Leisure and Recreation in a Victorian Mining Community: The Social Economy of Leisure in North-East England, 1820-1914 (Sport in the Global Society) - Softcover

Metcalfe, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 041548491X ISBN 13: 9780415484916

Publisher: Routledge, 2008

Synopsis

'Amusements they must have, or life would hardly be worth living. . .' Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, 1895

This text explores life in the mining villages of the north-east of England in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries - a time of massive social and industrial change. The sporting lives of these communities are often marginalized by historians, but this thoroughly researched account reveals how play as well as work were central to the lives of the working classes.

Miners contributed significantly to the economic success of the north-east during this time, yet living conditions in the mining villages were 'horrendous'. Sport and recreation were essential to bring meaning and pleasure to mining families, and were fundamental to the complex social relationships within and between communities.

Features of this extensive text include:

* analysis of the physical, social and economic structures that determined the leisure lives of the mining villages
* the role of 'traditional' and 'new' sports
* comparisons with other British regions.

About this title

About the Author:

University of Windsor, Canada Formerly at the University of Strathclyde, UK La Trobe University, Australia

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 041548491X
• ISBN 13: 9780415484916
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 222