Pre industrial Britain

• Cultural 


  the set of beliefs and customs that leads us to behave in a particular way within our

  community
• Pre industrial Britain


  pre 1750
• Industrial Britain 


  1750-1850
• Post industrial Britain 


  Post 1850
• 6 key social factors

  • Gender
  • law and Order
  • Education
  • Availability of time
  • Money
  • transport
• Gender 


  Women were seen as the ‘weaker sex‘ and therefore not allowed to do activities that were too dangerous.
• Upper class women were free to pursue elitist past times such as hawking and archery.
• Lower class women may get a chance to participate in ‘smock racing‘ a race where the prize was a dress.
• Both classes participated in dancing and horse riding
• Why did sport emerge in Britain?

  • Helped prepare the population for war
  • Hunt for food
  • Improve ability to work
  • Celebrations / festivals
  • sport is an integral part of society
• Pre - industrial Britain characteristics

  • Rural countryside
  • Society was split into upper class and lower class
  • Minimal law and order
  • Limited transport (horse and cart for upper class on underdeveloped roads)
• Pre - industrial Britain characteristics

  • Religion was strongly followed
  • Women were seen as the weaker sex
  • Only upper class were educated and literate
• Social class in pre - industrial Britain

  • Upper class- aristocracy and gentry who were land owners
  • Lower class - peasants who worked manually ,mostly on land
  • Class significantly impacted the types of leisure activities you were involved in,
• Mob football


  • Mass game with few rules and equipment
  • Earliest form of football and rugby
  • Violent (un-christian)
  • Played by lower class males
• Animal baiting - Hunting & fighting

  • Lower class - bare knuckle fighting , dog fighting
  • Upper class - cock fighting , fox hunting
  • Excessive gambling
  • No laws to limit violence or animal cruelty
• Real tennis 


  • First form of tennis originating in France
  • Very complicated rules , only understood by the educated
  • Large elaborate venue
  • Long lasting game
  • Upper class only
• Cricket 


  • Often associated with local public houses (pubs)
  • Plenty of space for cricket ovals due to rural land
  • Mostly upper class , different roles allowed lower class to play , but reflected their status
  • Upper class amateurs batted , reflecting the position as privileged
  • Lower class professional bowled
• Pedestrianism 


  • Competitive race walk
  • Came from the occupation of footmen
  • Upper class would bet on their own footmen
  • Participation from all classes but different roles
  • Working class- participated
  • Upper class - patrons (sponsors)
• Holy day 


  • Range of events that brought the village together
  • On religious holidays, as this was the only free time for the working class
  • Separate events for women eg smock race and archery for upper class
  • Based around public houses (pubs)
  • Other activities included drinking contest, catching pigs bare knuckle fighting.
• Amateurs 


  Participate in sport but not paid
• Social class 


  • Lower class played violent and unruly games like mob football or dogfighting
  • Upper class played more sophisticated games like real tennis
  • Class influenced access to sports and pastimes , due to money and time.
• Cockfighting 


  • Very violent activity involving animal cruelty where two dogs fight to death
  • Both classes were involved as there was wageringing on the outcome of the event
  • Eventually made illegal during the industrial revolution.
• Occupations were often linked to leisure activities . Eg - pedestrianism developed from footmen. The upper class began wagering on which of their footmen would win.
• Gender - upper and lower class


  • Women were seen as the weaker sex
  • Activities women participated in were not too "strenuous" or "dangerous"
• Gender - upper

  Women could take part in archery