Living above the Shop: Home, Business, and Family in the English ‘‘Industrial Revolution’’

Abstract

This article explores the living arrangements and familial relations of small business households in northwest English towns between 1760 and 1820. Focusing on evidence from inventories and personal writing, it examines the homes that such households lived and worked in and the ways in which space was ordered and used: indicating that access to particular spaces was determined by status. This study suggests both the continuance of the "household family" into the nineteenth century (rather than its more modern, "nuclear" variant) and the existence of keenly felt gradations of status within households making it likely that the constitution of "the family" differed according to one's place in the domestic hierarchy.

The little republic: masculinity and domestic authority in eighteenth-century Britain

“…Th ese eff orts referenced a still viable patriarchal model of household. 43 Similarly, Matthew McCormack has 44 Matthew McCormack, Th e Independent Man: Citizenship and Gender Politics in Georgian England (Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2005), pp. 12-30.…”

“…41 Th e shared and common culture of the house was suggested in the claims authors and publishers made to inclusivity and completeness: Th e Universal a Necessary and Profi (London, 1703), p. ii. 43 Th e Complete Family-Piece: and, Country Gentleman, and Farmer's, Best Guide , Second Edition (1736;London, 1737) 43 While certain sections were directed at men specifi cally (notably hunting), most were simply directed to the general and genderless reader. Amongst discussions of medicine, clothes, cleaning, cookery, brewing, and gardening in Th e Universal Family-Book , only the sections on pregnancy and labour, and on cosmetics and beauty, specify an 'especial' interest for female readers.…”

“…But he found it to be an exercise in false economy: 'I believe I used as much Wax as would have bought good pipes, but never mind, the Pipes were useful.-this is Domestic economy.' 43 Sharp's varying use of the term 'economy' to mean both practical domestic housekeeping and management of the nation's resources chimes with the changes observable in the printed materials. 44 Men drew on the language of oeconomy in diff erent ways in diff erent times and places, but this language was relevant for disparate experiences.…”

“…McCormack, 26 ,56 , McKeon, Michael 11 ,58 ,137 magistrates 3 Mair,32 management 13 ,22 ,23 ,25 ,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]64 ,66 ,181 ,187 ,188 and accounting 72-7 , 78 and clothes 122-4 and concept of 'house' 13 consumption by 80-2 , 100 , 116-17 , 118-19 , 127-8 and cookery and food 28-9 , 126-7 and discourse of oeconomy 26-7 and husbandry 29-31 importance of home to 166-7 and interior decoration and furnishings 102-4 'keeping house' 104-6 as managers 40 middling sort 22 relations between 169-70 , 188 relationship with the home 12 single 67 , 83 , 95 , 105 , 106 , 115 , 123 , 150- Beth 5 ,9 novels,domestic 10 ,11 ,172 father fi gure in 1-2 , 6-7 numeracy 74 n. 52 , 76 , 87 , 88-90 , 151 women's 77 , 88 Nussbaum,Felicity 136 ,145 ,147 obedience 50 , see also consumption possessions Oeconomist, Th e: or Edlin's Weekly Journal 28 ,30 ,35 ,36 ,37 Oeconomist,Th e,…”

“…Roger Kay, and Pilkington remained Usher for 25 years. 43 Th e list of scholars from 1730 that appear in Pilkington's account book probably constitute the fi rst cohort This is an open access version of the publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact academic.permissions@oup.com of the refounded school.…”