Women Workers in Sheffield’s Metal Trades, c.1742-1867 Laura Róisín Bracey A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Sheffield Faculty of Arts and Humanities Department of History September 2016 ii Abstract This thesis will consider the economic and social lives of women who were engaged in Sheffield’s metal trades. The timeframe for this research – c.1742-1867 – is significant as 1742 saw the introduction of the crucible method of producing steel and the invention of Old Sheffield Plate. The introduction of the Bessemer converter and large-scale production of steel took place in the 1860s. Sheffield’s metal trades constituted a distinctive working context due to the continuation of the workshop-based production, subdivision of labour and the organisation of the industry through the Cutlers’ Company. Women’s contribution to the labour force during the Industrial Revolution has been the focus of studies since Ivy Pinchbeck’s book Women Workers and the Industrial Revolution 1750-1850 was published in 1930, yet still, historians acknowledge the unresolved issues of the scale and nature of women’s participation. This study contributes to these debates by considering an industry in which women were a minority in the workforce, and will include analysis of businesswomen and of women employed in the metal trades. These women faced restrictions through a lack of training, discourse against them, and a lack of organisational change by the Cutlers’ Company. Despite these restrictions, the metal trades offered some women relatively high wages compared with other industries, although not always a stable form of employment. Women worked in a variety of roles often, but not exclusively, associated with the finishing processes of metal goods. Family was important in this working context, and could bring opportunities to women’s working lives. This working environment could enable women’s domestic and working roles to be combined. Although women were a minority within the metal trades, their experiences reflected diversity within this group. A Collaborative Doctoral Award with Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield funded this thesis. This collaboration impacted positively upon the thesis and provided benefits for the museum’s collections and displays. iii Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................v List of Graphs .................................................................................................................................. vi List of Illustrations ....................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ viii List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ....................................................................................................................... pp. 1-45 Chapter one: “Heavy and dirty work, more suitable for men”: The Scale of Women's Partipcation in Sheffield's Metal Trades .............................................................. pp. 46-94 Chapter two: The Households and Space of Women Working in the Metal Trades: Burgess Street and Beyond ..................................................................................... pp. 95-141 Chapter three: Wages and the Regularity of Work for Women Working in Sheffield's Metal Trades ........................................................................................... pp. 142-84 Chapter four: Women and their Money: Inheritance, Charity and Saving in Sheffield’s metal trades .......................................................................................... pp. 185-224 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... pp. 225-50 Appendix one: Non-metal trades and metal trades in trade directories (including trade and commercial sections), 1774-1865 ............................................................ p. 251 Appendix two: Occupation key code and the types of metal trades women in Sheffield participated in identified in census abstracts and trade directories……….pp. 252-7 Appendix three: List of women working in the metal trade on Burgess Street in individual census returns, 1841-1861 ................................................................ pp. 257-60 Appendix four: Number of male and female rate payers for Burgess Street, 1756- 1861 ................................................................................................................................... pp. 260-1 Appendix five: Note on Method ...................................................................................... p. 261 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. pp. 262-94 iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Karen Harvey for her enthusiasm, academic support and continued encouragement throughout my Ph.D. I have also benefited from the academic support of Andrew Heath, Clare Griffiths and Alison Duce. The staff at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield have been encouraging of my research and I have benefited greatly from their knowledge of the local industry. I have also enjoyed my time in Sheffield Archives and Sheffield Local Studies Library, where the staff have been a great help and a cheerful addition during my time researching. Local historians including David Hey, Ken Hawley and Christine Ball ignited my imagination for researching women in Sheffield’s metal trades. My teachers, lecturers and peers at Guilsborough School, University of Liverpool and University of Sheffield have supported and encouraged my academic work. My family and friends have been a support beyond words for which I am very grateful. Particular thanks go to Mum, Dad, Anna and Matt. This thesis is dedicated to my very much loved and missed Godfather, Barrie Cannings. v List of Graphs Graph 1.1: The commercial and trade sections of six trade directories, p. 60. Graph 1.2: The number of entries made by women in the metal trades in sixteen trade directories, 1774-1865, p. 68. Graph 1.3: A comparison of directory entries (per cent) by women in the metal/non- metal trades, 1774-1865, p. 70. Graph 1.4: The type of metal trades women participated in based on trade directories and census abstracts, p. 75. Graph 1.5: A comparative age profile of women in the metal trades: based on census returns 1841-61, p. 77. Graph 3.1: The mean weekly wage (in pence) for a woman during her period of employment in Hague and Nowill (1786-1850), Henry Atkin and Oxley (1828-40) and Thomas Firth Company (January 1844-November 1846), p. 157. Graph 3.2: The mean weekly wage in each year for women who were linked to the family business compared to the remaining women workers, 1786-1846, p. 160. Graph 3.3: Daily wage (d.) of women working in various metal trades indicated in the flood claims, 1864, p. 163. Graph 3.4: The mean weekly wage for men and women each month during the years 1801, 1829 and 1846, p. 169. Graph 3.5: Wage comparison between men and women in similar metal trades work indicated in the flood claims, 1864, p. 171. Graph 3.6: The percentage of time worked in the period of employment for short, mid and long-term women workers, 1786-1846, p. 177. vi List of Illustrations Figure 2.1: Hannah Shaw Magnet company sales ledger, 1856, p. 95. Figure 2.2: Women’s directory entries plotted on a map of Sheffield with Burgess Street circled, 1774-1865, p. 107. Figure 2.3: Plans of Burgess Street in 1768, with revisions in 1794 made by William Fairbank, p. 123. Figure 2.4: Ordnance Survey Map of Sheffield, 1850, p. 124. Figure 2.5 The Graphic, November 28th 1874, p. 132. Figure 4.1: Portrait of Elizabeth Parkin, 1766, p. 185. Figure 4.2: Mary Parson’s Plaque, Sheffield Cathedral, p. 206. Figure 5.1: Current displays at Kelham Island Museum including the story of male workers in Sheffield’s metal trades, p. 240. Figure 5.2: Current displays at Kelham Island Museum on women working in Sheffield’s metal trades during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries, p. 240. Figure 5.3: Archival material at Kelham Island Museum that has been catalogued by Laura Bracey (section one), p. 243. Figure 5.4: Archival material at Kelham Island Museum that has been catalogued by Laura Bracey (section two), p. 243. Figure 5.5: Current display at Kelham Island Museum of a typical street in Sheffield, p. 247. Figure 5.6: Current display at Kelham Island Museum of a watchmaker’s workshop, p. 247. Figure 5.7: ‘Women of Steel’ statue and the fundraisers of this project, p. 250. vii List of Tables Table 1.1: Number and proportion of women and men in Sheffield involved in the metal trades in census abstracts, 1841-61, p. 62. Table 1.2: Female occupations in principle towns (Sheffield Borough), 1851 and 1861 censuses, pp. 63-4. Table 1.3: The number and age of workers in the metal trades as indicated in commissioner report evidence, 1843, p. 67. Table 1.4: Men and women in Sheffield’s metal trades from trade directories (1774, 1787, 1837, 1861), p. 72. Table 1.5: The age (under and over 20 years of age) of women involved in the metal trades,