Table Of ContentPARENTING IN ENGLAND 17601830
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Parenting in England
1760–1830
Emotion, Identity, and Generation
J OANNE B AILEY
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© Joanne Bailey 2012
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First Edition published in 2012
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ISBN 978–0–19–956519–1
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For Lilian Begiato and Gabriel Bailey
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Preface
We two kept house, the Past and I,
Th e Past and I;
I tended while it hovered nigh,
Leaving me never alone.
It was a spectral housekeeping
Where fell no jarring tone,
As strange, as still a housekeeping
As ever has been known.
Th e Ghost of the Past by Th omas Hardy
I began to work properly on this project around 2005 when I contributed a chap-
ter on parenting to a festschrift for Anthony Fletcher. Th is persuaded me that the
history of parenting was ripe for reconsideration. In 2007 I had the very good
fortune to win teaching relief from Oxford Brookes University, followed by a two-
year research fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust, giving me three (sincerely
appreciated) years to plant, develop, nurture, and bring to fruition the tentative
seeds I identifi ed earlier. In that time ‘the Past and I’ have ‘kept house’ intimately,
as I have immersed myself in the various sources I collected and the lives of those
who produced them. I hope that I have done them justice when writing about
their world.
Th roughout this project I have incurred numerous debts and met abundant
kindnesses. My fi rst thanks must go to the institutions and organisations that have
funded my research. Oxford Brookes University generously provided me with time
to begin this project and also funded archive trips to York, Birmingham, and
London, and the training for the qualitative software I used to analyse my data.
I am sincerely grateful to the British Academy for a Small Research Grant, which
funded access to my primary sources, and to the Scouloudi Foundation, Institute
of Historical Research, University of London, for a Scouloudi Historical Award
which speeded up my collection of data. Th e Leverhulme Trust awarded me a two-
year Research Fellowship which has been utterly invaluable. Th is book would never
have been completed as quickly as it has without this support. I also thank all those
who invited me to deliver papers at conferences and seminars, and who listened
and off ered insightful comments and questions.
A host of colleagues and friends have helped me by variously off ering advice,
lending books, discussing my work, reading drafts, or reminding me how lucky
I have been to have research time. Th ey include: Michael Baker, Carol Beadle,
Helen Berry, Claire Cox, Matthew Craske, Tom Crook, Virginia Crossman, Eliz-
abeth Foyster, Henry French, Loreen Giese, Adrian Green, Peter Jones, Anne-
Marie Kilday, Steve King, Alysa Levene, Anna Maerker, David Nash, Angela
McShane, Glen O’Hara, Christiana Payne, Sarah Pearsall, Andrew Spicer, Jane
viii Preface
Stevens-Crawshaw, Sarah Taylor, and Cassie Watson. Steve King and Peter Jones
deserve special thanks for giving me access to their pauper correspondence data.
Th eir academic generosity is much appreciated. I benefi ted too from the Press’s
anonymous reviewers’ wise (and speedy) comments. Rupert Cousens was an en-
thusiastic editor in the book’s initial stages at OUP and Stephanie Ireland took
over its progress and deftly guided me through its completion. I also thank the
students at Brookes who have taken the history of the family modules that I have
taught. Th eir questions have forced me to explain myself better and their interest
in these topics has sustained mine.
A s ever, special appreciation is owed to Anthony Fletcher for his interest in my
studies, for his encouragement, and willingness to read drafts and make fantastic
suggestions. His and his wife Brenda’s hospitality is always wonderful too. I remain
indebted to Chris Brooks, my PhD supervisor, for providing me with a model to
aspire to in historical research, writing, and intellect. He has also taken the time to
read and discuss my work and off ered incisive feedback. Both he and his wife
Sharyn continue to support me with good humour.
Finally I off er my thanks to my family for all they do. My in-laws, Tony and
Sheila, always maintain an interest in my scholarly habits. My mother’s help in
caring for my son and taking on so many mundane tasks on my behalf has
smoothed my way through life’s many stresses and allowed me to concentrate on
my research. I am grateful to my son for cheerfully accepting a mother who is often
distracted by reading and writing history. In fact, this project owes its inception to
him because it was after his birth that I began to notice references to children and
parents in historical sources and to wonder how parents’ sense of selves changes
over time and place. My partner-in-parenting is my husband Mark; also a great
father. He has kept my head above water with love, help, good humour, and
common sense; all with only the occasional escape to restore his personal peace by
angling. I celebrate the family in its unfolding form by dedicating this book to my
mum and my son; my beginning and my future.
JB
Acknowledgements
Th e author would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce copy-
right material:
Bridgeman Art Library (illustrations: cover, 3, 9, 19, 20); Cadbury Research
Library: Special Collections, University of Birmingham for allowing me to cite
from the Shaw letters; City of York Libraries, Archives and Local History for per-
mission to cite from the Munby and Gray family papers; Maney Publishing for
material used in “Th ink wot a Mother must feel”: Parenting in English pauper let-
ters c. 1760–1834’, Family & Community History, 13/1 (2010), 5–19; Sage Publi-
cations Ltd for material used in ‘Th e “after-life” of parenting: memory, parentage,
and personal identity in Britain c . 1760–1830’, J ournal of Family History , 35/3,
(2010), 249–70 (URL h ttp://jfh.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/04/23/036319
9010369528?patientinform-links=yes&legid=spjfh;0363199010369528v1 ), by
Sage Publications, Inc., All rights reserved © Sage Publications; Th e Bodleian
L ibrary, Oxford (illustrations: 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18); Th e National
Maritime Museum, Greenwich, UK (illustration: 14); Th e Wellcome Library,
London (illustrations: 4, 7, 8, 10); Tyne & Wear Archives for permission to cite
Jane Bewick’s ‘My Mother’, Accession 4388.
