Men at Work: Labourers and Building Craftsmen in the Towns of Northern England, 1450–1750: 26 (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time, Series Number 26) - Hardcover

Woodward, Donald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521472466 ISBN 13: 9780521472463

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1995

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Back Cover

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 early-modern period in the context of the change from rural economy to the eve of industrialisation. The period 1450-1750 witnessed substantial changes in England: in 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. The evidence analysed in this book uses the nature of building and labouring work to consider the variations in wages and living standards allied to studies of individual towns. Using many hitherto unworked sources from local archives, the author 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 - at times running counter to the prevailing orthodoxies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521472466
• ISBN 13: 9780521472463
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 334