The Local Historian Volume 17 Number 4 November 1986

By Ken Kirkham

In a previous article (15 08 464-467) Kirkman discussed the Pinner Local History Society's project to computerise the local data from the 1841-1881 censuses. The present article shows how the availability of the data in computerised form allowed the next stage of the project, the analyses of a range of social and economic patterns and trends, to proceed. The analysis was within a historical context of rapid change, including the building of the railway line through the parish in 1837 and the opening of the station in 1844. The socio-economic changes were investigated, looking at: i) occupational structures; ii) social class; iii) the linkages between changing class structures and in-migration; iv) the rapid decline in agriculture as the mainstay of the local economy; v) continuity of occupation over the census periods; and vi) changes in occupations of specific individuals in response to the altering economic structure of the area. These themes are illustrated with a series of statistical tables.

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By Michael Sill

The tithe files were the documentation which preceded and accompanied the process of tithe commutation as a result of the 1836 Act. They were the prelude to the preparation of valuations, maps and apportionments, the latter sources being much more familiar to local historians. The files comprise questionnaires which collected evidence about the state of agriculture in each tithe district, giving information about such matters as rental values, soil conditions, livestock numbers, the types of farming practised, yields and prices and the existence or otherwise of special local conditions which affected these factors. They were systematically produced and give a very wide-ranging and informative picture of the state of farming and land use in the years immediately after 1836. In this article Sill, having emphasised the potential of this source, discusses case-studies from the eastern half of county Durham, looking at: i) land use patterns circa 1840; ii) farming conditions and the types of crops grown; iii) the quality of farmland and the comments of the Tithe Commissioners; iv) the relationship between agriculture and coal-mining; and v) the financial and economic state of agriculture in this part of the county. He highlights the considerable potential of tithe files for detailed research into the development of farming and the impact of recent changes on the agriculture patterns of a locality.

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By John R. Howe

A study of William Green of Shepscombe, Gloucestershire, a member of Painswick parish council in the early 1900s. Howe argues that research into the local politics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries has been concentrated very heavily upon London and the larger cities, and that county councils, district councils and parish councils have been given too little attention. He introduces the background to the 1894 Local Government Act and then discusses its impact, notably in the creation of democratically-elected parish councils. There is a detailed account of the electoral process in Painswick in 1894, including attempts to prevent party politics being employed (by, in effect, fixing preliminary meetings to avoid a context). These failed and a poll had to be held. The article then analyses the results of elections in Gloucestershire as a whole, using detailed information published in the local newspapers, and considers the social, economic and professional status of the candidates and those elected. William Green, a Liberal, was not elected in 1894 but persisted and finally became a member of the parish council in March 1901, after the first fervour of electoral politics had subsided. His election was unopposed.

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By Margaret Kinnell

Bibliographical review article which considers recent work on the history of children and childhood. The article begins with an assessment of works on the nature of childhood as an independent subject of study, and then discusses books on the demographic and population aspects of childhood and the family. There is a review of a selection of local studies on demographic themes, including child mortality and infanticide, and then consideration of biographical and autobiographical sources. Analyses of family life and the nature of the household, as well as of intra-family relationships, are discussed, and it is noted that much work in this field has been informed by sociology rather than history. Working-class childhoods and rural childhoods have been the subject of important published works, and there is a substantial assessment of the importance and relevance of education. The final section deals with another theme which is of growing importance in historical research, child labour. There is a comprehensive bibliography of all the works referred to in the article.

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By John Benson

Penny capitalism is the term given to the forms of small-scale entrepreneurial activity which were practised by the working classes in the 19th century to augment their regular earnings or to provide alternative sources of income. Examples given include hair-cutting, washing and ironing, casual retailing, and keeping allotments. The article gives a detailed analysis of the rationale for these activities, citing much contemporary evidence, but notes that serious research has been very limited - although there are often casual references, and although these activities were ubiquitous, they are almost by definition likely to be largely undocumented. Attention is therefore drawn to the importance of oral history evidence, and Benson discusses Elizabeth Roberts' findings in her studies of Barrow, Lancaster and Preston. The relevance of penny capitalism to themes such as upward social mobility, the nature of the domestic economy, and trade unionism and other forms of labour organisation, are considered. It is suggested that there is much scope for local historians to investigate this subject by looking at detailed case-studies and local examples.

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By J.L. Ferns

The Walker Company was founded at Grenoside near Sheffield in the early 18th century and in 1746 moved to new works at Masbrough in Rotherham. There it began to specialise in making cannon. In this article Ferns traces the development of this industry during the later 18th and early 19th centuries, highlighting the crucial role which the Company played in equipping the navy during the Napoleonic Wars. He then outlines his methods for tracking down surviving examples of cannon made by Walkers of Rotherham, and by their offshoot, the Walker firm at Gospel Oak Works in Tipton, Staffordshire, using their distinctive marks and code numbers. He eventually identified a total of 160 from Rotherham and 40 from Tipton, in locations all over the world including, most famously, HMS Victory in Portsmouth.