Voluntary Associations and the Civic Ideal in Leicester, 1870-1939
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Voluntary Associations and the Civic Ideal in Leicester 1870-1939 Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester Siobhan Begley School of Historical Studies University of Leicester March 2009 Abstract Voluntary associations and the civic ideal in Leicester, 1870-1939 Siobhan Begley This thesis discusses the contribution of voluntary associations to the civic ideal in Leicester between 1870 and 1939. It demonstrates the growth in local voluntary associations over the period and illustrates the role they played in public life. Voluntary associations throughout the period 1870 to 1939 helped in the management of local public affairs and provided an organized social life in the town. They promoted social cohesion and a perception of civic unity as well as allowing an expression of difference. Associational life in Leicester became denser between 1870 and 1939, mutating from an elite to a more inclusive model and involvement in voluntary groups that embraced the civic ideal helped previously marginalised groups to integrate into public life. Although national influence encroached on local associational life over these decades there remained a balance between local bodies and those with a national dimension, with branches of some national associations assuming a strong local identity. The meetings of the voluntary associations helped structure an annual local calendar that was represented by the Leicester newspapers as part of a shared culture of interest to all Leicester residents. This regular programme of associational life underpinned the organisation and credibility of a ‘one off’ spectacular, the Leicester Pageant of 1932, an event which was supported by local voluntary associations, through which thousands of Leicester townspeople were mobilised to participate. The success of this occasion demonstrated that, in the 1930s, Leicester residents still retained a sense of civic and local identity. This is contrary to a perception in recent scholarship that the popularity of civic ceremony in provincial towns had decreased from the end of the nineteenth century and that this was symptomatic of a decline in the credibility of the civic ideal. Acknowledgements I am very grateful to my supervisor Professor Richard Rodger for his limitless support, patience and good humour. I would also like to thank the ESRC for funding this thesis. Thanks are also due to Professor Aubrey Newman for taking an interest in this project and for the valuable time he spent in conversation with me and helping me to access sources. Professor Rob Colls, Professor Roey Sweet, Walter Glover, Jeremy Ridge, Caroline Wessel, Rebecca Madgin, Lucy Byrne, Malcolm Noble, Gervase French and Colin Hyde should also be thanked for helping me in various ways along the journey. Contents List of figures and tables iii Abbreviations iv Introduction 1 The civic ideal and the role of ritual. 11 Outline, approaches and sources. 15 1. Associational life, the civic ideal and suburbanisation 27 Public and private 32 Suburbanisation and civic loyalties. 34 2. Representing the city: the continuing popularity of civic 53 ceremony in the interwar years 55 Use of the term ritual. The opening of Abbey Park, 1882-outline of events. 57 The Leicester Pageant, 1932 and related celebrations-outline of events. 59 Representing the city: the events of 1882 and 1932 compared and 61 contrasted. 3. The growth of associational life in Leicester, 1870-1939. A 82 study of selected town directories The format of the Leicester town directories. 84 Methodology. 86 1870: an ‘autonomous, intimate and highly visible’ urban arena. 90 Into the 1880s: asserting ‘urban pride and identity in a widening variety of 101 cultural expressions.’ A continuation of the old in the context of new influences 1890s-1914 110 The interwar period. 125 4. The annual calendar of associational life in the 1870s and 135 early 1880s: voluntary associations and social cohesion. Outline of the annual cycle. 138 A common meeting language. 145 Associational Life: bonding and bridging. 150 i 5. Changes and continuities in the annual calendar between 167 1880 and 1939: the emergence of mass participation in local and civic culture. The mayor’s annual schedule of visits. 186 Freemasonry: the continuing involvement of businessmen and 191 professionals. 6 Women and youth: promoting the civic ideal in the 207 interwar years. Women as citizens: raising money for the new University College, 1922. 210 A civic welcome: the annual conference of the National Council of 213 Women, 1935. Women’s activities and the Leicester annual calendar. A survey of 219 Suzanne Harrison’s column, 1938-1939. Youth and citizenship: the Scouts and Guides. 227 Becoming an apprentice citizen: the view ‘from below’. 231 Conclusion 237 Appendices 252 Bibliography 255 ii Figures and tables Fig. 1. Voluntary associations listed in Leicester town directories. 86 Fig. 2. Leicester Trade Protection Society Directory: 1870 91 Voluntary Associations. Fig. 3. Wright’s Directory of Leicester, 1882: Voluntary 103 Associations. Fig. 4. Wright’s Directory of Leicester, 1894: Voluntary 112 Associations. Fig. 5. Wright’s Directory of Leicester, 1904: Voluntary 112 Associations. Fig. 6. Wright’s Directory of Leicester 1914: Voluntary 113 Associations. Fig. 7. Wright’s Directory of Leicester, 1920: Voluntary 127 Associations. Fig. 8. Kelly’s Directory of the City of Leicester, 1938: Voluntary 127 Associations. Fig. 9. The increase in Masonic lodges, 1870-1939. 196 Fig. 10. A menu card from Albert Edward Lodge, 1905. 201 Table 1. Overlaps in membership among prominent associations, 95 1870. Table 2. Overlaps in membership among prominent associations and 99 the Town Council, 1870-1871. iii Abbreviations ROLLR Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland FHL Freemasons’ Hall Leicester ULA University of Leicester Archive ULL University of Leicester Library WL Women’s Library, London Metropolitan University iv ___________________________________________________________ Introduction _____________________________________________________________________ In June 1932, the Leicester civic authorities in partnership with the county and local voluntary associations staged the Leicester Pageant, a ten day spectacle of historical enactments and public ceremony. Over 4000 local people actively participated in the Pageant, while many more took part in related events. A purpose built amphitheatre was filled to capacity every night and crowds of both locals and visitors thronged to watch the civic and industrial processions. The occasion represented Leicester both to its own residents and outsiders as a prosperous confident city; a place which had a working relationship with its hinterland and where the different groups who comprised the city population were united under a shared civic identity. The Pageant was initiated by the Leicester civic authorities, but its success depended on local voluntary associations through which town residents were organised to take part.1 This study is about the contribution of voluntary associations to local identity and the civic ideal in Leicester between 1870 and 1939. It seeks to show that, despite social divisions among town residents, participation in associational life helped promote social cohesion and sustain a perception of civic unity, as well as permitting an expression of difference. The regular beat of a shared local calendar, the similar style of procedures and events adopted by associations as well as overlapping memberships and between groups all supported this. The local newspapers, throughout the period, played an important part in publicising associational events and conveying that, associational life, together with the activities of the civic authorities, was part of a 1This brief summary is derived from a fuller description of the Leicester Pageant in Chapter Three, based on primary sources. 1 shared culture of interest to all town residents. It is also argued that this local public life continued to thrive throughout the decades 1870 to 1939, despite an increasing emphasis in Britain on London and on the national at the expense of the provincial. By 1939, the number of associations and the range of people involved had expanded. While at the beginning of the period, the major focus had been on the activities of a small wealthy elite, by the end, it was on the activities of a wide cross-section of the population, who had become active participants in local public life rather than mere spectators. The link made by commentators between towns and voluntary associations has been a longstanding one. Weber identifies associations as a major characteristic of the city and a current generation of urban historians has explored the role of associational life in creating a specific provincial urban culture in the nineteenth century.2 The contribution of voluntary associations to urban governance in provincial towns from the early nineteenth century onwards has been a focus in recent scholarship. The use of the word governance rather than government has corresponded to a wider view of how towns have been managed, with commentary moving from a more traditional narrow focus on the activities and achievements of the statutory authorities to include the part played by voluntary associations and institutions in the running of town life.3 An important influence in this strand of analysis has been the notion of the public sphere as conceptualised by Habermas, with its emphasis on the development of public opinion,