An Artisan Elite in Victorian Society

Kentish London 1840-1880

Geoffrey Crossick

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781317237419
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

First published in 1978. Mid-Victorian Britain was relatively stable in comparison with the turbulent period that preceded it, and that stability is in part explained by the emergence of an artisan elite with a specific relationship to the society around it. This book examines that elite: its clubs and societies, co-operatives and building societies; its values and ideology, challenging the notion that these artisans directly absorbed middle-class values; its politics, tracing the evolution from Chartism through the Reform League and on to a radical liberalism which existed in constant tension with the local liberal middle class.

A careful reconstruction of the social, political and industrial life of these artisans is set within the context of the local communities, and their understanding of the mid-Victorian society in which they lived is seen as the explanation for their values and activities. This title makes a major contribution towards our understanding of the nineteenth-century working class.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Growth of Kentish London
• 3 Occupations and Industry
• 4 The Impact of the Workplace
• 5 Elites and the Community
• 6 The Artisan Elite. I. Stratification
• 7 The Artisan Elite. II. Ideology and Values
• 8 The Co-operative Movement
• 9 Friendly Societies
• 10 Political Ideology and Action
• 11 Conclusion
• List of Sources
• Notes
• Index