Volume 11, Number 1, September 2015

Revision

Popular recreation in
pre-industrial Britain

Symond Burrows

Sport is often said to reflect the society of the time. This information sheet, which links to the historical development of sport, shows how sport mirrored features of society in pre-industrial Britain (pre-1870).

Key term

Popular recreation: the sport and pastimes of people in pre-industrial Britain.

Life in pre-industrial Britain

Pre-industrial society had a number of features/characteristics including the following:

  • limited transport/limited communications
  • widespread illiteracy/lower classes were uneducated
  • harsh conditions/violent/life was cruel for lower classes; upper classes lived in luxury
  • Limited free time.Work was based on the land; free time was dictated by the agricultural seasons; very long working hours
  • Two-tier society (upper class and lower class) based on a feudal system
  • People lived in rural areas; population was spread out in the countryside

Exam tip:Such features are sometimes referred to as ‘socio-cultural factors’ in exam questions.

Characteristics of popular recreation

Occasional / Long working hours meant that popular recreation activities were restricted to annual events, when breaks in the agricultural calendar allowed participation (i.e. on festival days/holy days)
Local/rural / Popular recreation activities were specific to each community. Communities were rural and spread out. Activities made use of the natural resources available
Limited coding / Literacy was very low among the lower classes so any rules were basic and applied to a particular community, i.e. set and applied locally; unlimited number of players, no time limits, no officials
Violent/unruly / Activities were aggressive/male dominated — resulting in lots of damage to property and injuries to the participants
Wagering / Gambling/betting were common as part of contests
Functional / Activities were linked to work, e.g. as footmen to the gentry

The characteristics of pre-industrial Britain were reflected in most of the popular recreation activities participated in by the lower class in particular (e.g. mob games).

Socio-cultural factor in pre-industrial Britain / Popular recreation characteristic to reflect this
Limited transport/communications / Sport was localised
Illiteracy/uneducated / Limited organisation/simple rules/uncodified
Harsh society / Violent/aggressive
Seasonal time / Occasional/part of a festival occasion
Pre-industrial/pre-urban revolutions / Rural/natural/simple
Two-tier society/feudal system / Gentry/upper class activities were clearly separated from lower/peasant class activities

Mob football is an example of an activity played in pre-industrial Britain which very much reflected the characteristics of popular recreation and socio-cultural factors of the time.

Influential socio-cultural factor / Characteristic of mob football
Limited transport; limited communications / Localised form of activity, e.g.Ashbourne mob football/Haxey Hood
Illiteracy was widespread in society, which was mostly uneducated / Limited organisation; few/simple/unwritten rules
Society was harsh/violent / Violent/unruly/dangerous/male dominated
Played on holy days/feast days/seasonal time,e.g. Shrove Tuesdays / Occasional/festival
Clear division of society into two tiers with certain sports for the lower classes, e.g. mob football / Played by lower class in society
Population was spread out in the countryside; people lived in small villages / Rural
Use of what was readily to hand; no purpose built facilities — mob football played in fields / Simple/natural

Exam tip:Exam questions may require direct links between socio-cultural factors and characteristics of an activity e.g. mob football.

Philip AllanPublishers © 2015