Leisure, citizenship and working-class men in Britain, 1850–1945

Beaven, Brad

doi:10.7765/9781847793607

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…36 Moreover, these new civic buildings had become established in the minds of the populace since unofficial celebrations often spontaneously gathered at these recently constructed civic spaces. 37 This fusion of civic ritual and imperial culture did not develop to the same intensity in New Zealand and Australia. Antipodean cities (San Francisco, Auckland and Melbourne for example) were located in what could be delineated as a 'Pacific' as Comment [MSOffice4]: This section has been changed to respond to the reviewer's comment that 'Pacific' system was not explained satisfactorily.…”

Section: Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This played well with working-class readers who, by the late nineteenth century, had developed a narrow sense of place that accentuated the importance of local and regional identities. 49 The local press in New Zealand grew rather differently to its British counterpart since Antipodean city dailies remained wedded to a rather conservative style of journalism. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there was little coverage of local news and sport and therefore empire celebrations tended to be reported within national rather than provincial contexts.…”

Section: Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The City and Imperial Propaganda

Beaven¹,

Griffiths

2015

Journal of Urban History

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The emergence of a vibrant imperial culture in British and colonial society from the 1890s both fascinated and appalled contemporaries. It has also consistently provoked controversy among historians. However, while historians have clashed over the degree to which an imperial popular culture penetrated Edwardian society, few studies have focused on how the meaning of imperial propaganda was shaped by particular social and cultural conditions in the various cities and colonies of the British Empire. 1 Most historians have tended to focus on the 'cultural end product' such as the imperial advertisement, theatrical performance or music hall sketch. This article will take a very different approach by exploring how the meaning of Empire Day, a movement that endeavoured to transmit a clear and unambiguous imperial message, was manipulated and transformed through a range of urban institutions before reaching the public at large. In selecting cities in the Antipodean colonies for comparison, the study will explore societies that were closest in urban organisation and culture to Britain's civic infrastructure. Indeed, in the eyes of imperialists like Lord Meath who founded Empire Day in 1903, the white Anglo-Saxons in Australia and New Zealand cities were deemed to be on the same rung of civilisation as their counterparts in Britain. By adopting this comparative approach, we shall challenge the assumption that a hegemonic imperial ideology was streamed uncontested and unaltered to the urban population at large. 2 Indeed, we shall argue that due to the significant differences in urban development in Britain and colonial towns, the imperial message was either, in the British context, directed to cure perceived local crises or, alternatively within a colonial setting, came secondary to national priorities. First, we shall contrast the urban and civic development of differing English and Antipodean communities, before investigating how this environment shaped the dissemination and reception of the imperial message in the city. We conclude that, in the case of Empire Day, the urban setting is decisive to understanding how imperial propaganda was transformed to meet the needs of local or national environments. 3 Key differences in Comment [B1]: Recast introduction to address reviewer's comments requesting more clarity and focus on how conditions in cities/colonies transformed the meaning of Empire Day Comment [B2]: Addresses reviewer's request for more historiographical context on empire and popular culture

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Section: Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The City and Imperial Propaganda

Beaven¹,

Griffiths

2015

Journal of Urban History

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“…Brad Beavan has described the raucous way that a working-class audience responded to films that contrasted with the more discriminating but passive manner of the middle classes. 48 In another example, the distinction in titling between restaurants and cafés provided for a simple class separation. There were exceptions.…”

Section: Entertaining the Charabanc Trippermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It draws on work on the history of working-class leisure that has revealed it to be far more heterogeneous than contemporary critics of inter-war 'mass' culture had imagined. 8 It is also informed by work on automobility and extends this research, which has concentrated on the car, to examine the charabanc, a vehicle that provided the majority of long-distance autonomous travel for the working classes between the wars. 9 This article considers the different categories of charabanc and motor coach travel and examines how various sections of society used them.…”

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confidence: 99%

Charabancs and Social Class in 1930s Britain

Law

2015

The Journal of Transport History

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The renowned writer J. B. Priestley suggested in 1934 that the motor-coach had annihilated the old distinction between rich and poor passengers in Britain. This article considers how true this was by examining the relationship between charabancs, motor coaches and class. It shows that this important vehicle of inter-war working class mobility had a complicated relationship with class, identifying three distinct forms of this method of travel. It positions the charabanc alongside historical responses to unwelcome steamer and railway day-trippers, and examines how resorts provided separate class-based entertainment for these holidaymakers. Using the case study of a new charabanc-welcoming pub, the Prospect Inn, it proposes that, in the late 1930s, some pubs were beginning to offer charabanc customers facilities that were almost the match of their middle class equivalent. Motor coaches and charabancs contributed to the process of social convergence in inter-war Britain.

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“…32 This was in an era when even working people had an increased amount of leisure time. 33 Indeed, it is possible to argue that recreation was beginning to be seen not as the opposite of work as the Victorians believed, but as a civic duty which complemented work and enhanced the individual's ability to function effectively in the workplace. 34 However, the ability of the urban poor to access a public park was doubtful.…”

Section: Redefining the Edwardian Park: Access And Usagementioning

confidence: 99%

From ‘the people’ to ‘the citizen’: the emergence of the Edwardian municipal park in Manchester, 1902–1912

O’Reilly

2012

Urban History

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ABSTRACT:This article argues that the Edwardian municipal park represents a significant transition from the highly regulated and formal space of the Victorian park. It takes as a case-study Heaton Park in Manchester purchased in late 1901 and suggests that this park represented a transition from a Victorian people's park to an Edwardian citizen's park in which each visitor accessed facilities and amenities appropriate to their individual or group leisure interests. It addresses the comparative neglect of the Edwardian park by urban historians and suggests the importance of the emerging concepts of citizenship and social responsibility.

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Leisure, citizenship and working-class men in Britain, 1850–1945

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

The City and Imperial Propaganda

The City and Imperial Propaganda

Charabancs and Social Class in 1930s Britain

From ‘the people’ to ‘the citizen’: the emergence of the Edwardian municipal park in Manchester, 1902–1912

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