SPORT AFTER 1800
• The main thrust of the industrial revolution started in the
middle of the C18th and continued through the C19th.
During this time, the population shift to the towns and
cities that was triggered off by industrialisation, saw
England move from being an Agricultural economy to an
Industrial one. The changes were not only economic, the
structure of society also changed which influenced
recreational patterns across the classes.
THE URBAN REVOLUTIONS
•With the move to the Towns, the pattern of recreation for
the Labouring classes changed drastically, but it was some
time before this new change was addressed.
•The delay in the development of any meaningful
infrastructure meant that for some time there was a certain
amount of social disorder.
THE PACE OF INDUSTRIAL CHANGE
•At first many working class people refused to be denied their
leisure activities they had enjoyed before. The institution of a
day of recreation known as “Saint Monday” appeared.
•With the exception of the large textile areas of Northern
England, where steam power took hold quite early, much of
industrial Development took place in small workshops.Many
workers were paid by the “piece”- doing “piece work” as it
became widely known.
•They took the day off- often on Mondays- to attend the Prize
fights, baiting contests, race meetings and pedestrian races
held in the locality- just as they always had.
•To make up their pay, they simply worked harder towards the
end of the week.
•Eventually steam power became widespread and workers were
then harnessed by the factory whistle for 60 or more hours
per week.
•As the towns grew, the former recreation spaces disappeared
to make way for factories, workshops and cheap housing.
•Municipal parks or private pleasure gardens were often
strategically placed to provide a screen between slums areas
and more genteel ones, allowing the middle classes pleasant
walks.
SOCIAL CHANGES
•Eventually the lower classes lost the two most valuable
recreational assets they had enjoyed in Rural Villages- Time
and Space.
Throughout this study of the history of
sport, it is important to consider the
sports discussed in the context of the
society that played and was entertained
by them.
Think also of why the society played the
sport, how it was developed,
popularised, codified and transmitted
to other cultures
CONSIDER THESE ASPECTS:•
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What is the nature of the sport?
Why a sport is played?
How the sport developed?
How was it popularised?
How was it transmitted to other cultures?
How and why was it codified?
How did it reflect society?
Where/How does it reflect society today?
What part did it play in society?
EXAMPLES of Sports
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Bull running
Dog – cock fighting
Hunting
Fishing
Wrestling – Boxing
Pigeon Shooting (Clay)
Horse Racing
Mob football
Archery
Tennis
Hockey
Eton wall games
Fives
Rugby
TRADITIONAL GAMES
Court Games
• Real tennis (played only by the wealthy)
Mob activities
• Before the influence of public schools in the
19th C invasion games such as mob football
were largely raucous and were often
surrounded by drinking and gambling
“mob games had no clear game pattern compared with today”
1] They had simple rules.Why did this work?
2] They still had a sense of “Battle Excitement”. What is this?
3] There is a loose distinction between players and spectators.
Discuss.
4] What is the balance between physical force and skill?
5] Regional variations in rules, playing area and objectives was
a necessary freedom we can not afford today.Discuss.
6] Group identity dominated in the old days. Reasons?
MOB STICK GAMES
• Can you pick out the characteristics of
these games.
• The first picture is the Annual Mob
Hockey game at Lutterworth in
Leicestershire
• The second picture is Shinty played at
Blackheath in London
•In addition, the attitude of the new middle classes to leisure
activities was very different from that associated with
“Merrie England”.
•Their lives were based on serious purpose, the creation of
capital wealth and good Christian living.
•To this end, recreations had to be seen as constructive and
worthwhile in order to be acceptable.
•These terms became implicitly associated with the term
recreation.
MASS TRANSPORT
•The development of the railways in the 1840’s and of cheap
fares had considerable benefits for the ordinary worker.
•An escape to the countryside or the seaside became possible.
•The mountains and the seaside resort, both the domains of
the middle and upper classes, had now become accessible to
ordinary workers and their families.