Cambridgeshire was the northerly limit of the migration of the Deller families within the UK. Almost all of them lived and worked in the south west corner of the county with Bassingbourn having the largest and most stable population of Dellers. Initially all the Dellers worked on the land, but as agricultural work became harder to find they were forced to take up other employment. Many migrated, but those that remained found work as bricklayers or plasterers in the rapidly growing city of Cambridge, whilst others became shoe makers, butchers and millers. In Sawston a number found employment in the new paper and leather factories.

Perhaps the most unusual employment you will come across in the website, however, was that of Coprolite Digger (or Fossil Digger). The coprolite industry was unique to Cambridgeshire. Around 1850 a farmer discovered that his crops grew better when they were close to some nodules that were buried in the ground. These nodules were in fact fossilized dinosaur dung and an industry sprang up around the extraction and processing of the nodules for eventual sale as a fertilizer! You can find out more information about this unusual business by visiting www.rootsweb.com/~engcam/coprolite.htm.