The nineteenth-century metropolitan economy: A revisionist interpretation

London Journal

Volumn 21, Issue 1, 1996, Pages

  Green, David ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 10044249087     PISSN: 03058034     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1179/ldn.1998.21.1.9     Document Type: Review

References (81)

1. D. Defoe, The Mercantile Library or the Complete English Tradesman (1766), 206-07.
2. R. Davis, The Rise of the English Shipping Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (1962).
3. This widely held view is found, for example, in P. Hall, The Industries of London Since 1861 (1962), 55, 86; G. Stedman Jones, Outcast London (Oxford, 1971), 27-30; R. Porter, London: A Social History (1994), 198; L. Schwarz, London in the Age of Industrialisation (Cambridge, 1992), 31-33.
4. This widely held view is found, for example, in P. Hall, The Industries of London Since 1861 (1962), 55, 86; G. Stedman Jones, Outcast London (Oxford, 1971), 27-30; R. Porter, London: A Social History (1994), 198; L. Schwarz, London in the Age of Industrialisation (Cambridge, 1992), 31-33.
5. This widely held view is found, for example, in P. Hall, The Industries of London Since 1861 (1962), 55, 86; G. Stedman Jones, Outcast London (Oxford, 1971), 27-30; R. Porter, London: A Social History (1994), 198; L. Schwarz, London in the Age of Industrialisation (Cambridge, 1992), 31-33.
6. This widely held view is found, for example, in P. Hall, The Industries of London Since 1861 (1962), 55, 86; G. Stedman Jones, Outcast London (Oxford, 1971), 27-30; R. Porter, London: A Social History (1994), 198; L. Schwarz, London in the Age of Industrialisation (Cambridge, 1992), 31-33.
7. Francis Place provides a good example of upward social mobility. Starting as a journeyman breeches maker in 1791 he soon employed over 30 tailors and by 1816 his profits were £3000 a year. See F. Place, The Autobiography of Francis Place (1972), edited by M. Thale.
8. See Jones (1971), 33-51; Schwarz (1992), is one of the few to recognise the significance of long run fluctuations as well as the impact of seasonality. See also D. Green, From Artisans to Paupers (Aldershot, 1995), 32-57.
9. In 1851, for example, Schwarz estimates that London contained 43.8 per cent of the total number of commercial clerks in the country and 39.7 per cent of its lawyers. See Schwarz, (1992), 23-30, 41.
10. See C. Lee, 'Regional Growth and Structural Change in Victorian Britain', Economic History Review 2nd ser, XXXIII (1981), 450-51; idem. 'The Service Sector, Regional Specialization, and Economic Growth in the Victorian Economy', Journal of Historical Geography, 10 (1984), 149-53.
11. See C. Lee, 'Regional Growth and Structural Change in Victorian Britain', Economic History Review 2nd ser, XXXIII (1981), 450-51; idem. 'The Service Sector, Regional Specialization, and Economic Growth in the Victorian Economy', Journal of Historical Geography, 10 (1984), 149-53.
12. H. Southall, 'The Origins of the Depressed Areas: Unemployment, Growth and Regional Economic Structure in Britain before 1914', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, XLI (1988), 245, 250-55.
13. D. Aldcroft and P. Fearon (eds.), British Economic Fluctuations 1790-1939, (1972), 8-14; N. Crafts, S. Leybourne and T. Mills, 'Trends and Cycles in British Industrial Production 1700-1913', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, CLII (1989), 58.
14. D. Aldcroft and P. Fearon (eds.), British Economic Fluctuations 1790-1939, (1972), 8-14; N. Crafts, S. Leybourne and T. Mills, 'Trends and Cycles in British Industrial Production 1700-1913', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, CLII (1989), 58.
15. R. Davis, The Industrial Revolution and British Overseas Trade (1979), p. 89.
16. H. Hyndman, Commercial Crises of the Nineteenth Century (1892), 33.
17. L. Jenks, The Migration of British Capital to 1875 (1971).
18. S. Pollard, The Decline of Shipbuilding on the Thames', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, III (1950), 79. For a discussion of the ensuing set of bankruptcies see M. Lester, 'Insolvency and Reform of English Bankruptcy Law 1831-1914', D.Phil, thesis, Oxford (1990).
19. S. Pollard, The Decline of Shipbuilding on the Thames', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, III (1950), 79. For a discussion of the ensuing set of bankruptcies see M. Lester, 'Insolvency and Reform of English Bankruptcy Law 1831-1914', D.Phil, thesis, Oxford (1990).
20. There is a growing literature on regional economic change during the Industrial Revolution. See M. Berg and P. Hudson, 'Rehabilitating the Industrial Revolution', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, XLV (1992), 38-39; P. Hudson, The Industrial Revolution (1992), 101-32; E. Hunt, 'Industrialisation and Regional Inequalities: Wages in Britain 1760-1914', Journal of Economic History, XLVI (1986), 935-66; J. Langton, 'The Industrial Revolution and the Regional Geography of England', Transactions of the Institute of British Geography, new series, 9 (1984), 145-67.
21. There is a growing literature on regional economic change during the Industrial Revolution. See M. Berg and P. Hudson, 'Rehabilitating the Industrial Revolution', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, XLV (1992), 38-39; P. Hudson, The Industrial Revolution (1992), 101-32; E. Hunt, 'Industrialisation and Regional Inequalities: Wages in Britain 1760-1914', Journal of Economic History, XLVI (1986), 935-66; J. Langton, 'The Industrial Revolution and the Regional Geography of England', Transactions of the Institute of British Geography, new series, 9 (1984), 145-67.
22. There is a growing literature on regional economic change during the Industrial Revolution. See M. Berg and P. Hudson, 'Rehabilitating the Industrial Revolution', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, XLV (1992), 38-39; P. Hudson, The Industrial Revolution (1992), 101-32; E. Hunt, 'Industrialisation and Regional Inequalities: Wages in Britain 1760-1914', Journal of Economic History, XLVI (1986), 935-66; J. Langton, 'The Industrial Revolution and the Regional Geography of England', Transactions of the Institute of British Geography, new series, 9 (1984), 145-67.
23. There is a growing literature on regional economic change during the Industrial Revolution. See M. Berg and P. Hudson, 'Rehabilitating the Industrial Revolution', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, XLV (1992), 38-39; P. Hudson, The Industrial Revolution (1992), 101-32; E. Hunt, 'Industrialisation and Regional Inequalities: Wages in Britain 1760-1914', Journal of Economic History, XLVI (1986), 935-66; J. Langton, 'The Industrial Revolution and the Regional Geography of England', Transactions of the Institute of British Geography, new series, 9 (1984), 145-67.
24. In 1861 more than one in ten adult male workers in London were directly employed in building, and many more depended indirectly on the construction of houses. The long turnover time of investment in building means that construction tends to lag behind more sensitive indicators of change.
25. The figures are drawn from the published series in F. Sheppard, V. Belcher and P. Cottrell, The Middlesex and Yorkshire Deeds Registries and the Study of Building Fluctuations', The London Journal, 5 (1979), 212-14. Middlesex is used here as a surrogate for London which also included the metropolitan parishes of Kent and Surrey.
26. A. Cairncross and B. Weber, 'Fluctuations in Building in Great Britain 1785-1849', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, IX (1956) 292.
27. P. Colquhoun, Treatise on the Commerce and Police of the River Thames (1800), xxx-xxxii.
28. H. Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor (1968, first edition 1861), vol. 3, 300-12.
29. J. Hoppit, 'Financial Crises in Eighteenth-Century England', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, XXXIX (1986), 51-8; idem. Risk and Failure in English Business 1700-1800 (Cambridge, 1987), 106-20.
30. J. Hoppit, 'Financial Crises in Eighteenth-Century England', Economic History Review, 2nd ser, XXXIX (1986), 51-8; idem. Risk and Failure in English Business 1700-1800 (Cambridge, 1987), 106-20.
31. M. Lester, Insolvency and Reform (1990), 8.
32. I. Duffy, 'Bankruptcy and Insolvency in London in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Century', D.Phil, thesis, Oxford (1973), 165-176; A. Gayer, W. Rostow and A. Schwarz, The Growth and Fluctuations of the British Economy, 1790-1850 (Oxford, 1953), vol. 2, 885-87; NJ. Silberling, 'British Prices and Business Cycles 1779-1850', Review of Economic Statistics, V (1923), 236-39.
33. I. Duffy, 'Bankruptcy and Insolvency in London in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Century', D.Phil, thesis, Oxford (1973), 165-176; A. Gayer, W. Rostow and A. Schwarz, The Growth and Fluctuations of the British Economy, 1790-1850 (Oxford, 1953), vol. 2, 885-87; NJ. Silberling, 'British Prices and Business Cycles 1779-1850', Review of Economic Statistics, V (1923), 236-39.
34. I. Duffy, 'Bankruptcy and Insolvency in London in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Century', D.Phil, thesis, Oxford (1973), 165-176; A. Gayer, W. Rostow and A. Schwarz, The Growth and Fluctuations of the British Economy, 1790-1850 (Oxford, 1953), vol. 2, 885-87; NJ. Silberling, 'British Prices and Business Cycles 1779-1850', Review of Economic Statistics, V (1923), 236-39.
35. Hoppit, Risk and Failure (1987), 63. The number of bankruptcies for London from 1790 to 1860 can be found in Green, Artisans to Paupers (1995), 254-56.
36. Hoppit, Risk and Failure (1987), 63. The number of bankruptcies for London from 1790 to 1860 can be found in Green, Artisans to Paupers (1995), 254-56.
37. Hoppit, (1987), 59-74.
38. H. Mayhew, The Morning Chronicle Survey, vol. 3 (Firle, 1981), 149.
39. See footnote 3.
40. Parliamentary Papers, 1843, XIV Royal Commission on Children's Employment, 834, 838.
41. Northern Star, 2 November 1850. See Green (1995), 163.
42. G. Dodd, Days at the Factories (1843) includes descriptions of visits to 22 establishments in different trades which 'were conducted on a scale sufficiently large to involve something like "factory" arrange-ments'.
43. B. Alford, 'Government Expenditure and the Growth of the Printing Industry in the Nineteenth Century', Economic History Review, 2nd ser., XVII (1964), 107.
44. Northern Star 17 January 1852.
45. In Camberwell between 1850 and 1852 over 90 per cent of builders constructed fewer than 12 houses. See H.J. Dyos, Victorian Suburb (Leicester, 1977), 125.
46. Reynolds Newspaper, 14 August 1859.
47. G. Shaw Lefevre and T. Bennett, 'An Account of the Strike and Lock-out in the Building Trades of London in 1859-60' in Trade Societies and Strikes, National Association for the Promotion of Social Science (1860), 52.
48. Gorgon, 17 October, 1818; London Mercury, 26 March, 18 June 1837.
49. Gorgon, 17 October, 1818; London Mercury, 26 March, 18 June 1837.
50. P. Mathias, The Transformation of England (1979), 220.
51. The figures are derived by dividing the total number of engineers recorded in the 1851 census with the number of engineering firms entered in the 1852 Post Office Directory.
52. This is one of the messages that emerges from a reading of E. P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (Harmondsworth, 1968). For a recent critical discussion of class and regional forms of consciousness see P. Joyce, Visions of the People (Cambridge, 1991), 66-7.
53. This is one of the messages that emerges from a reading of E. P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (Harmondsworth, 1968). For a recent critical discussion of class and regional forms of consciousness see P. Joyce, Visions of the People (Cambridge, 1991), 66-7.
54. For wider discussions of working-class radicalism and labour politics in London see D. Goodway, London Chartism, 1838-48 (Cambridge, 1982); I. Prothero, Artisans and Politics in Early Nineteenth-Century London (1979); J. Stevenson (ed.) London in the Age of Reform (Oxford, 1977); idem. Popular Disturbances in England 1700-1832 (1992), 205-25.
55. For wider discussions of working-class radicalism and labour politics in London see D. Goodway, London Chartism, 1838-48 (Cambridge, 1982); I. Prothero, Artisans and Politics in Early Nineteenth-Century London (1979); J. Stevenson (ed.) London in the Age of Reform (Oxford, 1977); idem. Popular Disturbances in England 1700-1832 (1992), 205-25.
56. For wider discussions of working-class radicalism and labour politics in London see D. Goodway, London Chartism, 1838-48 (Cambridge, 1982); I. Prothero, Artisans and Politics in Early Nineteenth-Century London (1979); J. Stevenson (ed.) London in the Age of Reform (Oxford, 1977); idem. Popular Disturbances in England 1700-1832 (1992), 205-25.
57. For wider discussions of working-class radicalism and labour politics in London see D. Goodway, London Chartism, 1838-48 (Cambridge, 1982); I. Prothero, Artisans and Politics in Early Nineteenth-Century London (1979); J. Stevenson (ed.) London in the Age of Reform (Oxford, 1977); idem. Popular Disturbances in England 1700-1832 (1992), 205-25.
58. C. R. Dobson, Masters and Journeymen (1980), 22.
59. For more detailed discussion see Green (1995), 106-35.
60. Trades Newspaper and Mechanics Weekly Journal, 4 March 1827.
61. E. Howe, Newspaper Printing in the Nineteenth Century (1943), 5.
62. Reynolds Newspaper, 2 October 1853, 2 December 1856.
63. Reply of the Journeymen Bookbinders, 1831, 6; Dodd, (1843), 363-67.
64. Memorial of the Machinists and Engineers, 1813, quoted in A. Aspinall, The Early English Trade Unions (1949), 161-63; To the Manufacturers and Tradesmen of the United Kingdom, 1813; Meeting of the Committee of Master Manufacturers, 1813.
65. Memorial of the Machinists and Engineers, 1813, quoted in A. Aspinall, The Early English Trade Unions (1949), 161-63; To the Manufacturers and Tradesmen of the United Kingdom, 1813; Meeting of the Committee of Master Manufacturers, 1813.
66. Memorial of the Machinists and Engineers, 1813, quoted in A. Aspinall, The Early English Trade Unions (1949), 161-63; To the Manufacturers and Tradesmen of the United Kingdom, 1813; Meeting of the Committee of Master Manufacturers, 1813.
67. Parliamentary Paper 1825 IV Select Committee on the Combination Laws, 189-91.
68. London Mercury, 26 March, 18 June 1837, Northern Star 2, 30 September 1843, 24 August 1850; Place Collection, vol. 53, folio 62, 77.
69. London Mercury, 26 March, 18 June 1837, Northern Star 2, 30 September 1843, 24 August 1850; Place Collection, vol. 53, folio 62, 77.
70. London Mercury, 26 March, 18 June 1837, Northern Star 2, 30 September 1843, 24 August 1850; Place Collection, vol. 53, folio 62, 77.
71. Meeting of the Committee of Master Manufacturers ... to consider the best means of supporting Mr Serjeant Onslaw's intended motion for the repeal of the statute of the 5th Elizabeth (1813).
72. The Times, 19 July 1819; O. H. K. Spate, 'Geographical Aspects of the Industrial Evolution of London till 1850', Geographical Journal 92, (1938), 423.
73. The Times, 19 July 1819; O. H. K. Spate, 'Geographical Aspects of the Industrial Evolution of London till 1850', Geographical Journal 92, (1938), 423.
74. J. Richter, The Origin, Object and Operation of the Apprentice Laws, (1814), 21.
75. Operative, 5 May 1839.
76. Parliamentary Paper 1843 XIV Royal Commission on Children's Employment, 806.
77. The strike, which continued for over six months, failed to prevent the spread of cheap labour. Census figures show that between 1841 and 1851 there was a threefold increase in the number of girls under 20 years of age employed in the book trade, compared to a fall in the number of boys. In the larger firms, female piece, workers were used to replace hourly paid male artisans, occasioning further disputes. See An Address to the British and Foreign Bible Society . . .,1849; Appeal of the journeymen bookbinders, 1849; Reply to a letter from . . . the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1849; Northern Star, 14 August 1841; E. Howe, The London Compositor (1947), p. 302.
78. The strike, which continued for over six months, failed to prevent the spread of cheap labour. Census figures show that between 1841 and 1851 there was a threefold increase in the number of girls under 20 years of age employed in the book trade, compared to a fall in the number of boys. In the larger firms, female piece, workers were used to replace hourly paid male artisans, occasioning further disputes. See An Address to the British and Foreign Bible Society . . .,1849; Appeal of the journeymen bookbinders, 1849; Reply to a letter from . . . the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1849; Northern Star, 14 August 1841; E. Howe, The London Compositor (1947), p. 302.
79. The strike, which continued for over six months, failed to prevent the spread of cheap labour. Census figures show that between 1841 and 1851 there was a threefold increase in the number of girls under 20 years of age employed in the book trade, compared to a fall in the number of boys. In the larger firms, female piece, workers were used to replace hourly paid male artisans, occasioning further disputes. See An Address to the British and Foreign Bible Society . . .,1849; Appeal of the journeymen bookbinders, 1849; Reply to a letter from . . . the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1849; Northern Star, 14 August 1841; E. Howe, The London Compositor (1947), p. 302.
80. The strike, which continued for over six months, failed to prevent the spread of cheap labour. Census figures show that between 1841 and 1851 there was a threefold increase in the number of girls under 20 years of age employed in the book trade, compared to a fall in the number of boys. In the larger firms, female piece, workers were used to replace hourly paid male artisans, occasioning further disputes. See An Address to the British and Foreign Bible Society . . .,1849; Appeal of the journeymen bookbinders, 1849; Reply to a letter from . . . the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1849; Northern Star, 14 August 1841; E. Howe, The London Compositor (1947), p. 302.
81. The strike, which continued for over six months, failed to prevent the spread of cheap labour. Census figures show that between 1841 and 1851 there was a threefold increase in the number of girls under 20 years of age employed in the book trade, compared to a fall in the number of boys. In the larger firms, female piece, workers were used to replace hourly paid male artisans, occasioning further disputes. See An Address to the British and Foreign Bible Society . . .,1849; Appeal of the journeymen bookbinders, 1849; Reply to a letter from . . . the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1849; Northern Star, 14 August 1841; E. Howe, The London Compositor (1947), p. 302.