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.
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.
Occasional
Local/rural
Limited coding
Violent/unruly
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)
Popular recreation activities were specific to each community. Communities were rural and spread out. Activities made use of the natural resources available
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
Activities were aggressive/male dominated — resulting in lots of damage to property and injuries to the participants
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Wagering
Functional
Gambling/betting were common as part of contests
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
Limited transport/communications
Illiteracy/uneducated
Harsh society
Seasonal time
Pre-industrial/pre-urban revolutions
Two-tier society/feudal system
Popular recreation characteristic to reflect this
Sport was localised
Limited organisation/simple rules/uncodified
Violent/aggressive
Occasional/part of a festival occasion
Rural/natural/simple
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
Illiteracy was widespread in society, which was mostly uneducated
Localised form of activity, e.g. Ashbourne mob football/Haxey Hood
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
Population was spread out in the countryside; people lived in small villages
Use of what was readily to hand; no purpose built facilities — mob football played in fields
Played by lower class in society
Rural
Simple/natural
Philip Allan Publishers
© 2015 www.hoddereducation.co.uk/pereview

Exam tip: Exam questions may require direct links between socio-cultural factors and characteristics of an activity e.g. mob football.
This resource is part of PE R EVIEW , a magazine written for A-level students by subject experts.
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Philip Allan Publishers
© 2015 www.hoddereducation.co.uk/pereview