Regions and Regionalism in History – serie

A rich picture of the complexities of early industrial development in the north-east of England.Historians increasingly emphasise that, in order to understand the industrial revolution fully as an economic, social and political process, the subject is best viewed from a regional, rather than a national, perspective. This book applies such an approach to the north-east of England in the early modern period, when, it is argued, the region experienced an early industrial revolution. Putting forward several new research findings and much new thinking, and covering many aspects of the economy of north-east England in the period, the book shows how rich and varied it was, and how vital the interplay of social, political and cultural forces was for industrial development. The book demonstrates that the economy of north-east England was not dominated by coal alone, and that previous historians' focus on 'the working class' misrepresents the full complexities of society in the period. Overall, the book has much to offer economic and social historians and historians of regional development generally, not just those interested in north-east England.ADRIAN GREEN is Lecturer in History at Durham University. He is co-editor ofRegional Identities in North-East England, 1300-2000 (The Boydell Press, 2007).BARBARA CROSBIE is Assistant Professor in History at Durham University, and is completing a study of The Rising Generations: AgeRelations and Cultural Change in Eighteenth-Century England.Contributors: A. T. BROWN, JOHN BROWN, ANDY BURN, BARBARA CROSBIE, ADRIAN GREEN , MATTHEW D. GREENHALL, LINDSAY HOUPT-VARNER, GWENDA MORGAN, PETER RUSHTON, LEONA SKELTON, PETER D. WRIGHT, KEITH WRIGHTSON

The medieval development of the distinct region of north-east England explored through close examination of landscape, religion and history.The recent surge of interest in the political, ecclesiastical, social and economic history of north-eastern England is reflected in the essays in this volume. The topics covered range widely, including the development of both rural and urban life and institutions. There are contributions on the well-known richness of Durham cathedral muniments, its priory and bishopric, and there is also a particular focus on the institutions and practices which evolved to deal with Scottish border problems. A number of papers broach lesser-known subjects which accordingly offer new territory for exploration, among them the distinctive characteristics of local jurisdiction in the northern counties, the formation of north-eastern landscapes, the course of agrarian development in the region and the emergence of a northern gentry class alongside the better known ecclesiastical and lay magnates. CHRISTIAN D. LIDDY is Lecturer in History at the University of Durham, where R.H. BRITNELL is Emeritus Professor.

Relations between the laity and the religious in medieval Durham reveal much about lay religion of the time.Although religious life in medieval Durham was ruled by its prince bishop and priory, the laity flourished and played a major role in the affairs of the parish, as Margaret Harvey demonstrates. Using a variety of sources, she provides a complete account of its history from the Conquest to the Dissolution of the priory, with a particular emphasis on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. She shows how the laity interacted vigorously with both bishop and priory, and the relations between them, with the priory providing schools, hospitals, chantries and regular sermons, but also acting as a disciplinary force. On a wider level, she also looks at the whole question of lay religion andwhat can be discovered about it. She finishes by an examination of local reactions to the Reformation.

Evidence from unused sources sheds much light on the peasant economy of the later middle ages.The peasant economy in north-east England, and indeed throughout the country as a whole, underwent many changes during the later Middle Ages, but owing to the lack of evidence it has been difficult to come to definite conclusions.This pioneering survey uses previously unexploited sources, principally from tithe data, to offer new interpretations of the patterns for change and the scope for adaptability. The author argues that the peasant economy in this region of England was profoundly affected by war in the early fourteenth century and then disease with the arrival of the Black Death in 1349, calling into question the orthodox theories of overpopulation in explaining the "crisis"of the late Middle Ages: even at its medieval peak, the population of northeast England was sparse by comparison with areas further south. Nor did the availability of land and improved living standards lead to demographic recovery in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He also shows that despite their vulnerability to crises, peasant cultivators were highly responsive to change. Far from being primitive subsistence farmers oblivious to the marketand its signals, medieval peasants in the Durham region were subtle and successful decision-makers regarding the production and marketing of their output.BEN DODDS is Lecturer in History at the University of Tallahassee.

A rich, detailed and well-illustrated overview of the landscape of the North East of England.How distinctive is the landscape of the North East of England? How far does its distinctive nature contribute to the region's regional identity? These are key questions addressed by this book. Covering a wide range of subjects including country house landscapes, village landscapes and "townscapes", including coverage of how the region's landscape has been perceived and represented in literature and art, and approaching the subject from a wide range of perspectives including historical, literary, archaeological, art-historical and geographical, the book provides a rich, detailed and well-illustrated overview of the landscape of the North East of England. It demonstrates that this landscape is more subtle, layered and varied than is often supposed, and that stereotypes that the region is grimly industrial and dominated by coal-mining are wrong. Overall, besides much interesting detail and many new research findings, the book vividly evokes the landscapes and the spirit of place of the North East.Dr THOMAS FAULKNER is Visiting Fellow, School of Historical Studies, University of Newcastle; Dr HELEN BERRY is Reader in Early Modern History, School of Historical Studies, University of Newcastle; Dr JEREMY GREGORY is Senior Lecturer, Dept. Religions and Theology, University of Manchester.Contributors: S. M. COUSINS, A. W. PURDUE, S. A. CAUNCE, STEVEN DESMOND, JUDITH BETNEY, VERONICA GOULTY, FIONA GREEN, ADRIAN GREEN, WINIFRED STOKES, HILARY J. GRAINGER, MARTIN ROBERTS, GILLIAN COOKSON, THOMAS FAULKNER, LINDA POLLEY, HELEN BERRY, HUGH DIXON, JAN HEWITT, LAURA NEWTON.

Provides a huge amount of detail about everyday maritime life in the important port of Whitby, home port of Captain Cook.The ancient but isolated town of Whitby has made a huge contribution to the maritime history of Britain: Captain Cook learned sailing and navigation here; during the eighteenth century the town was a provider of an exceptionally large number of transport ships in wartime; and in the nineteenth century Whitby became a major whaling port. This book examines how it came to be such an important shipping centre. Drawing on extensive maritime records, the author shows that it was commercial entrepreneurship which brought about the growth of Whitby's shipping industry, first in the export of local alum and carrying coal to London, then in northern European trades, alongside its very successful ship-building industry. The book includes details from the financial accounts of voyages. These provide a fascinating insight into seafaring in the period with details of the hierarchical structure of crews,and of shipboard apprentices learning the trade. Overall, a very full picture emerges of every aspect of the shipping industry of this key port. ROSALIN BARKER is an Honorary Fellow in the History Department at the University of Hull, and was formerly a tutor in adult education at the universities of Cambridge, Leeds and Hull and the Open University.

A comprehensive account of the everyday lives of the keelmen of Tyneside, and their struggles and industrial disputes.For hundreds of years the keelmen, the "keel lads o' coaly Tyne" celebrated in the north-east folk song "The Keel Row", ferried coal down-river to the estuary and cast it aboard ships bound for London or overseas. They were "the very sinews of the coal trade" on which the prosperity of the region depended.This book charts the history of the keelmen from the early seventeenth century to the point where technological advances made them redundant in thecourse of the nineteenth century. It describes how the importance of their work placed them in a strong position in industrial disputes, especially since they could shut off the coal supply to London. It examines their numerous turbulent battles with rapacious employers and unsympathetic magistrates (often themselves involved in the coal trade), their struggles against poverty and eventually against redundancy, and their attempts to gain redress in Parliament and in the law courts. The book also describes the squalid conditions in Sandgate where, as recounted in the folk song, many keelmen and their families lived with a reputation for independence and savage roughness but exhibited impressive solidarity both as an early industrial labour organisation and as a tightly-knit, mutually supportive, and highly self-reliant community. The book will be of interest to social and economic historians, labour historians, maritime historians and all interested in the history of the North East. JOSEPH M. FEWSTER was, until his retirement in 1997, Senior Assistant Keeper in Durham University Library.

Explains the astonishing growth of Middlesbrough from a hamlet to a very substantial town in the space of a few decades in the middle of the nineteenth century.Middlesbrough's rise was truly extraordinary, from almost nothing in 1850 to a great industrial city within a few decades, its success based on iron and steel. This book examines the development. It discusses the role of urban planners, charts the growth of the iron and steel industry including the introduction of new manufacturing techniques and the exploitation of important local iron ore deposits, and explores the role of a vast range of self-helpinstitutions through which workers supported themselves at a time when aid from the state was minimal. It shows how industries "clustered", explaining why Middlesbrough became the hub of such a cluster; outlines the demographic nature of the workforce, showing how there was much migration, with people coming to Middlesbrough to work for a while then leaving; and concludes by examining the adverse factors which quickly became apparent, some of whichwere to lead to Middlesbrough's decline - over-dependence on one industry, a relatively undiversified economic and social structure, and insufficient urban infrastructure which left the city vulnerable to debilitating environmental pollution. MINORU YASUMOTO is a Professor in the Faculty of Economics at Komazawa University, Japan.