THE OWNERSHIP OF GOODS AND CULTURES OF CONSUMPTION IN LUDLOW, HEREFORD AND TEWKESBURY, 1660-1760 KAREN BANKS B. A. MPhil A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2014 This work or any part thereof has not been previously presented in any form to the University or to any other body whether for the purposes of assessment, publication or for any other purpose (unless otherwise indicated). Save for any express acknowledgments, references and/ or bibliographies citied in the 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 Karen Banks to be identified as author of this work is asserted in accordance with ss. 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Acts 1988. At this date copyright is owned by the author. Signature…Karen Banks………………………………… Date……4th April 2014…………………………………… Abstract This thesis examines how the lifestyles of the middling sorts evolved during the period 1660 and 1760 as reflected in their relationship to material goods in three contrasting, but geographically near towns. The towns are similar to the degree that their history and circumstances led to them being viewed as backwaters, and this may have influenced consumption practices. Ludlow had lost its importance as the Capital of Wales; it stagnated until its fortunes began to be revived by achieving leisure town status. Hereford was a cathedral city and a county town, but was mainly poorly built and congested. It was locally, rather than nationally important. Tewkesbury was an inland port and a manufacturing centre, but it had been eclipsed by the larger and more successful cities of Bristol and Gloucester. This study of household goods in the middling interiors of Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury between 1660 and 1760 set out first to investigate the extent to which the possessions of the middling ranks reflected their social status. The second aspect is to analyse the geographical spread of new goods in the three towns to determine the extent to which economic circumstances and location influenced consumption. Thirdly, the intention is to determine how status and politeness was expressed in the early modern home. Finally, this study aimed to ascertain what these factors could tell us about early modern consumers in the three towns. A sample of the domestic goods of the middling ranks from Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury is examined and compared. The material culture of the three towns has previously attracted little academic interest. It is my intention that this thesis on the three towns complements and contributes to the existing bodies of work on early modern regional culture studies. Contents Contents Introduction: The ownership of goods and cultures of consumption in Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury 1660-1760 p.1 Chapter One: Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury: Urban development and change, 1660- 1760 p.25 Chapter Two: Rank, status and wealth amongst the middling sorts in early modern Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury p.53 Chapter Three: Leisure, business and politeness- the changing environment of ‘front-stage’ p.101 Chapter Four: ‘Back-stage’ -the heart of the house p.160 Conclusion p.205 Bibliography p.213 Appendix 1. Bibliographical information on the testators from the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury, 1662-1753. p.251 List of Tables 1.1 Early modern populations of Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury p. 27 1.2 The ratio of hearths to tax-paying residents in the wards of late seventeenth-century Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury p.36 1.3 The numbers and percentage of hearths per tax-paying property in the wards of late seventeenth-century Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury p.37 2.1 The range of inventory total valuations in £’s from the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample p.58 2.2 The numbers, percentages and ratio of men and women in the probate sample from Ludlow, Hereford, and Tewkesbury, 1662-1753 p.59 2.3 Defining the Middling Ranks, 1660-1760 p.61 2.4 Highest and lowest positions of males in society as defined by Weatherill and applied to the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.64 2.5 The members of the gentry in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662-1753 p.65 2.6 The status of male testators based on the total valuations of their movables in the inventory samples from Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury, 1662-1753 p.66 2.7 Table 2.7 The number of testators or their family members that were churchwardens or held positions in local government in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662- 1753 p.67 2.8 The consumption hierarchy, formulated from the research of Weatherill p.69 2.9 The marital status of heads of households in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662-1753, compared with the research of Peter Laslett p.85 2.10 Male and female inventory total valuations from the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.86 2.11 The value of male and female testators’ household goods in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.88 2.12 The marital status of women in the probate documents from the three towns, 1662-1753 p.90 2.13 Female testators’ money and property in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury will sample, 1662-1753 p.91 2.14 The number of married male testators that gave their wives a life share of their goods and chattels or gave their wives all their goods in the will sample, 1662-1753 p.95 3.1 A comparison of mean valuations between the Cumbria and North-West Midlands sample formulated by Weatherill and the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample p.101 3.2 The number of shops recorded in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662- 1753 p.110 3.3 The decline of beds in ‘front-stage’ rooms in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.115 3.4 The numbers and percentages of upholstered furniture recorded in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.117 3.5 The total number and percentage of ‘front-stage’ rooms recorded in the three towns between 1662 and 1753 p.118 3.6 The value of Ludlow testators’ goods whose inventories recorded parlours, 1672-1753 p.125 3.7 The value of Hereford testators’ goods whose inventories recorded parlours, 1672-1753 p.127 3.8 The value of Tewkesbury testators’ goods whose inventories recorded parlours, 1662- 1733 p.129 3.9 The location of expressive goods in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662- 1753 p.133 3.10 Percentages of inventories recording itemised pewter in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662 and 1753 p.138 3.11 The location of pewter in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.138 3.12 Middling rank pewter ownership by type of object in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample 1662-1752 p.140 3.13 The total number and percentage of inn and alehouse holders in the probate document sample from Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury, 1662-1753 p.142 3.14 The value of inn and alehouse keepers’ goods from the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample whose inventories recorded parlours, 1682-1733 p.143 3.15 Middling rank table linen ownership in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample 1662-1752 p.146 3.16 The location of linen in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.147 3.17 The number and percentage of inventories and wills that recorded silver eating and drinking objects in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample between 1662- 1753 p.154 3.18 The number and percentage of inventories that recorded drinking glasses in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample between 1662- 1753 p.157 4.1 A comparison of the percentages of parlours and kitchens recorded in Kent and Norwich inventories by Overton et al and Priestly and Corfield, 1600-1749 p.163 4.2 The percentages of parlours and kitchens recorded in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662-1753 p.164 4.3 The number and percentage of testators that bequeathed cooking implements in wills, 1662-1753 p.164 4.4 The rooms in which cooking equipment was recorded in the inventories of the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1653 p.165 4.5 Some of the types of fire cooking equipment recorded in the inventory sample of Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury, 1662-1753 p.168 4.6 The types of kitchen metal ware recorded in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.169 4.7 The number and percentage of screens in kitchens in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662- 1753 p.172 4.8 Display furniture by number and percentage in kitchens in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662- 1753 p.173 4.9 The range of kitchen inventory valuations in £’s from the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.174 4.10 The range of kitchen valuations from the inventory sample of Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury, 1662-1753 p.175 4.11 The number and percentage of butteries and pantries in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662- 1753 p.176 4:12 The number and percentage of best bedrooms in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662- 1753 p.180 4.13 The types of mattresses recorded in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662-1753 p.186 4.14 The sorts of bedsteads recorded in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury sample, 1662- 1753 p.187 4.15 The sorts of textiles listed on middling rank beds in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662-1753 p.189 4.16 The ratio between sheets and beds in the towns of Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury, 1662-1743 p.192 4.17 The number and percentage of individuals who owned multiples of sheets in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662- 1753 p.194 4.18 The number and percentage of individuals who bequeathed beds in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662- 1753 p.195 4.19 The range of bedroom valuations in private households from the inventory sample of Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury, 1662-1753 p.196 4.20 The number and percentage of closets in the Ludlow, Hereford and Tewkesbury inventory sample, 1662- 1753 p.198 List of Illustrations 1:1 A drawing of the centre of Ludlow illustrating the main streets p.40.