The story of John Jones - Drover

Countrycare has helped look after the wonderful churchyard of All Saints, Epping Upland since 1993. One particular gravestone which is worth closer inspection is that of John Jones which can be found at the start of the yew avenue. It was uncovered a few years ago when we were cutting the churchyard. It is made of a grey slate and has a fine inscription.

It is Intriging to think about how a Welshman from Caernarfon had ended up being buried in a small Essex churchyard 170 years ago, far away from his family and Welsh roots? The clue of course was in his profession, as the inscription proudly proclaimed him to be a "Drover" So who were the drovers? 

The precise origins of droving is unknown, but historians think it may well have started back in the Middle Ages, mainly because of the number of men called Porthmon, which is the Welsh word for head drover or cattle dealer. Similarly, the exact origins of the great cattle droves between Wales and England are also unclear, but what is certain, is by the lifetime of John Jones in the nineteenth Century, droving was at its peak.

It is likely Mr Jones started his journey somewhere in North Wales, around the Menai Straits or Anglesey. At its peak, some 60,000 cattle a year were making this journey and in 1810 some 14,000 cattle came from Anglesey alone. A large drove would have involved 400 head of cattle usually tended by 8 drovers, 6 to 8 dogs (Welsh corgi and collie) and ponies.

The drovers wore very distinctive dress. On their heads would have sat a wide-brimmed hat and covering their bodies a smock, presumably both to keep the rain off. Heavy trousers were covered with knee-length woollen stockings and on their feet would have been thick-soled boots or even clogs!

John Jones’s journey from North Wales to Essex was around 270 miles. Today, if you are lucky this takes about 5½ hours by car. Back in 1835 droving 100 plus cattle it would have taken around 3 weeks (still good going at nearly 13 miles a day!). On arrival here, the cattle needed to be fattened up, on rich Essex grass before being taken to Smithfield in London or sold at the cattle fairs of Harlow, Romford or Brentwood. 

Drovers were well respected members of their community. A drovers wage was twice that of an ordinary labourer and not only was he entrusted with valuable livestock, but he would also have been relied upon to deliver letters, messages and other important documents. Drovers were also trusted with important financial commissions and were one of the country’s first bankers!

Once the drove was over, some drovers may have stayed on to work the southern harvest. The landed drovers would have returned to their own harvests, selling their ponies at market and either walking back or taking the coach if the business had been good. 

Perhaps, one of the most extraordinary stories of the trip home concerns the drover’s dogs. On completion of the drove, the collies and the corgis simply found their own way home! Incredibly they retraced the exact steps of the drove, stopping at the same inns to be fed by the inn keepers who had been paid on the way out by the drovers. Now that’s intelligence!

The Welsh corgi worked the herd from behind in a half circle by nipping at the cow’s heels, rather than covering all sides like the collie. They were nimble and being low with short legs, avoided kicks from the cattle.

By 1900, some 65 years after John Jones’s death, the drove roads had fallen silent as the drovers all but disappeared. Increasing restrictions on their freedom of movement across open country, the rise of the railway and the changes in agriculture meant the drover was redundant.

Today, with modern supermarkets and even internet shopping this trade seems even more incredible and could not be further removed from modern living.

The drovers may have gone, but the legacy of wonderful drove roads in the form of great green lanes like Epping Long Green, Clapgate Lane and Puck Lane still survive. So next time your on one of these old lanes spare a though for the Welsh drovers and their dogs. Try and imagine their colourful procession, with the shouts of a welsh accents, mingled with the barking of dogs, and the noise of the cattle. What a sight it must have been.

•  Litte London Website - Welsh Cattle Drovers