Pre-Industrial Britain

Question 1

Different social classes - description (2,3) activities they did (2,3 points)

Answer 1

Upper class:

• Also known as aristocrats
• These were the gentry that were land owners

Activities they did

• These were seen as the ‘patrons’ of the sport
• In modern terms they were sponsors of the events, they ran and organised it etc.
• They would also put wagers on their ‘footmen’ – in other words they would bet on them winning.

Lower class:

• Also known as peasant class
• Worked manually on the land

Activities they did

• Would be the competitors
• Thought to have started from them being the footmen of the upper classes.
• Footmen were employed to ensure that the carriages drawn by the horses did not overturn.

Question 2

Examples of sports they took part in (5 each)

Answer 2

Upper:

• Archery
• Horse-riding
• Fox-hunting
• Real tennis
• Croquet

Lower:

• Mob football
• Shin kicking
• Bare-knuckle fighting
• Dog fighting
• Chicken fighting

Question 3

The gender divide Women (5) vs Men (4)

Answer 3

Women:

• Did not participate in the same activities as men
• Their activities were shaped by the expected behaviour
• Seen as the weaker sex – due to this activities were less strenuous
• Women had less rights ; particularly in the peasant class
• Activities included ‘smock races’ for peasants and archery for upper classes

Men:

• Had a wider variety and opportunity
• Males seen as the stronger sex
• Had more rights in society
• Lower class males participated in physical and violent activities, upper classes participated in more refined activities such as real tennis.

Question 4

Law and order

How was it? (1)
This meant that..? (2)
This was…
For example..? (1)

Answer 4

During this time there was little law and order in existence, there was no real recognised police system in place.

This meant that:

• there were few formal laws, and individuals could pretty much do what they wanted.
• society was violent and harsh.

This was ultimately reflected in the sports that the peasant classes participated in.

For example Mob Football had few rules in them; so too did bare knuckle fighting.

Question 5

Education and literacy Upper vs Lower (3 each)

Answer 5

Upper:

• Were educated
• Were literate
• Allowed them to participate in more sophisticated games

Lower:

• No education
• Illiterate
• Meant activities needed to be simple with few or no rules.

Question 6

Availability of time on sport and pastimes (3)

Answer 6

• The class of the individual would dictate the amount of available time they had to participate in sport and pastimes.
• The upper classes had time on their hands to participate in sport as they would have lower class individual’s completing their work.
• This meant that they could take part in longer lasting activities for example fox hunting which could last the duration of the day.

Question 7

How to remember key points

Answer 7

S – simple rules
C – cruel/violent
O – occasional
W – wagering
L – local

C – courtly/popular
O – occupational
R – rural
N - natural