PENSNETT, SEDGLEY and TIPTON, 1945-C.1970 Rosalind
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“OLD HABITS PERSIST” CHANGE AND CONTINUITY IN BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNITIES: PENSNETT, SEDGLEY AND TIPTON, 1945-c.1970 Rosalind Watkiss Singleton, MA A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2010 This work or any part thereof has not previously been presented in any form to the University or to any other body whether for the purposes of assessment, publication or for any other purpose. Save for any express acknowledgments, references and/or bibliographies cited in this work, I confirm that the intellectual content of the work is the result of my own efforts and of no other person. The right of Rosalind Watkiss to be identified as author of this work is asserted in accordance with ss. 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. At this date copyright is owned by the author. Signature………………………………………… Date……………………………………… Abstract This thesis examines continuity and change in the three Black Country localities of Pensnett, Tipton and Sedgley between 1945 and c1970. The dominant historiography of the period suggests that the prosperity of post-war British society, the safety-net of state welfare provision and unprecedented levels of consumer spending mostly eradicated the inter-war behaviour patterns of individuals, families and communities. Utilising the oral testimony of sixty residents from the three localities, and supplemented by a range of primary sources, the thesis demonstrates that growing affluence impacted only marginally upon the customary social mores of the lower- middle and working-class inhabitants. Whilst aspirations to new housing and increased consumption affected perceptions of status and social standing, the economic strategies of the pre-war period prevailed. The thesis evaluates the effect of affluence upon earning, spending and saving. It questions assumptions that the support of kinship networks, matrilocality and community cohesion disappeared as slums were replaced with new housing estates. It demonstrates that the Welfare State impacted little upon attitudes to income and employment and that the wages derived from formal employment were augmented by informal work, penny-capitalist ventures and illicit activities. It shows that despite embracing the consumer society, families within these localities adhered to traditional methods of shopping and the financing of consumption. The thesis challenges the work of a range of historians who have emphasised change over continuity in characterisations of British society in the post-war period and endorses Hoggart’s claims that despite post-war innovations “old 1 habits persist”. 1 Hoggart, R., The Uses of Literacy: Aspects of Working-Class Life with special reference to publications and entertainment, Chatto and Windus, 1957. ii List of Tables Table 1.1 New Housing Requirements in Pensnett, Sedgley and Tipton as at 1951 69 Table 1.2 Proportion of Households (in England and Wales) Sharing or Lacking Amenities 72 Table 1.3 Proportion of Dwellings lacking in Amenities in 1971 73 Table 2.1 Location of Work of the Residents of Pensnett, Sedgley and Tipton 94 iii Contents Abstract ii List of Tables iii Introduction: 1 Definitions and concepts: 3 Periodisation 3 Class 5 Poverty 8 Methodology and Sources 10 Oral Evidence 11 The Oral Sample 15 Content 18 Chapter One: Characterisations of Community, Class and Poverty Introduction 20 Poverty 20 Sociology, Poverty and the Welfare State 21 Historians, Poverty and the Welfare State 24 Class and Community in inter-war Britain 27 Working Class Communities in post-war Britain 33 Chapter Two: Localities: Pensnett, Sedgley and Tipton Introduction 40 Defining the Black Country 40 Defining the Localities 42 Pensnett 49 Sedgley 51 Tipton 52 Post-war Change and Continuity 54 Demographic Trends 54 Economic Trends 57 Environment and Housing 58 Pensnett 61 Sedgley 63 Tipton 66 Overcrowding and Shared Facilities 71 Location, Respectability and Status 76 Conclusion 81 Chapter Three: Communities: Affluence, Housing, State Welfare and Social Change Introduction 84 Cultural and Social Trends 85 Housing and Social Trends 87 Community and Reciprocity 95 Matrilocality 104 Community, Social Mores and the Welfare State 115 Conclusion 125 iv Chapter Four: Formal Employment: Continuity and Change in the World of Work Introduction 128 Male Employment 136 Female Employment 144 Teenage Employment 159 Work, Education and Social Mobility 165 Conclusion 169 Chapter Five: Informal Income: Penny Capitalism, Moonlighting and Crime Introduction 172 Informal Income and Penny Capitalism 172 Crime 192 Income and Social Welfare 210 Conclusion 212 Chapter Six: Budgeting and Household Expenditure Introduction 215 Budgeting 217 Food Shopping 228 Financing Consumption 237 Conclusion 247 Chapter Seven: Leisure, Consumption and Status Introduction 250 Consumption and Consumer Durables 253 Television Sets 255 Cars 258 Holidays 263 Teenage Consumption 268 Respectability, Status and Consumption 282 Conclusion 285 Chapter Eight: Saving Introduction 289 Government Saving Schemes 292 Long Term Saving 297 Short Term Saving 305 Gender and Saving 318 Parental Guidance and Saving 320 Conclusion 322 Conclusion 326 Appendices 334 Bibliography 346 v Acknowledgments I would like to thank the men and women of Pensnett, Sedgley and Tipton, who have generously shared their time, their experiences of post-war life, and their hospitality, as without their contribution this thesis would not have been possible. I am grateful for the kind and patient assistance of Pamela Morris and Phillip Stolarczuk from Harrison Learning Centre at the University of Wolverhampton, and the staff at Dudley Archives. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my Director of Studies, Dr Keith Gildart, for his unfailing support, encouragement and constructive criticism throughout the production of this thesis, and to Dr Paul Henderson for his advice and support. Also to other members of staff, who have provided encouragement and help, particularly Dr Simon Constantine and Dr Aidan Byrne. The initial advice, input and kind interest, of Professor John Benson, at the proposal stages of this thesis were invaluable. My warm thanks are offered to Dr Sam Badger and Tim Burgin for their readiness to listen, suggest and console. The unconditional love and support of my husband, Steve Singleton, and my children Bethany and Steven Watkiss have allowed me to fulfil an ambition and helped me to keep things in perspective during the past four years. I owe them my grateful thanks. vi INTRODUCTION Given the protective safeguard of post-war state benefits, the economic recovery of the 1950s, and the unprecedented growth of consumer spending, which, according to some commentators, contributed to the blurring of class barriers,1 it seems likely that the traditional behaviour patterns of the lower-middle and working classes would modify with their growing prosperity. In light of increasing affluence and security, this thesis will examine three areas of the Black Country between 1945 and the early 1970s: Tipton, Sedgley and Pensnett. Previous tentative research in Tipton suggested that inhabitants of this area continued to utilise traditional strategies for the alleviation of poverty into the 1970s.2 They eschewed state assistance, instead employing the support of neighbourhood networks, augmenting formal paid work with a range of penny-capitalist ventures,3 in addition to ‘spare time’ work and petty crime.4 As a consequence of these revelations, this thesis evaluates the impact of post-war prosperity upon earning, spending and saving in the Black Country. Essentially, the research will assess the extent of continuity and change in working and lower middle- class communities, in light of the comparative deprivation and poverty of the inter- war period. There appears to be ample justification for a study of this kind. Sociologists and historians have investigated and examined the entire gamut of responses to poverty from childhood to old age.5 However, utilising oral interviews to provide a detailed examination of income and expenditure in the immediate post-war period will contribute to the existing body of knowledge, and enhance understanding of the issues confronting families and communities following the introduction of state-funded 1 Goldthorpe, J. H., D. Lockwood, F. Bechhofer and J. Platt, The Affluent Worker in the Class Structure, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971. 2 Watkiss, R., ‘‘Old Habits…?’ An examination of Working-Class Survival Strategies in Tipton, 1945- 1970’, (University of Wolverhampton, MA dissertation, 1999). 3 Benson, J., The Penny Capitalists: A Study of Nineteenth-Century Working-Class Entrepreneurs, Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1983. 4 Watkiss, ‘Working-Class Survival Strategies’. 5 See for example Alcock, P., Social Policy in Britain, 3rd edition, London: Palgrave Macmillian, 2008; Birch,R., The Shaping of the Welfare State, Harlow: Longman, 1974; George, V., and I. Howards, Poverty Amidst Affluence: Britain and the United States, Surry: Edward Elgar Publishing, 1991; Glennister, H., and J. Midgley, eds., The Radical Right and The Welfare State, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991; Gordon, D., R. Levitas and C. Pantazis (eds.), Policy and Social Exclusion in Britain: The Millennium Survey, London: The Polity Press, 2008; Harambalos, M., and M. Holborn, Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, 6th edition, London: Collins, 2004. 1 welfare. Furthermore, the issue of poverty and prosperity in the Black