'... subjects deserving of the highest praise': Farmers' wives and the farm economy in England, c. 1700-1850

Agricultural History Review

Volumn 51, Issue 1, 2003, Pages 23-39

  Verdon, Nicola ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 2342557319     PISSN: 00021490     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (139)

1. Charles Vancouver, General view of the agriculture of the county of Devon (London, 1808), p. 112.
2. See for example, Joyce Burnette, 'Laborers at the Oakes. Changes in the demand for female day-laborers at a farm near Sheffield during the Agricultural Revolution', JEcH 39 (1999), pp. 41-67; Judy Gielgud, 'Nineteenth-century farm women in Northumberland and Cumbria: the neglected workforce' (DPhil thesis, University of Sussex, 1992); Celia Miller, 'The hidden workforce: female fieldworkers in Gloucestershire, 1870-1901', Southern Hist. 6 (1984), pp. 139-161; Pamela Sharpe, 'The female labour market in English agriculture during the Industrial Revolution: expansion or contraction?', AgHR 47 (1999), pp. 161-181; Helen V. Speechley, 'Female and child agricultural day labourers in Somerset, c. 1685-1870' (PhD thesis, University of Exeter, 1999); Nicola Verdon, Rural women workers in nineteenth-century England: gender, work and wages (2002).
3. See for example, Joyce Burnette, 'Laborers at the Oakes. Changes in the demand for female day-laborers at a farm near Sheffield during the Agricultural Revolution', JEcH 39 (1999), pp. 41-67; Judy Gielgud, 'Nineteenth-century farm women in Northumberland and Cumbria: the neglected workforce' (DPhil thesis, University of Sussex, 1992); Celia Miller, 'The hidden workforce: female fieldworkers in Gloucestershire, 1870-1901', Southern Hist. 6 (1984), pp. 139-161; Pamela Sharpe, 'The female labour market in English agriculture during the Industrial Revolution: expansion or contraction?', AgHR 47 (1999), pp. 161-181; Helen V. Speechley, 'Female and child agricultural day labourers in Somerset, c. 1685-1870' (PhD thesis, University of Exeter, 1999); Nicola Verdon, Rural women workers in nineteenth-century England: gender, work and wages (2002).
4. See for example, Joyce Burnette, 'Laborers at the Oakes. Changes in the demand for female day-laborers at a farm near Sheffield during the Agricultural Revolution', JEcH 39 (1999), pp. 41-67; Judy Gielgud, 'Nineteenth-century farm women in Northumberland and Cumbria: the neglected workforce' (DPhil thesis, University of Sussex, 1992); Celia Miller, 'The hidden workforce: female fieldworkers in Gloucestershire, 1870-1901', Southern Hist. 6 (1984), pp. 139-161; Pamela Sharpe, 'The female labour market in English agriculture during the Industrial Revolution: expansion or contraction?', AgHR 47 (1999), pp. 161-181; Helen V. Speechley, 'Female and child agricultural day labourers in Somerset, c. 1685-1870' (PhD thesis, University of Exeter, 1999); Nicola Verdon, Rural women workers in nineteenth-century England: gender, work and wages (2002).
5. See for example, Joyce Burnette, 'Laborers at the Oakes. Changes in the demand for female day-laborers at a farm near Sheffield during the Agricultural Revolution', JEcH 39 (1999), pp. 41-67; Judy Gielgud, 'Nineteenth-century farm women in Northumberland and Cumbria: the neglected workforce' (DPhil thesis, University of Sussex, 1992); Celia Miller, 'The hidden workforce: female fieldworkers in Gloucestershire, 1870-1901', Southern Hist. 6 (1984), pp. 139-161; Pamela Sharpe, 'The female labour market in English agriculture during the Industrial Revolution: expansion or contraction?', AgHR 47 (1999), pp. 161-181; Helen V. Speechley, 'Female and child agricultural day labourers in Somerset, c. 1685-1870' (PhD thesis, University of Exeter, 1999); Nicola Verdon, Rural women workers in nineteenth-century England: gender, work and wages (2002).
6. See for example, Joyce Burnette, 'Laborers at the Oakes. Changes in the demand for female day-laborers at a farm near Sheffield during the Agricultural Revolution', JEcH 39 (1999), pp. 41-67; Judy Gielgud, 'Nineteenth-century farm women in Northumberland and Cumbria: the neglected workforce' (DPhil thesis, University of Sussex, 1992); Celia Miller, 'The hidden workforce: female fieldworkers in Gloucestershire, 1870-1901', Southern Hist. 6 (1984), pp. 139-161; Pamela Sharpe, 'The female labour market in English agriculture during the Industrial Revolution: expansion or contraction?', AgHR 47 (1999), pp. 161-181; Helen V. Speechley, 'Female and child agricultural day labourers in Somerset, c. 1685-1870' (PhD thesis, University of Exeter, 1999); Nicola Verdon, Rural women workers in nineteenth-century England: gender, work and wages (2002).
7. See for example, Joyce Burnette, 'Laborers at the Oakes. Changes in the demand for female day-laborers at a farm near Sheffield during the Agricultural Revolution', JEcH 39 (1999), pp. 41-67; Judy Gielgud, 'Nineteenth-century farm women in Northumberland and Cumbria: the neglected workforce' (DPhil thesis, University of Sussex, 1992); Celia Miller, 'The hidden workforce: female fieldworkers in Gloucestershire, 1870-1901', Southern Hist. 6 (1984), pp. 139-161; Pamela Sharpe, 'The female labour market in English agriculture during the Industrial Revolution: expansion or contraction?', AgHR 47 (1999), pp. 161-181; Helen V. Speechley, 'Female and child agricultural day labourers in Somerset, c. 1685-1870' (PhD thesis, University of Exeter, 1999); Nicola Verdon, Rural women workers in nineteenth-century England: gender, work and wages (2002).
8. William Cobbett, Rural rides (1830, 1985 edn), p. 229.
9. J. C. Loudon, An encyclopaedia of agriculture (sec. edn, London, 1831), p. 1036.
10. Bridget Hill, Women, work and sexual politics in eighteenth-century England (1989, 1994 edn), p. 52.
11. Robert B. Shoemaker, Gender in English society, 1650-1850: the emergence of separate spheres? (1998), p. 157. For similar views see Leonore Davidoff, Worlds between: historical perspective on gender and class (1995), ch. 5. Pamela Horn also draws attention to the continuing importance of the labour of farmers' wives throughout the nineteenth century in many areas of England. See Pamela Horn, Victorian Countrywomen (1991), ch. 5.
12. Robert B. Shoemaker, Gender in English society, 1650-1850: the emergence of separate spheres? (1998), p. 157. For similar views see Leonore Davidoff, Worlds between: historical perspective on gender and class (1995), ch. 5. Pamela Horn also draws attention to the continuing importance of the labour of farmers' wives throughout the nineteenth century in many areas of England. See Pamela Horn, Victorian Countrywomen (1991), ch. 5.
13. Robert B. Shoemaker, Gender in English society, 1650-1850: the emergence of separate spheres? (1998), p. 157. For similar views see Leonore Davidoff, Worlds between: historical perspective on gender and class (1995), ch. 5. Pamela Horn also draws attention to the continuing importance of the labour of farmers' wives throughout the nineteenth century in many areas of England. See Pamela Horn, Victorian Countrywomen (1991), ch. 5.
14. Ivy Pinchbeck, Women workers and the Industrial Revolution, 1750-1850 (1930, 1981 edn), p. 33.
15. Ibid., p. 41.
16. G. E. Fussell, The English diary farmer, 1500-1900 (1966); David Taylor, 'The English dairy industry, 1860-1930', EcHR 29 (1976), pp. 585-601; David Taylor, 'Growth and structural change in the English dairy industry, c. 1860-1930', AgHR 35 (1987), pp. 47-64; Charles F. Foster, Cheshire cheese and farming in the north-west in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (1998).
17. G. E. Fussell, The English diary farmer, 1500-1900 (1966); David Taylor, 'The English dairy industry, 1860-1930', EcHR 29 (1976), pp. 585-601; David Taylor, 'Growth and structural change in the English dairy industry, c. 1860-1930', AgHR 35 (1987), pp. 47-64; Charles F. Foster, Cheshire cheese and farming in the north-west in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (1998).
18. G. E. Fussell, The English diary farmer, 1500-1900 (1966); David Taylor, 'The English dairy industry, 1860-1930', EcHR 29 (1976), pp. 585-601; David Taylor, 'Growth and structural change in the English dairy industry, c. 1860-1930', AgHR 35 (1987), pp. 47-64; Charles F. Foster, Cheshire cheese and farming in the north-west in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (1998).
19. G. E. Fussell, The English diary farmer, 1500-1900 (1966); David Taylor, 'The English dairy industry, 1860-1930', EcHR 29 (1976), pp. 585-601; David Taylor, 'Growth and structural change in the English dairy industry, c. 1860-1930', AgHR 35 (1987), pp. 47-64; Charles F. Foster, Cheshire cheese and farming in the north-west in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (1998).
20. Deborah Valenze, 'The art of women and the business of men: women's work and the dairy industry, c. 1740-1840', Past and Present 130 (1991), p. 166.
21. Sally McMurray, 'Women's work in agriculture: divergent trends in England and America, 1800 to 1930', Comparative Studies in Society and Hist. 34 (1992), pp. 252, 257.
22. See, for example, Berit Brandth and Marit Haugen, 'Rural women, feminism and the politics of identity', Sociologia Ruralis 37 (1997), pp. 325-344; Ruth Gasson, Farm work by farmers' wives (1989); id., 'Roles of women on farms: a pilot study', J. Agricultural Economics 32 (1981), pp. 11-20; Jo Little and Patricia Austin, 'Women and the rural idyll', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 101-111; Carol Morris and Nick Evans, '"Cheese makers are always women": gendered representations of farm life in the agricultural press', Gender, Place and Culture 8 (2001), pp. 375-390; D. Symes and T. Marsden, 'Complementary roles and asymmetrical lives: farmers' wives in a large farm environment', Sociologia Ruralis 23 (1983), pp. 229-241; Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather, 'Farm women in Canada, New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 1-14; Sarah Whatmore, Farming women: gender, work and family enterprise (1991).
23. See, for example, Berit Brandth and Marit Haugen, 'Rural women, feminism and the politics of identity', Sociologia Ruralis 37 (1997), pp. 325-344; Ruth Gasson, Farm work by farmers' wives (1989); id., 'Roles of women on farms: a pilot study', J. Agricultural Economics 32 (1981), pp. 11-20; Jo Little and Patricia Austin, 'Women and the rural idyll', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 101-111; Carol Morris and Nick Evans, '"Cheese makers are always women": gendered representations of farm life in the agricultural press', Gender, Place and Culture 8 (2001), pp. 375-390; D. Symes and T. Marsden, 'Complementary roles and asymmetrical lives: farmers' wives in a large farm environment', Sociologia Ruralis 23 (1983), pp. 229-241; Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather, 'Farm women in Canada, New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 1-14; Sarah Whatmore, Farming women: gender, work and family enterprise (1991).
24. See, for example, Berit Brandth and Marit Haugen, 'Rural women, feminism and the politics of identity', Sociologia Ruralis 37 (1997), pp. 325-344; Ruth Gasson, Farm work by farmers' wives (1989); id., 'Roles of women on farms: a pilot study', J. Agricultural Economics 32 (1981), pp. 11-20; Jo Little and Patricia Austin, 'Women and the rural idyll', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 101-111; Carol Morris and Nick Evans, '"Cheese makers are always women": gendered representations of farm life in the agricultural press', Gender, Place and Culture 8 (2001), pp. 375-390; D. Symes and T. Marsden, 'Complementary roles and asymmetrical lives: farmers' wives in a large farm environment', Sociologia Ruralis 23 (1983), pp. 229-241; Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather, 'Farm women in Canada, New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 1-14; Sarah Whatmore, Farming women: gender, work and family enterprise (1991).
25. See, for example, Berit Brandth and Marit Haugen, 'Rural women, feminism and the politics of identity', Sociologia Ruralis 37 (1997), pp. 325-344; Ruth Gasson, Farm work by farmers' wives (1989); id., 'Roles of women on farms: a pilot study', J. Agricultural Economics 32 (1981), pp. 11-20; Jo Little and Patricia Austin, 'Women and the rural idyll', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 101-111; Carol Morris and Nick Evans, '"Cheese makers are always women": gendered representations of farm life in the agricultural press', Gender, Place and Culture 8 (2001), pp. 375-390; D. Symes and T. Marsden, 'Complementary roles and asymmetrical lives: farmers' wives in a large farm environment', Sociologia Ruralis 23 (1983), pp. 229-241; Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather, 'Farm women in Canada, New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 1-14; Sarah Whatmore, Farming women: gender, work and family enterprise (1991).
26. See, for example, Berit Brandth and Marit Haugen, 'Rural women, feminism and the politics of identity', Sociologia Ruralis 37 (1997), pp. 325-344; Ruth Gasson, Farm work by farmers' wives (1989); id., 'Roles of women on farms: a pilot study', J. Agricultural Economics 32 (1981), pp. 11-20; Jo Little and Patricia Austin, 'Women and the rural idyll', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 101-111; Carol Morris and Nick Evans, '"Cheese makers are always women": gendered representations of farm life in the agricultural press', Gender, Place and Culture 8 (2001), pp. 375-390; D. Symes and T. Marsden, 'Complementary roles and asymmetrical lives: farmers' wives in a large farm environment', Sociologia Ruralis 23 (1983), pp. 229-241; Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather, 'Farm women in Canada, New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 1-14; Sarah Whatmore, Farming women: gender, work and family enterprise (1991).
27. See, for example, Berit Brandth and Marit Haugen, 'Rural women, feminism and the politics of identity', Sociologia Ruralis 37 (1997), pp. 325-344; Ruth Gasson, Farm work by farmers' wives (1989); id., 'Roles of women on farms: a pilot study', J. Agricultural Economics 32 (1981), pp. 11-20; Jo Little and Patricia Austin, 'Women and the rural idyll', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 101-111; Carol Morris and Nick Evans, '"Cheese makers are always women": gendered representations of farm life in the agricultural press', Gender, Place and Culture 8 (2001), pp. 375-390; D. Symes and T. Marsden, 'Complementary roles and asymmetrical lives: farmers' wives in a large farm environment', Sociologia Ruralis 23 (1983), pp. 229-241; Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather, 'Farm women in Canada, New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 1-14; Sarah Whatmore, Farming women: gender, work and family enterprise (1991).
28. See, for example, Berit Brandth and Marit Haugen, 'Rural women, feminism and the politics of identity', Sociologia Ruralis 37 (1997), pp. 325-344; Ruth Gasson, Farm work by farmers' wives (1989); id., 'Roles of women on farms: a pilot study', J. Agricultural Economics 32 (1981), pp. 11-20; Jo Little and Patricia Austin, 'Women and the rural idyll', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 101-111; Carol Morris and Nick Evans, '"Cheese makers are always women": gendered representations of farm life in the agricultural press', Gender, Place and Culture 8 (2001), pp. 375-390; D. Symes and T. Marsden, 'Complementary roles and asymmetrical lives: farmers' wives in a large farm environment', Sociologia Ruralis 23 (1983), pp. 229-241; Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather, 'Farm women in Canada, New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 1-14; Sarah Whatmore, Farming women: gender, work and family enterprise (1991).
29. See, for example, Berit Brandth and Marit Haugen, 'Rural women, feminism and the politics of identity', Sociologia Ruralis 37 (1997), pp. 325-344; Ruth Gasson, Farm work by farmers' wives (1989); id., 'Roles of women on farms: a pilot study', J. Agricultural Economics 32 (1981), pp. 11-20; Jo Little and Patricia Austin, 'Women and the rural idyll', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 101-111; Carol Morris and Nick Evans, '"Cheese makers are always women": gendered representations of farm life in the agricultural press', Gender, Place and Culture 8 (2001), pp. 375-390; D. Symes and T. Marsden, 'Complementary roles and asymmetrical lives: farmers' wives in a large farm environment', Sociologia Ruralis 23 (1983), pp. 229-241; Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather, 'Farm women in Canada, New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality', J. Rural Studies 12 (1996), pp. 1-14; Sarah Whatmore, Farming women: gender, work and family enterprise (1991).
30. M. E. Turner, J. V. Beckett and B. Afton, Farm production in England, 1700-1914 (2001), ch. 2.
31. Basil Cozens-Hardy (ed.), Mary Hardy's diary (Norfolk Record Soc., 37, 1968); Anne Hughes, The diary of a farmer's wife, 1796-1797 (1981). This journal was first published in the Farmers Weekly in the 19305. The material was arranged by Jeanne Preston from Anne Hughes' 'boke', which was read to Preston in childhood by an elderly acquaintance. The original manuscript has not survived. For reviews which question the authenticity of the diary, see G. H. Bunting, 'Did Anne Hughes exist?', Local Historian 14 (1980), pp. 168-9; Marghanita Laski, 'Down on the farm', County Life, 28 Aug. 1980, pp. 726-7; 'Another diary of a nobody', Private Eye, 4 Dec. 1981, p. 25.
32. Basil Cozens-Hardy (ed.), Mary Hardy's diary (Norfolk Record Soc., 37, 1968); Anne Hughes, The diary of a farmer's wife, 1796-1797 (1981). This journal was first published in the Farmers Weekly in the 19305. The material was arranged by Jeanne Preston from Anne Hughes' 'boke', which was read to Preston in childhood by an elderly acquaintance. The original manuscript has not survived. For reviews which question the authenticity of the diary, see G. H. Bunting, 'Did Anne Hughes exist?', Local Historian 14 (1980), pp. 168-9; Marghanita Laski, 'Down on the farm', County Life, 28 Aug. 1980, pp. 726-7; 'Another diary of a nobody', Private Eye, 4 Dec. 1981, p. 25.
33. Basil Cozens-Hardy (ed.), Mary Hardy's diary (Norfolk Record Soc., 37, 1968); Anne Hughes, The diary of a farmer's wife, 1796-1797 (1981). This journal was first published in the Farmers Weekly in the 19305. The material was arranged by Jeanne Preston from Anne Hughes' 'boke', which was read to Preston in childhood by an elderly acquaintance. The original manuscript has not survived. For reviews which question the authenticity of the diary, see G. H. Bunting, 'Did Anne Hughes exist?', Local Historian 14 (1980), pp. 168-9; Marghanita Laski, 'Down on the farm', County Life, 28 Aug. 1980, pp. 726-7; 'Another diary of a nobody', Private Eye, 4 Dec. 1981, p. 25.
34. Basil Cozens-Hardy (ed.), Mary Hardy's diary (Norfolk Record Soc., 37, 1968); Anne Hughes, The diary of a farmer's wife, 1796-1797 (1981). This journal was first published in the Farmers Weekly in the 19305. The material was arranged by Jeanne Preston from Anne Hughes' 'boke', which was read to Preston in childhood by an elderly acquaintance. The original manuscript has not survived. For reviews which question the authenticity of the diary, see G. H. Bunting, 'Did Anne Hughes exist?', Local Historian 14 (1980), pp. 168-9; Marghanita Laski, 'Down on the farm', County Life, 28 Aug. 1980, pp. 726-7; 'Another diary of a nobody', Private Eye, 4 Dec. 1981, p. 25.
35. Basil Cozens-Hardy (ed.), Mary Hardy's diary (Norfolk Record Soc., 37, 1968); Anne Hughes, The diary of a farmer's wife, 1796-1797 (1981). This journal was first published in the Farmers Weekly in the 19305. The material was arranged by Jeanne Preston from Anne Hughes' 'boke', which was read to Preston in childhood by an elderly acquaintance. The original manuscript has not survived. For reviews which question the authenticity of the diary, see G. H. Bunting, 'Did Anne Hughes exist?', Local Historian 14 (1980), pp. 168-9; Marghanita Laski, 'Down on the farm', County Life, 28 Aug. 1980, pp. 726-7; 'Another diary of a nobody', Private Eye, 4 Dec. 1981, p. 25.
36. Nicholas Goddard, 'Agricultural literature and societies' in G. E. Mingay (ed.), The Agrarian History of England and Wales, VI, 3750-1850 (1989), pp. 361-83.
37. Richard Bradley, The country gentleman and farmer's monthly director (London, 1726), p. 101; id., The country housewife and lady's director (1736, 1980 edn). Parts I and II were first published in 1727 and 1732 respectively, and brought together as one edition in 1736.
38. Richard Bradley, The country gentleman and farmer's monthly director (London, 1726), p. 101; id., The country housewife and lady's director (1736, 1980 edn). Parts I and II were first published in 1727 and 1732 respectively, and brought together as one edition in 1736.
39. William Ellis, The country housewife's family companion (London, 1750); Anon., The farmer's wife; or complete country housewife (London, c. 1780), quote taken from frontpiece.
40. William Ellis, The country housewife's family companion (London, 1750); Anon., The farmer's wife; or complete country housewife (London, c. 1780), quote taken from frontpiece.
41. Bradley, Country gentleman, p. 102.
42. Ellis, Country housewife's companion, frontpiece; Anon., Farmer's wife, preface.
43. Ellis, Country housewife's companion, frontpiece; Anon., Farmer's wife, preface.
44. Bradley, Country housewife, pp. vii-viii.
45. Ibid., p. 128.
46. Ellis, Country housewife's companion, p. vi.
47. Anon, Farmer's wife, preface. Judith Bennett argues that as brewing became a specialised trade in the seventeenth century, men usurped the previously dominant position of women. Women's role in domestic brewing may have persisted longer however, as these eighteenth-century texts suggest. Judith M. Bennett, Ale, beer and brewsters in England: women's work in a changing world, 1300-1600 (1996). My thanks to Jane Whittle for this information.
48. Anon, Farmer's wife, preface. Judith Bennett argues that as brewing became a specialised trade in the seventeenth century, men usurped the previously dominant position of women. Women's role in domestic brewing may have persisted longer however, as these eighteenth-century texts suggest. Judith M. Bennett, Ale, beer and brewsters in England: women's work in a changing world, 1300-1600 (1996). My thanks to Jane Whittle for this information.
49. Ellis, Country housewife's companion, p. vii.
50. David Henry, The complete English farmer (London, 1771), p. 69.
51. Ellis, Country housewife's companion, p. viii.
52. Ibid., p. 172.
53. John Mortimer, The whole art of husbandry (London, 1707, fourth edn, 1721), p. 228.
54. Bradley, Country housewife, p. 88.
55. Thomas Hale, A compleat body of husbandry (London, 1756), p. 562.
56. Henry, Complete English farmer, p. 23.
57. Chipping Local History Society (trans.), A Diary from January 1733 to March 1734 written by the Reverend Peter Walkden (2000), p. 4.
58. William Marshall, Rural economy of the Midlands counties (2 vols, London, 1790), I, p. 349.
59. William Marshall, Rural economy of Gloucestershire (2 vols, Gloucester, 1789), I, p. 263.
60. Arthur Young, Farmer's kalendar (London, 1771, 1973 edn), p. 164. Both Young and Marshall thought an experienced dairymaid was capable of this role, but supervision should not be left to common servants.
61. Marshall, Gloucestershire, I, p. 273.
62. Hale, Husbandry, p. 555.
63. Ibid., p. 557.
64. 'An Answer to Ruricola Glocesteris in which is contained an estimate of the expenses and profit of a dairy of four cows by "Y"', Museum Rusticum et Commerciale, (6 vols, 1763-66), IV, pp. 274-287.
65. Ibid., p. 276.
66. Profits from Mr Aby's butter farm at Epping were £8 6s. od. per cow, whilst a dairy of 20 cows in 1797 (mainly producing cheese) made a profit of £252 10s. od. or £5 135. 5d. per cow. Both accounts are reported in R. W. Dickson, Practical agriculture (2 vols, London, 1807), II, pp. 528, 543.
67. Arthur Young, Six month tour through the north of England (4 vols, London, 1770), IV, p. 316; Arthur Young, Farmer's tour through the east of England (4 vols, London, 1771), I, p. 294. In late eighteenth-century Cheshire the number of pigs kept was very small as whey, butter-milk and fleetings from the dairy was given to servants and cottagers. Thomas Wedge, 'Butter and milk in Cheshire', Annals of Agriculture, 28 (1797), p. 17.
68. Arthur Young, Six month tour through the north of England (4 vols, London, 1770), IV, p. 316; Arthur Young, Farmer's tour through the east of England (4 vols, London, 1771), I, p. 294. In late eighteenth-century Cheshire the number of pigs kept was very small as whey, butter-milk and fleetings from the dairy was given to servants and cottagers. Thomas Wedge, 'Butter and milk in Cheshire', Annals of Agriculture, 28 (1797), p. 17.
69. Arthur Young, Six month tour through the north of England (4 vols, London, 1770), IV, p. 316; Arthur Young, Farmer's tour through the east of England (4 vols, London, 1771), I, p. 294. In late eighteenth-century Cheshire the number of pigs kept was very small as whey, butter-milk and fleetings from the dairy was given to servants and cottagers. Thomas Wedge, 'Butter and milk in Cheshire', Annals of Agriculture, 28 (1797), p. 17.
70. Ellis, Country housewife's companion, p. 124.
71. Mortimer, Husbandry, p. 247.
72. See Dickson, Practical agriculture, pp. 528, 543; Thomas Brown, General view of the agriculture of the county of Derby (London, 1794), p. 26.
73. See Dickson, Practical agriculture, pp. 528, 543; Thomas Brown, General view of the agriculture of the county of Derby (London, 1794), p. 26.
74. See, for example, William Ellis, The modern husbandman, or, the practice of farming (4 vols, London, 1744), IV, p. 178; Young, Farmer's kalendar, p. 170; William Hogg, The new complete English farmer (London, c. 1780), p. 86.
75. See, for example, William Ellis, The modern husbandman, or, the practice of farming (4 vols, London, 1744), IV, p. 178; Young, Farmer's kalendar, p. 170; William Hogg, The new complete English farmer (London, c. 1780), p. 86.
76. See, for example, William Ellis, The modern husbandman, or, the practice of farming (4 vols, London, 1744), IV, p. 178; Young, Farmer's kalendar, p. 170; William Hogg, The new complete English farmer (London, c. 1780), p. 86.
77. Anon., Farmer's wife, preface.
78. Ibid., p. 96.
79. Hale, Husbandry, p. 255.
80. Ellis, County housewife's companion, p. 152.
81. Hale, Husbandry, p. 233.
82. Anon., Farmer's wife, p. 19.
83. Mortimer, Husbandry, p. 265; Hale, Husbandry, p. 245.
84. Mortimer, Husbandry, p. 265; Hale, Husbandry, p. 245.
85. Hale, Husbandry, p. 234.
86. Ellis, Country housewife's companion, p. 152.
87. Hale, Husbandry, p. 591.
88. Thomas Wedge, General view of the agriculture of the county palatine of Cheshire (London, 1794), p. 60.
89. Chipping Local History Society (trans.), Walkden Diary, pp. 186, 215, 356.
90. Cozens-Hardy (ed.), 'Mary Hardy's diary', pp. 52, 15, 87, 78.
91. Ibid., pp. 31, 95.
92. Ibid., pp. 26-7, 63-4, 91, 105-7, 109, 113-5, 121.
93. Adam Murray, General view of the agriculture of the county of Warwick (London, 1815), p. 134.
94. See for example, William Marshall, Rural economy of the west of England, (2 vols, London, 1796), II, p. 150.
95. William Stevenson, General view of the agriculture of the county of Dorset (London, 1812), p. 387.
96. John Middleton, View of the agriculture of Middlesex (London, 1798), p. 327.
97. Middleton, Agriculture of Middlesex, p. 338; Richard Parkinson, The experienced farmer (2 vols, London, 1798), II, p. 225.
98. Middleton, Agriculture of Middlesex, p. 338; Richard Parkinson, The experienced farmer (2 vols, London, 1798), II, p. 225.
99. Thomas Batchelor, General view of the agriculture of the county of Bedfordshire (London, 1808), p. 581. This led to complaints about the lack of butter and cheese in the markets, as large arable farms were no longer producing such items for sale. See The Old Fashioned Farmer, 'Some proofs why adding farm to farm is detrimental to the nation in general', Museum Rusticum et Commercial, IV, p. 2; Nathaniel Kent, General view of the agriculture of the county of Norfolk (London, 1796), p. 132.
100. Thomas Batchelor, General view of the agriculture of the county of Bedfordshire (London, 1808), p. 581. This led to complaints about the lack of butter and cheese in the markets, as large arable farms were no longer producing such items for sale. See The Old Fashioned Farmer, 'Some proofs why adding farm to farm is detrimental to the nation in general', Museum Rusticum et Commercial, IV, p. 2; Nathaniel Kent, General view of the agriculture of the county of Norfolk (London, 1796), p. 132.
101. Thomas Batchelor, General view of the agriculture of the county of Bedfordshire (London, 1808), p. 581. This led to complaints about the lack of butter and cheese in the markets, as large arable farms were no longer producing such items for sale. See The Old Fashioned Farmer, 'Some proofs why adding farm to farm is detrimental to the nation in general', Museum Rusticum et Commercial, IV, p. 2; Nathaniel Kent, General view of the agriculture of the county of Norfolk (London, 1796), p. 132.
102. Cobbett, Rural rides, pp. 226-7.
103. Service persisted in other counties in the nineteenth century, in the south-east and south-west, as well as more northerly counties. See Alun Howkins, 'Peasants, servants and labourers: the marginal workforce in British agriculture, 1870-1914', AgHR 42 (1994), pp. 49-62.
104. J. H. Porter, 'The development of rural society', in Mingay (ed.), Agrarian history, VI, pp. 853-4.
105. The Penny Magazine, 29 Feb. to 31 Mar. 1840, p. 122.
106. William Howitt, The Rural Life of England (London, 1844, 1971 edn), p. 104.
107. This is confirmed by Michael Winstanley's research on small-scale farming in late nineteenth-century Lancashire, which reveals the enduring significance of the labour of farmers' wives in domestic duties, household production for market and field work. Michael Winstanley, 'Industrialisation and the small farm: family and household economy in nineteenth-century Lancashire', Past and Present 152 (1996), pp. 157-195.
108. BPP 1868-9, XIII, Second Report on the employment of children, young persons and women in agriculture, report by Mr Henry Tremenheere on Westmorland and Cumberland, p. 143.
109. Winstanley, 'Industrialisation and the small farm', p. 184. For the Irish perspective see Joanna Bourke, Husbandry to housewifery: women, economic change and housework in Ireland, 1890-1914 (1993); Anne O'Dowd, 'Women in rural Ireland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: how the daughters, wives and sisters of small farmers and landless labourers fared', Rural Hist. 5 (1994), pp. 171-183.
110. Winstanley, 'Industrialisation and the small farm', p. 184. For the Irish perspective see Joanna Bourke, Husbandry to housewifery: women, economic change and housework in Ireland, 1890-1914 (1993); Anne O'Dowd, 'Women in rural Ireland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: how the daughters, wives and sisters of small farmers and landless labourers fared', Rural Hist. 5 (1994), pp. 171-183.
111. Winstanley, 'Industrialisation and the small farm', p. 184. For the Irish perspective see Joanna Bourke, Husbandry to housewifery: women, economic change and housework in Ireland, 1890-1914 (1993); Anne O'Dowd, 'Women in rural Ireland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: how the daughters, wives and sisters of small farmers and landless labourers fared', Rural Hist. 5 (1994), pp. 171-183.
112. Henry Tanner, 'The farming of Devonshire', JRASE 9 (1848), p. 483.
113. William Trotter, 'Essay on the rearing and management of poultry', JRASE 12 (1851), p. 169.
114. Joseph Russell, An improved system of agriculture (Kenilworth, 1840), p. 283; Trotter, 'Rearing and management of poultry', p. 169.
115. Joseph Russell, An improved system of agriculture (Kenilworth, 1840), p. 283; Trotter, 'Rearing and management of poultry', p. 169.
116. Samuel Copeland, Agriculture ancient and modern (2 vols, London, 1866), I, p. 433.
117. John Billingsley, General view of the agriculture of the county of Somerset (third edn, London, 1798), p. 34.
118. Id., General view of the agriculture in the country of Somerset (first edn, London, 1794), pp. 112, 150.
119. BPP 1843, XII, Reports of special assistant Poor Law Commissioners on the employment of women and children in agriculture, report by Mr Alfred Austin on the counties of Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and Somerset, p. 5.
120. Thomas Dyke Acland, 'On the farming of Somerset', JRASE 11 (1850), p. 706.
121. Valenze, 'Art of women', p. 166.
122. See for example, Rev W. Gooch, General view of the agriculture of Cambridge (London, 1811), p. 268; Loudon, Encyclopaedia, pp. 1035-6; Rev. John M. Wilson (ed.), The rural cyclopedia (4 vols, Edinburgh and London, 1847-9), II, p. 3; William Rothwell, Report on the agriculture of the county of Lancaster (London, 1850), p. 100.
123. See for example, Rev W. Gooch, General view of the agriculture of Cambridge (London, 1811), p. 268; Loudon, Encyclopaedia, pp. 1035-6; Rev. John M. Wilson (ed.), The rural cyclopedia (4 vols, Edinburgh and London, 1847-9), II, p. 3; William Rothwell, Report on the agriculture of the county of Lancaster (London, 1850), p. 100.
124. See for example, Rev W. Gooch, General view of the agriculture of Cambridge (London, 1811), p. 268; Loudon, Encyclopaedia, pp. 1035-6; Rev. John M. Wilson (ed.), The rural cyclopedia (4 vols, Edinburgh and London, 1847-9), II, p. 3; William Rothwell, Report on the agriculture of the county of Lancaster (London, 1850), p. 100.
125. See for example, Rev W. Gooch, General view of the agriculture of Cambridge (London, 1811), p. 268; Loudon, Encyclopaedia, pp. 1035-6; Rev. John M. Wilson (ed.), The rural cyclopedia (4 vols, Edinburgh and London, 1847-9), II, p. 3; William Rothwell, Report on the agriculture of the county of Lancaster (London, 1850), p. 100.
126. BPP 1867-8, XVII, First report on the employment of children, young persons and women in agriculture, evidence to Rev James Fraser's report on Norfolk, Essex, Sussex, Gloucestershire and parts of Suffolk, p. 123.
127. James Caird, English agriculture in 1850-51 (London, 1852, 1968 edn), pp. 78, 252-3.
128. A Farmer, Rural recreations, or modern farmer's calendar (London, 1802), p. 65.
129. Marshall, Midland counties, I, p. 361.
130. Acland, 'Farming of Somerset', p. 705.
131. Wedge, General view of Cheshire, p. 61.
132. Valenze, 'Art of women', p. 162.
133. John C. Morton, A cyclopedia of agriculture (2 vols, London, 1855), I, pp. 603-26.
134. John Bravender, 'Farming of Gloucestershire', JRASE 11 (1850), p. 153.
135. James Fulton, 'Essay on recent improvements in dairy management', JRASE 21 (1860), p. 73. Fussell argues that inventions in dairying made little impact until the second half of the nineteenth century. Fussell, English dairy farmer, p. 170.
136. James Fulton, 'Essay on recent improvements in dairy management', JRASE 21 (1860), p. 73. Fussell argues that inventions in dairying made little impact until the second half of the nineteenth century. Fussell, English dairy farmer, p. 170.
137. Shelia Hardy, The diary of a Suffolk farmer's wife, 1854-1869: a woman of her time (1992), pp. 26, 58-9.
138. In 1851 there were 164,420 farmers' and graziers' wives (aged 20 and over) recorded in the census; in 1861 the figure was 163,498, and in 1871 187,029.
139. Mary Bouquet, Family, servants and visitors: the farm household in nineteenth and twentieth-century Devon (1985).