Men at Work

Abstract

This study redresses the North and South imbalance of much work on economic and social history by focusing on the lives and economic impact of the building trade in the major urban centres of the North during the early modern period. The period 1450–1750 witnessed substantial changes in England: to the size of national population, the range of industry practised, the commodity structure and patterns of overseas trade; in agricultural techniques; and in the proportion of population tied to the soil. Using many hitherto unworked sources from local archives, the author challenges many prevailing orthodoxies. He addresses conditions of work in the building trades, levels of remuneration, the characteristics of the life cycles of male and female workers, gender differences in work, and relationships with employers.

Seasonal work and welfare in an early industrial town: Newcastle upon Tyne, 1600–1700

“…For full tides, a keelman received twice as much as a Newcastle building craftsman and more than three times the wage of a building labourer -35d as against 18d or 10d a day respectively. 25 It was similar to the 3s that skilled shipwrights were paid for their 'tidework' repairing ships at the rivermouth. 26 It also compares favourably with London docker and waterman wage rates of between 2s and 2s 6d a day recorded in the 1650s.…”

“…There is no clear indication that this would differ substantially from Newcastle: beef and beer prices, where records have been obtained from around 1600 and 1700, were within 10 per cent, so the trend was similar. 34 Following Woodward, this series assumes a standard adult male diet of 2,850 calories of bread, cheese, beef, oats, peas and other essentials. The wife and first and second children are assumed to consume the equivalent of 75 per cent of the adult male diet, and further children are assumed to consume half.…”

“…The wife and first and second children are assumed to consume the equivalent of 75 per cent of the adult male diet, and further children are assumed to consume half. 35 Needless to say, these are heroic assumptions, and most likely too low for a comfortable and productive level of sustenance. 36 Notes: Wage per tide in Col. 6 is 1/4 of the fee paid to a whole boat for a long tide (10s 4d before 1655; 13s 4d after).…”

Functionality, Commemoration and Civic Competition: A Study of Early Seventeenth-Century Workhouse Design and Building in Reading and Newbury

“…Both Reading and Newbury appear to have opted for a composite approach. 89 Whilst information about the organization of the Reading workhouse building project is fragmentary and can only be pieced together tentatively from the surviving account records, the articles of agreement for building the (Newbury) workhouse provide a relatively detailed picture of the relationship between the Corporation overseers and their principal contractor. The articles reveal that after 'sondry Conferences' with Richard Ernes, it was agreed that he would not only undertake all of the carpentry work for the workhouse, but that he would provide on-site supervision for the whole building project.…”

Sound, Vision, and Representation: Pageantry in 1610 Chester

“…Following the loss of around two thousand people, immigration restored population numbers amongst labourers and skilled craftspeople here, as in other similar towns. 46 The 'strangers' that George Kelly so resented were, therefore, crucial to the city's recovery and chances of prosperity. Whether we see such people as 'representative' of Chester depends upon the context.…”