These bondagers were allowed to grow vegetables and keep a cow to provide food for their children, yet life was difficult. |
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This photo shows a group of bondagers at Hilltown Farm, Newton, Midlothian. |
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The use of such female bondagers as agricultural labourers was especially prevalent in south east Scotland and extended into north Northumberland. |
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The bondagers were women hired at the annual hiring fairs by farm hands who were required to bring female workers with them when they themselves were hired. |
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Award-winning play, set in the Borders in the 19th century, tells the story of the Bondagers, the women workers of the great Border Farms of that period. |
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