In the second series of A Feminist Family History, Dr Kate Carruthers Thomas shares insights into her research on three generations of the Kelynack family of Newlyn, Cornwall, spanning three generations from 1860 to 1950. She highlights how social, economic, and gender roles evolved within a changing community, emphasising women's experiences and family dynamics.

There's a family tree at Series 2 - A Feminist Family History in Three Generations

A Roof Over Their Heads

This episode explores how three generations of the Kelynack family lived in their homes in Newlyn and Detroit. Dr. Kate Carruthers Thomas uses census records and household detail to show how domestic space, labour,and gender roles shaped family life from 1881 to 1940. Listeners will hear about the cramped fishing cottages of Church Street in Newlyn in 1881, the changing household patterns of the next generation in 1911, and the very different world of a Detroit bungalow in Highland Park, Detroit, USA in 1940. Across all three homes, the episode asks how class, work, migration, and women’s unpaid labour shaped everyday life.

Key Sources:

The Detroit Bungalow

Ford Highland Park Plant | Detroit Historical Society

The Newlyn Clearances, part I: the Gwavas Estate – ‘among the monstrosities being condemned by architectural experts’ | Municipal Dreams

Did you know? ... About 'Rosebud' & the Newlyn Clearances? - Newlyn FISH Trust

Sagar-Fenton, M. (2003). The Rosebud and the Newlyn Clearances. Truro: Truran

Segregation and White Flight in Detroit

The Great Migration (1910-1970) | National Archives

The Newlyn Fishing Riots of 1896 – Kernow Goth