drive.
The drovers also attended the cattle fairs - the most important being at Newborough and Aberffraw;
William Bulkeley, noted that in August 1735, they formed 'a ring' at the former fair.
'The Drovers today ..... played a cunning party, joyning all together as it were not to buy any cattle till
2 or 3 in the evening when everyone were turning their cattle home, at which time they bought a good
number from 6 to 9 pound a pair.'
But drovers from England were welcomed at the fairs, as Bulkeley noted in June 1749 - 'Bangor Fair
today proved a very good one, and a great many English drovers in it.'
In 1704 an application had been made to change the date of the Newborough fairs as the drovers
found it difficult to arrive in time at the southern England fairs; "The lord Bulkeley and the gentlemen
of Anglesey petitioned the queen's majesty that the fayre att new Burrough might be kept upon the
10th of August and that another fayre att new Borough might be kept upon the 11 of September as it
was heretofore kept on the 14th of September. The alteration of the fayre is intended for the
advantage of drovers who alwaise complained there [their] time too short to drive there [their] cattle
from the 10th August to London fayre on the 24th August and the like to 11th of September."
The drovers' roads of the Midlands were particularly important, for it was along these that the great
traffic in cattle from Wales to London and the Midland markets found its leisurely way. The Welsh
Road, which occurs here and there on the map of Midlands, refers to this cross-country traffic. One
can trace the route vaguely from the Welsh border into the Midlands. Many different routes were
taken and wherever possible the turnpike roads were avoided, for the average toll of one shilling per
beast could amount to a considerable sum.
Black cattle provided the bulk of the herds, but mountain sheep and ponies were also seen in great
droves, and the clamour of their journeyings could be heard afar, the men making a peculiar calling
cry as they urged the animals along; this noise was indeed a boon to the farmers near the roads, for

they straightway rushed their own cattle out of the way to prevent them mingling with the herds.
Sheep, as well as cattle and pigs, were moved by the Drovers into England and locally even geese
were driven after their webbed feet had been hardened by a mixture of tar and sand so that they could
stand the journey. The drovers went far afield to find their markets, and they came home with
exciting tales of Smithfield and Barnet, and the great fairs of the Midlands.
'It fortunately happened that several herds of black cattle that had been reared in Anglesey, were then
crossing the Menai strait, on their road to Abergeley fair, where they are bought up by drovers, and
disposed of at Barnet fair to the farmers in the neighbourhood, who fatten them for the London
market. We were much amused with seeing a large herd driven over. They are urged in a body by
loud shoutings and blows into the water, and as they swim well and fast, usually make their way for
the opposite shore. The whole troop proceeds pretty regularly till it arrives within about a hundred and
fifty yards of the landing place, when, meeting with a rapid current formed by the tide, eddying, and
rushing with great violence between the rocks that encroach far into the channel, the herd is thrown
into the utmost confusion. Some of the boldest and strongest push directly across, and presently reach
the land. The more timorous immediately turn round, and, endeavour to gain the place from which
they set off; but the greater part, borne down by the force of the stream, are carried towards
Beaumaris Bay, and frequently float to a great distance before they are able to reach the
Caernarvonshire shore. To prevent accidents, a number of boats well manned, attend, who row after
the stragglers to force them to join the main body; and if they are very obstinate, the boatmen throw
ropes about their horns, and fairly tow them to the shore, which resounds with loud bellowing of those
that are landed, and are shaking their wet sides. Notwithstanding the great number of cattle that
annually pass the strait, and instance seldom, if ever, occurs of any being lost, though they are
frequently carried to the very entrance of the Menai in Beaumaris Bay."
There are records of cattle going from various ports in south Wales, by sea to Somerset, Cardiff and
Aberthaw and shipped to Bristol and Minehead, or to Sully from where they were conveyed by boat
to Uphill, near Weston-super-Mare, and then driven overland to Bristol, Bath, Exeter and sometimes
as far south as Plymouth and Portsmouth. By sea from Tenby and Haverfordwest to Watchet and
Minehead.
At Barnet, Hertfordshire - fairs were held on October 18th and 19th for English, Welch and Scotch
cattle.
Bishops Castle, Shropshire - its market on Friday is noted for cattle and all sorts of commodities and
much frequented by the Welch, as are its fairs.
Brecknock, Brecknochshire - send yearly great herds of black cattle to England, and which are known
to fill our fairs and markets, even that of Smithfield itself.
Crawley, Suffolk - it has fairs annual for Welch cattle and toys. The first the 8th of May, the last the
9th of September.
Chepstow, Monmouthshire - monthly fair or market for cattle and swine, on the last Monday of every
month, great quantities of which are taken over the old and new passages to Bristol, Bath and other
parts of England.
For the comfort of man and beast
The travellers had their regular calling places (there are 'Drovers Arms' inns near Ruthin, Llandrindod,
Merthyr Tydfil and in Brecon to-day), but they kept off the main roads to prevent the payment of tolls.
The cattle trade that developed so strongly from the sixteenth century onwards, moved along existing
green lanes and track ways. The Anchor Inn, on the border of Wales and England, high up on the far
western side of Clun Forest, was the great point of assembly for drovers coming out of Wales. The
old drove-roads made their own contribution to the landscape in the way-side inns that grew up to
cater specially for drovers in lonely stretches of country, and in the 'stances' beside them where the
cattle were shut up and rested for the night.
On the outside wall of a private house in Stockbridge, Hampshire, formerly the 'Drovers Inn' is the
following Welsh inscription: 'Gwair-tymherus-porfa-flasus-cwrw-da-a-gwal-cysurus' (seasoned hay,
tasty pasture, good beer and a comfortable bed).
The Drovers Arms Hotel, Maesmynis, Eppynt Mountains, situated in a very remote spot high up

alongside the road Upper Chapel to Garth. The occupants had to move from the area at the outbreak
of WWII. The military cleared the mountain community of Mynydd Epynt in 1940.
In 1864, the railroad came to town "Machynlleth" and the account submitted by David Jonathan
tracks the movement of the cattle. Mr. Jonathan is moving the animals from south to north through
Cardiganshire, passing, as usual through Llanbadarn Fawr, where he and his assistants stopped for a
meal at the Black lion. After the meal he pushes on on foot, to Machynlleth where, he and the herd
entrain for part of the journey as far as Welshpool

Tavern charges: Newcastle Emlyn, Llanbadarn, Treddol, Machynlleth: 9.03.0

Gate charges: Aberystwyth, Carreg, Machynlleth: 0.9.02

Drive beasts to Ffwrneithin: 0.05.0

Train beasts to Machynlleth-Welshpool: 11.03.0

Train myself: 0.03.01

Payment to Stephen Davies, Capel: 0.08.0

When the animals reached the more important roads, their feet suffered from the harder surfaces, and
it became necessary to shoe the cattle. Oxen for ploughing were probably always shod, at least on the
forefeet, but the shoeing of so many head of cattle at once called for great skill and strength; the
animals were roped around the legs and thrown, various methods being practiced for this; the feet
were then trimmed and the shoes nailed on. Tregaron, Pumpsaint, Rhydspence and Painscastle were
shoeing centres for South Wales cattle; the herds from Anglesey were sum across the Menai Straits at
low tide, and shod at Abergele, whence they journeyed up the Vale of Clwyd to join the Old Chester
Road.
"The little shoeing field" Cae Bach Pedoli - the southern exit road out of Llanbadarn. The rates for
throwing and shoeing varied from 9d to 1s per beast. In 1841, John, at Radnor is paid 1.1.0 for
shoeing, (1 item from the expense accounts for driving 58 beasts from mid-Wales to Chelmsford,
October 1841). The actual shoeing was frequently the work of specialist shoers, and dealers buying
cattle ensured that their cattle were shod by their own smiths, who frequently attend the Fairs with the
dealers and travelled with the herds. The smiths carrying spare cues and nails, which were usually
smeared in butter to prevent them from rusting. The shoes for cattle consisted of two half moon
shaped plates, two for each cloven hook, these were called 'cues'. Pigs were given little woollen sock
with leather soles, these were frequently made by a cobbler. The normal distance for a drove of cattle
to walk was fourteen to sixteen miles a day, at two miles an hour. A drover who travelled with hogs,
succeeded in covering only six miles in a day. From the Welsh coast to Northamptonshire took fifteen
to twenty days; to Essex, three to four weeks. The head drover, rode before the drove arranging for
their comfort during the week-end, and what was astonishing, the droves that were rested on a
Sunday, took three days less to the journey than the animals which had not rested. Great care was
taken so that the cattle were in good condition when offered for sale.
Bringing the human side in
The dealers came from both sides of the border; they did valuable work in marketing the Welshman's
beasts, and their romantic travels brought the spirit of the outside world into the isolated valleys of
Wales. Their life touched the imagination of poets, and bards have sung of the misfortunes and
difficulties of the road.
A history of Llanbadarn - 1851, David Jonathan, received a bill from Evan Killin, proprietor of the
Black Lion Inn, Llanbadarn and it includes on November 25th, oats for lean pig 0.02.0 In George
Borrow book, Wild Wales - he overtook a man driving five or six very large hogs. They were going
to the fair at Llangollen. "What do you fatten your hogs upon?" said I, "Oatmeal," said the man.

"And why not on barley-meal?" "Oatmeal is the best," said the man; "the gents from Wolverhampton
prefer them fattened on oatmeal .... they buy them to sell again; and they like hogs fed on oatmeal
best, because they are the fattest.' "But the pork is not the best" said I; "all hog-flesh raised on
oatmeal is bitter and wiry"
....... though nationally not as well known as Molly Mogg, Molly Millar is better known locally for the
Lane which bears her name. Who this lady was, however, is something of a mystery. One theory says
the lane was named by the Welsh Drovers who passed this way with their sheep in the 18th century
and got to know Molly, an old woman who lived by the wayside. Local legend says more: she was
not just any old lady but the town witch"
http:www.britannia.com/history/berks/wokingham.html
Advice to the Dealer or Drover
If thou'rt a Dealer, honest be each act,
And fairly pay for what to thee is sold:
Be to thy promise and they word exact:
Credit is better oft than hoards of gold.
Take heed that thou dost not they chapmen cheat,
God will a sentence pass on all deceit:
And tho' thou shou'dst beyond the seas retreat,
Sure vengeance will be on thy transgression wait.
Of drunken-ness beware, what'er thou dost:
For drunken-ness will make the wealthiest poor,
And when a trader's oft in liquor lost,
In wine and ale he soon will spend his store.
Weather and conversations
24 June 1762 - A fair in Cowbridge, one of the greatest fairs usually in our parts for selling cattle,
when no more than about 40 fat cattle were sold. Of whom Mr. Less the cattle drover bought from 26
to 30. Anybody did ask the price of store cattle for no grass of the dryness of the earth to be had. The
hay, no more than common grass these few years past the corn in and about Denis Powis and in all
this ground, and on stony clay, burn up by patches by dryness which makes me say yet this is the
curse of God on mankind especially on farmers and renters, for few of who shall have much profit
from their land these years. But blessed by God choice wheat and barley on fat moist low ground.
Summer of 1854 - After a visit to Llanfair, George Borrow, returned to spend the night at the hostelry
of Mr. Pritchard at Pentraeth Coch. "The customer instantly arrested my attention. He was a man
seemingly about forty years of age, with a broad red face, with certain something's, looking very
much like incipient carbuncles, here and there upon it. His eyes were grey and looked rather as if they
squinted; his mouth was very wide, and when it opened, displayed a set of strong white uneven teeth.
He was dressed in a pepper and salt coat of the Newmarket cut, breeches of corduroy and brown tow
boots, and had on his head a broad, black, coarse, low-crowned hat. In his left hand he held a heavy
white whale-bone whip with a brass head. A discussion followed about Black Robin, Gronow Owen
and Owen Tudor. George Borrow comments "you know a great deal of history" To which Mr. Bos
replies "O, I wasn't at school at Blewmaris for six months for nothing; and I haven't been in
Northampton, and in every town in England without learning something of history." "In what
capacity have you travelled all over England" asks George Borrows of Mr. Bos. "As a drover, to be
sure" said Mr. Bos, "and I may say that there are not many in Anglesey better known In England than
myself - at any rate, I may say that there is not a public-house between here and Worcester at which I
am not known" "Pray, excuse me"said George Borrows, "but is not droving rather a low-lifed

occupation?" ...... "When I asked you that question about droving, I merely did so because on Ellis
Wynn, in a book he wrote, gives the drovers a very bad character and puts them in Hell for their malpractices." "O, does he" said Mr. Bos, "well the next time I meet him at Corwen, I'll crack his head
for saying so. Mal-practices - he had better look at his own, for he is a pig-jobber too. Written a
book has he" then I suppose he has been left a legacy, and gone to school in middle-age, for when I
last saw him, which is four years ago, he could neither read nor write." I was about to tell Mr. Bos,
that the Ellis Wynn that I referred to was not more a pig-jobber than myself, but a respectable
clergyman, who had been dead considerably upwards of a hundred years.
Sources:
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/celtic.html
The Land of Wales, Eiluned & Peter Lewis
Portraits of an Island - Eighteenth Century Anglesey, Helen Ramage
The Making of English Landscape, W.G. Hoskins
The making of the South Wales Landscape
Drovers and Hill Farms
Drovers' Roads of Wales, Fay Godwin and Shirley Toulson
1791 British Directory
Wales and the Drovers; the historical background of an Epoch, P.G. Hughes
Indexed by Gareth Hicks, Dec 2001. Index of names, places, events, sundry - available on
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wale/Drovers.html
Welsh Drovers, Richard Colyer, 1976. Indexed by Catherine Davies-Shiel, 1999. Index of fairs, inns,
names, places, shoeing centres, tollgates - available on
http:www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/WelshDrovers.html
Diary of William Thomas 1762-1795