Urban Innkeepers, Their Inns and Their Role in the Economic and Cultural Life of Leeds and York, 1720 – 1860
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Urban Innkeepers, their Inns and their Role in the Economic and Cultural Life of Leeds and York, 1720 – 1860 Karen Green MA by Research University of York History May 2015. Abstract Examining the businesses of a number of inns in Leeds and York, this study explores the role played by innkeepers and their inns in the economic and cultural life of two very different cities. Using evidence from the local press and directories this study argues that innkeepers played an important role in the urban economies of both cities, developing credit and transport networks and providing venues for a variety of meetings, auctions and sales. These networks, and the provision of hospitality and stabling for large numbers of visitors, placed the inns at the centre of the developing service sector that was vital to the economies of Leeds and York. Using advertisements in the local press, this study maintains that the adoption of the language and manners of polite society by innkeepers, not only promoted themselves and their inns but also encouraged the adoption of those ideals by the middling sort, thus encouraging the development of urban society. Unlike previous studies, this study provides a rare insight into the day-to-day business of innkeepers. The innkeepers’ account and daybooks used for this study show the range of food and drink and services provided by innkeepers, and the staff employed. Drawing on probate and insurance records this study argues that many innkeepers had substantial business interests and were often owners of significant amounts of property. Diversifying into other areas of the economy, including agriculture, carrying and coaching, innkeepers not only amassed considerable wealth, they also provided significant employment opportunities for men and women in both Leeds and York. Through the identification of significant numbers of female innkeepers and large numbers of female servants and traders this study maintains that far from being an innkeeping ‘fraternity’, inns were more feminised spaces than had previously been suggested. 2 Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 2 Contents ............................................................................................................................ 3 List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ 6 Declaration ........................................................................................................................ 7 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter One: Leeds, York and their Inns. ....................................................................... 20 The Eighteenth Century ............................................................................................... 21 The Nineteenth Century ............................................................................................... 29 The Inns of Leeds and York ......................................................................................... 32 Chapter Two: The Business and Character of Innkeepers ............................................. 41 The Business of Innkeeping ......................................................................................... 41 Wealth and the Associated Business Interests of Innkeepers....................................... 47 Relationship to Agriculture ........................................................................................... 48 Relationship to Carrying Trade ..................................................................................... 50 Relationship to Credit ................................................................................................... 53 Relationship to Mail Coaches ....................................................................................... 55 Innkeepers as Owners of Property ............................................................................... 56 The Innkeeper as a Public Figure ................................................................................. 56 Chapter Three: The Inn as a Venue for Business and Social and Cultural Interaction ..... 65 Coffeehouses versus Inns ............................................................................................ 66 The Inn as a Venue for Business and Local Administration .......................................... 70 Politics ......................................................................................................................... 75 The Inn and its Place in Polite Society and Urban Leisure ........................................... 77 Horseracing .................................................................................................................. 82 Chapter Four: The Innkeeping Fraternity? ....................................................................... 86 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 105 APPENDIX 1 ................................................................................................................. 109 APPENDIX 2 ................................................................................................................. 113 Primary Sources ............................................................................................................ 117 Archives ..................................................................................................................... 117 Borthwick Institute for Archives. .............................................................................. 117 City of York Council/Explore Libraries and Archives Mutual .................................... 118 London Metropolitan Archives ................................................................................ 118 Sheffield City Council Archives ............................................................................... 119 Birth, Death and Marriage Records ............................................................................ 119 3 Census Records ......................................................................................................... 121 1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription ......................................... 121 1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription ......................................... 121 1861 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription ......................................... 122 Directories .................................................................................................................. 123 Leeds Directories .................................................................................................... 123 York Directories ...................................................................................................... 123 Newspapers ............................................................................................................... 124 Thoresby Society ....................................................................................................... 125 Probate Records ........................................................................................................ 125 Secondary Sources ....................................................................................................... 128 4 List of Tables Table 1 Population Growth in Leeds and York 1801-1851 ............................................... 29 Table 2 Accommodation and Stabling at Inns and Alehouses in Yorkshire Market Towns 1686. ............................................................................................................................... 32 Table 3 Inns, Public Houses, Taverns in the Old Township of Leeds ............................... 33 Table 4 Extract from 1841 Census showing types of visitors ........................................... 36 Table 5 Extract from 1851 Census showing types of visitors ........................................... 37 Table 6 Extract from 1861 Census showing types of visitors ........................................... 38 Table 7 Food & Drink Providers in Leeds & York ............................................................. 39 Table 8 Extract from Census Data 1841-1861 ................................................................. 40 Table 9 Purchases of John James Anderson for week commencing 18 March 1839. ...... 43 Table 10 Payments to individuals made by John James Anderson week commencing 18 March, 1839 ..................................................................................................................... 43 Table 11 Bills issued to Nathanial Smith, Innkeeper of the Spotted Cow, York. ............... 45 Table 12 Sun Insurance Policies for the Old King’s Arms, Leeds ..................................... 51 Table 13 Distribution of Sun Fire Policy Values for London Trades .................................. 53 Table 14 Employment Data taken from Census Returns for 1841 and 1851 ................... 62 Table 15 Employment Data taken from Census Returns for Leeds in 1861 ..................... 63 Table 16 Employment Data taken from Census Returns for York in 1861 .......................