Occupations in Rural Communities in the Heart of England from The
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DIFFERING RESPONSES TO AN INDUSTRIALISING ECONOMY: OCCUPATIONS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE HEART OF ENGLAND FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE RAILWAY AGE (c. 1660 - c. 1840) (MALE OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE IN THE HINTERLAND OF THE MARKET TOWN OF ALCESTER, WARWICKSHIRE) by RICHARD ALLEN CHURCHLEY A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ` School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham February 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. This is a study of male occupational structure in the hinterland of the market town of Alcester, Warwickshire, c.1660 – c.1840. Various primary sources are used including the 1841 census, probate records, marriage licences and parish registers in order to compare occupations in thirty-six rural parishes centred on Alcester. The investigation focuses on various themes such as the changing interplay between agriculture and manufactures, specialisation and diversification by individuals and communities and the different economic paths taken by neighbouring settlements. The changing role of the market town and of the larger villages is discussed as some settlements become more industrialised and urbanised, while others stagnate and de-industrialise. To a large extent the economic development of the study area mirrors what was happening elsewhere in the nation, with an early growth in secondary occupations and a growth of tertiary occupations as the primary sector retreated. However, the unique feature of the study area is the rapid growth of the manufacture of needles and fish-hooks, firstly in the countryside, but later concentrating more on centres such as Redditch, which grew from a hamlet into a manufacturing town during the study period, eventually outgrowing the ancient market town of Alcester. This thesis is dedicated to four people: my parents, Dennis and Joyce Churchley, and also to the late Margaret Mabey and the late G. Edward Saville, all of whom stimulated my interest in my surroundings and in people of past times. Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the help of many people during my research for this thesis, especially my supervisor Dr. Leonard Schwarz and also all the staff at libraries and record offices, who were so helpful and patient with me in my unending quest for information. Contents page Chapter One - Introduction: the Aims, Area and Period of Study 1 Chapter Two - Sources and Methodology 8 Chapter Three – Population 48 Chapter Four – Zone A: Alcester, the market town 68 Chapter Five – Zone B: The Southern (Champion) Country 139 Chapter Six – Zone C: The Central (Wood-pasture) Belt 188 Chapter Seven – Zone D: The Northern (Needle) District 239 Chapter Eight - General Conclusions and Pointers to Further Research 338 Appendix 1 Parish Gazetteer 370 Appendix 1a Map of parishes in the Study Area 386 Appendix 2 Occupational groupings and descriptors 388 Appendix 3 Probate inventory values 395 Appendix 4 1801 census: summary of occupational information 396 Appendix 5 1811, 1821 and 1831 census: summaries of occupational 396 information Appendix 6 1811, 1821 and 1831 census: occupational information by zone 397 Appendix 7 1831 census: information on percentages of females and males and also on labourers 397 Appendix 8 Harvington Collection upon Brief 1695 400 Appendix 9 1608 Muster: occupational information for four Gloucestershire parishes 401 Appendix 10 Bidford occupational structure in baptisms 1813 to 1840 and in the 1831 and 1841 censuses 402 Appendix 11 Comparison of adult males in 1851 census with fathers in baptism registers 1813 to 1840 for parishes of the Alcester Registration District 403 Appendix 12 Markets 405 Appendix 12a Market map 407 Appendix 13 Fairs 408 Appendix 14 Carrying network 411 Appendix 15 Turnpike roads and coach routes 413 Appendix 15a Stage-coach routes through Alcester 1829 and 1835 417 Appendix 16 Navigable rivers and canals 418 Appendix 17 Mills 419 Appendix 18 Parishes with quarries and brickmakers 420 Appendix 19 Parishes with schools before 1800 421 Appendix 20 The needle industry and associated trades: Division of labour and counties where these trades were carried out in England and Wales 422 Appendix 21 Example of record in the database 424 Appendix 22 Multiple occupations 425 Appendix 23 Inland revenue apprenticeship books 430 Appendix 24 Land tax returns 1798 433 Appendix 25 Alcester and Redditch in trade directories 436 Appendix 26 Comparison of occupational structure in different zones 437 Sources and Bibliography 441 Abbreviations ADLHS = Alcester and District Local History Society Ag. Hist. Rev. = Agricultural History Review Arch. = Archaeological Econ. Hist. Rev. = Economic History Review Glos. = Gloucestershire GlosRO = Gloucestershire County Record Office HeRO = Herefordshire County Record Office MSS = Manuscripts OP = Occasional Paper PCC = Prerogative Court of Canterbury QS = Quarter Sessions RC = Roman Catholic SCLA = Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive, Stratford upon Avon TNA = The National Archives Trans. = Transactions Soc. = Society UBD = Universal British Directory VCH = Victoria County History WaRO = Warwickshire County Record Office Warks. = Warwickshire Worcs. = Worcestershire WoRO = Worcestershire County Record Office and History Centre i CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: THE AIMS, AREA AND PERIOD OF STUDY The aim of this thesis is to examine the occupational structure of certain rural communities in the heart of England from 1660 to 1840, a period chosen for two main reasons. Firstly, the time-scale is long enough to detect occupational change as Britain metamorphosed from a mainly agricultural society in the early modern period into the world’s leading industrial nation in the nineteenth century. Secondly, sufficient records are extant and accessible from this period to allow such a study. According to Wrigley ‘the character of a country’s economy at any point in time and the nature of any changes taking place over time are necessarily reflected in its occupational structure.’1 To what extent are the huge national changes reflected in the occupational structure of the study area, which in Victoria’s reign was very different both socially and economically from the same area in the days of Charles II? Is there evidence that ‘in the traditional economy, industry was a widespread activity in the countryside’?2 If so, did early industrialisation lead to a more concerted industrialisation?3 Do certain parishes de-industrialise, while others industrialise or urbanise? Can we find reasons for the location of certain industries in certain parishes? Or was it serendipity rather than suitability which changed the local economic scene? Did some settlements continue to be dominated by agriculture while their neighbours embraced a certain industry? 1 E. A. Wrigley, Poverty, Progress and Population, (Cambridge, CUP, 2004), p. 129. 2 D. Mills, ed., English Rural Communities: The Impact of a Specialised Economy, (London, Macmillan, 1973), p. 13. 3 See Chapter 2 for a discussion of proto-industrialisation. 1 My investigation focuses on a swathe of thirty-six parishes straddling the Worcestershire-Warwickshire border in the hinterland of the ancient market town of Alcester and the emerging industrial town of Redditch. The occupational structure of these communities has been analysed in order to address the questions above. In seeking the answers to these questions themes such as industrialisation, urbanisation and specialisation will be examined. How far does the tide of industrialisation spread, and can its ebb and flow be traced in the changing occupations of the inhabitants? Can we detect diversification and specialisation in different trades and communities? What are the roles of the market town compared with large and small villages? Do occupational descriptors change over time, and, if they do, do these changes in terminology merely follow fashion or reflect real changes within certain trades and professions and the way they operated? Space in this survey does not allow an in-depth study of other themes, but some are mentioned in passing. For example, what evidence can be found that the inhabitants of the study area had trading connections with other local towns or places further afield or with entrepreneurs such as the iron-making Foleys or innovative men such as members of the Lunar Society? How widely do patterns of mobility differ in various occupational groups and trades, and what evidence is there of dual or multiple occupations? How did different tradesmen fit into the social structure? Although available records dictate that the main focus is necessarily on the role of men, can we find clues concerning the role of women and children in the local economy? It is also to be hoped that in using a myriad of primary sources to complete this in- depth study I may be able to find information about the occupational structure of the study 2 area to complement that found by the likes of Jones and