The Industrial Revolution and Belchamp Walter - 1760-1840

Belchamp Walter in the 18th Century.

Belchamp Walter is largely a rural community and the activities based in the area are not surprisingly based around farming the land. However, at the turn of the 18th century Britain was at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Any family with the means to invest in this revolution would probably have done so.

Apparently this is the case at Belchamp Walter. At first observation this is not easy to see as the area is so clearly agricutural and the connection to the turn of the 18th Century has been poorly documented. The authors theory is that there was significant investment in the East India Company, the sale of the agricutural lands of the estate in 1741 (and the "recovery" in 1865) may support this.

I admit that the inspiration for this page comes from seeing the Julian Fellows/Carnival films production of Belgravia. The similarity stems from the investment in Coal Tar and chemical processes with that of the development of a cotton mill in the midlands. Those reading this who have seen Belgravia will understand what I mean here.

The venture into the development of Coal Tar did not result in a source of revenue, so the "recovery" of the Manor and the subsequent ecclesiastical ventures had to have been funded some how. On further research it was not the Coal Tar connection that funded this.

It is more likely that dealings in India and the Empire were the source of funds.