‘Men of Kent’: Gender and Nationhood in Regional Perspective, 1815 - 1837. * v |c ?* Kathryn Suzannah Beresford University College London Submitted for the qualification of PhD, June 2007, 1 UMI Number: U591847 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U591847 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I, Kathryn Beresford, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Kathryn Beresford 2 Abstract This thesis concerns the relationship between English gendered identities and the specificities of region and location. In the years following 1815, the county of Kent was imbued with a powerful 'sense of place'. The county was defined by its militarily strategic position, emphasised by the propaganda, experience and memory of the Napoleonic wars, and its predominantly agricultural economy. Despite the cessation of the wars and economic instability, Kent was perceived as the 'Vanguard of Liberty' and the ‘Garden of England’. This ‘sense of place’ informed the articulation of gender and nationhood. Representations of the ‘Men of Kent’, a regionally specific assertion of masculine identity, were characterised by behaviour, speech and appearance associated with physical prowess, bearing arms for one’s country, and the virtues o f‘sturdy Yeomen’, those who owned and tilled their own land. ‘Men of Kent’ were articulated across a series of diverse political campaigns surrounding ‘Reform’, Agricultural ‘Protection’, the ‘Swing’ riots and, on a particularly influential scale, Catholic Emancipation. Other forms of belonging in Kent were not so specifically ‘Kentish’. ‘Romantic’ visions of agrarian-based society, in which hierarchies and inequalities were ‘naturalised’ - often conceived as ‘Old England’ - were expressed by political campaigners in Kent and in provincial Southern England more generally. These included ‘protectionist’ organizations and landlords, and the writings of William Cobbett. The identity of the ‘Men of Kent’ was expressed primarily through the institutions of the ‘county community’ such as county meetings and the press. During this period, participation in, and imaginings of, the dominant Kentish ‘public sphere’ evolved from being relatively narrow - only the aristocratic elite were able to speak for the ‘county’ - to broader, but still hierarchical conceptions, inflected along the lines of gender, class and race. The Irish, notably the Catholic Association and itinerant labourers, were particularly definitional ‘Others’ to the ‘Men of Kent’. The militaristic and agrarian masculinities of the ‘Men of Kent’, and related conceptions of society, were also often contested, notably during the labourers’ ‘Swing’ riots and through individual subjectivities. 3 Acknowledgements First thanks are owed to my supervisor, Catherine Hall, for her time and valued input, and her ongoing support and faith in this project over six years. I owe much gratitude to my second supervisor, Rebecca Spang, for her feedback upon early drafts and for helping me be a better writer! I would also like to acknowledge the staff and students of University College London and the Institute of Historical Research, who have helped me with my research through encouragement and discussion. This project was completed with the help of a full-time doctoral award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, 2004-2006, and a Scouloudi Fellowship at the Institute of Historical of Research, University of London, 2006-2007. I am also grateful for travel fellowships awarded by the Royal Historical Society, the University of London Central Research Fund, and University College London Graduate School. Special mention is also due to the staff of the Centre for Kentish Studies, Northamptonshire Record Office and University of Southampton Special Collections for their help with, and interest in, my project. My greatest acknowledgement is to my parents, Sue and Frank, whose input has encompassed everything from driving me to archives and typing up bibliographies to first introducing me to the joys of writing and history. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Chris, for moving in with, and marrying, the 'Men of Kent' as well as me! 4 Table of Contents Title Page 1 Declaration 2 Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 Table of Contents 5 List of Illustrations 11 1. Introduction and Literature Review 12 1.1 Introduction 12 1.2 Literature review 22 1.2.1 Theoretical Underpinnings 22 1.2. ii Nation/Region/County 27 1.2.iii Culture and Identity in the Early Nineteenth Century 31 1.2.iv Political Culture 45 1.2.v England’s ‘Others’ 51 1.3.vi Kent 54 1.3 Sources 57 1.3.1 Archival Sources 57 1.3.ii Printed Sources 59 1.4 Aims and Methods 62 1.5 Themes and Overview 64 5 2. A 'Sense' of Time and Place: People, Landscape and Change, 1815-1837 70 2.1 Introduction 70 2.2 A ‘Sense of Place’: People and Landscape 71 2.2.1 Landscape and Agriculture 71 2.2.11 Population, Industry and Religion 74 2.2.111 Land and Sea: Communications, Trade, Empire and War 80 2.3 A Sense of‘Time’: Cultural Responses 85 2.3.1 Social Change a n d ‘Romanticism’ 85 2.3.11 The Ideologies o f ‘Old England’ 91 2.3.111 The‘Yeomen’of‘Old England’ 95 2.3.iv Paternalism and ‘Golden Ages’ 99 2.3.v Popular Protest and Fear of Revolution 104 2.3.vi The‘Agricultural Interest’and‘Protection’ 107 2.3.vii The Napoleonic Wars 111 2.3.viii Post-war Decline? 115 2.4 Conclusion 119 S/Garden of England’ and ‘Vanguard of Liberty’: Representations of People and Place 122 3.1 Introduction 122 3.2 ‘Garden of England’ 123 3.2.1 Literary Landscapes 123 6 3.2.11 Garden of England 125 3.2.111 People and Landscape: The ‘Kentish Yeomen’ 133 3.3 ‘Vanguard of Liberty’ 138 3.3.1 Fortress Kent 138 3.3.11 ‘Men of Kent’ and ‘Foundation Myths’ 139 3.3.111 East and West 143 3.3.iv The ‘Men of Kent’, Identity and Politics 147 3.3.v ‘Maids of Kent’ 154 3.4 Conclusion 156 4. Men, Women and the Kent ‘County Community’ 159 4.1 Introduction 159 4.2 The Kent ‘County Community’ 162 4.2.1 ‘Ancient’ Families and the ‘Knights of the Shire’ 162 4.2.11 Political Culture 169 4.2.111 Drinking Culture 172 4.2.iv Farmers Clubs and the Yeomanry Cavalry 175 4.3.v The Kentish Newspaper Press 179 4.3.vi Men, Women and Religious Associations 186 4.3 The County on Display 191 4.3.1 County Meetings 191 4.3.11 Penenden Heath: A County‘space’ 194 4.3.111 The “County’on Display’ 198 7 4.4 Petitioning Campaigns 205 4.5 Conclusion 209 5. The 'Men of Kent’: Political Identities in the Age of Catholic Emancipation, 'Reform' and ‘Swing’ 212 5.1 Introduction 212 5.2 The ‘Brunswickers’ and the Penenden Heath Meeting of 1828 214 5.2.1 The Penenden Heath Meeting 214 5.2.11 The ‘Brunswickers’ Men of Kent’ 218 5.3.111 The ‘Men of Kent’, Cobbettand ‘Popular’ Masculinities 221 5.3.iv Radical‘Men of Kent’? 228 5.3 The 'Men of Kent' after Penenden Heath 232 5.3.1 ‘Swing’ 232 5.3.11 A Martial and Agricultural Language of Masculinity 237 5.3.111 The County and‘Reform’ 239 5.3.iv The Eclipse of th e ‘County’? 241 5.4 Conclusion 245 6. Kent and the ‘Sister Kingdom1 249 6.1 Introduction 249 6.2 Kent and the ‘Sister Kingdom’ 251 6.2.1 The Irish in Kent and Southern England 251 6.2.11 The Irish ‘Problem’ and the Poor Law 258 6.2.111 The ‘Kentish’ and ‘Irish’ Poor 263 6.2.iv ‘Insurrection’ and ‘Irishness’ 267 8 6.3 Anti-Catholicism and Evangelicalism 276 6.3.i The Catholic ‘Other’ 276 6.3.ii The Evangelical Campaign 282 6.3.iii The Reformation Society 286 6.4 Conclusion 289 7. Masculine Identities and Subjectivities 291 7.1 Introduction 291 7.1 .i Men and Women of Letters 292 7.2 The Iconic ‘Man of Kent’: The Earl of Winchilsea 295 7.2.i Reputation 295 7.2.ii Early Life 298 7.2.iii The Iconic‘Man of Kent’ 299 7.2.iv Winchilsea v. Wellington: The duel 303 7.2.v The ‘Legacy’ 310 7.3 The Making of the ‘Knights of the Shire’: Hodges and Knatchbull 312 7.3.i Introduction 312 7.3.ii Thomas Law Hodges 315 7.3.iii Hodges and Ireland 320 7.3.iv Sir Edward Knatchbull 324 7.3.v Shifting Alliances: Sir Edward, Family, Death and Religion 325 7.4 Becoming a ‘Man of Kent’: Charles Knatchbull and Robert Cowton 331 9 7.4.i Introduction 331 7.4.ii Charles Knatchbull 333 7.4.iii Robert Cowton 338 7.5 Conclusion 341 8. Conclusion 345 9. Abbreviations 358 10. Bibliography 359 10.1 Manuscript Collections 359 10.2 Official Publications 360 10.3 Journals, Newspapers and Magazines 361 10.4 Books Published Before 1900 362 10.5 Books and Journals Published After 1899 370 10.6 Unpublished Theses 406 10 List of Illustrations 1.