Kaijage, Fred J. (1975) Labouring Barnsley, 1816-1856 : a social and economic history. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

In the closing years of the 18th century, as linen weaving was
displaced by cotton in many English towns, the industry took refuge in a
few localities, one of which was the township of Barnsley. The Barnsley
linen industry expanded in the first three decades of the 19th century
and attracted a large immigrant labour force. But owing to competition
from cotton and from linen produced in Ireland and Scotland, the town's
linen trade began to decline. By the mid-1850's, it was no longer the
staple industry. Coal had replaced it.
This study examines the social and economic structure of Barnsley
during its rapid urbanization. By employing statistical sources
traditionally neglected by historians, it goes beyond other social and
economic histories of the period. The problems of the Bnglish linen trade,
whose history has never been written, are discussed. The plight of the
linen weavers who suffered from chronic unemployment, declining wages and
bad living conditions, is compared and contrasted with the position of
the coal miners, whose industry, in the last years of our period, enjoyed
prosperity. The industrial militancy of the weavers, who persistently
tried to resist wage reductions, contrasted with the relative docility of
the miners.
Barnsley played a prominent role in radicalism, Chartism and other
working-class movements of the early 19th century. This thesis aims to
relate these developments to the community in which they took place. The
class-consciousness of the Barnsley workers had marry roots: the peculiar
problems of the linen trade; the oligarchic nature of its parochial
institutions, dominated by employers; and the influence of its immigrant
population. The ideas which interacted with these forces are also
discussed.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Barnsley (England) -- History -- 19th century, Barnsley (England) -- Social conditions -- 19th century, Barnsley (England) -- Economic conditions -- 19th century, Urbanization -- England -- Barnsley, Linen industry -- England -- Barnsley
Official Date:	December 1975
Dates:	Date Event December 1975 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Social History
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Harrison, Royden ; Shepherd, Michael
Sponsors:	Rockefeller Foundation
Extent:	572 leaves
Language:	eng

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