Pre Industrial Britain

Question 1

How did social class shape the characteristics of, and
participation in, sports and pastimes in pre-industrial Britain?

Answer 1

Social Class. Two class society
Upper class – landowners, born into class (hereditary), wealthy, privileged, lots of leisure time, educated. Tended to take part in fox hunting real tennis
Peasants – worked manually very long hours on land, poor, uneducated, low status, no influence. Tended to be involved in mob football, bare-knuckle prize fighting, cock fighting

Question 2

How did gender shape the characteristics of, and

participation in, sports and pastimes in pre-industrial Britain?

Answer 2

Women considered to be very much the ‘weaker sex’!
Women not permitted to take part in anything considered too strenuous or dangerous
Lower class women allowed to compete in ‘smock race’ a foot race with a smock (basic dress) as a prize
Upper class women could take part in ‘civilised and gentle’ sports such as archery

Question 3

How did law and order shape the characteristics of, and participation in, sports and pastimes in pre-industrial Britain?

Answer 3

Lawlessness common, with no police force. Sport, especially within the lower classes reflected this lack of order, with lower class sports such as mob football, bare-knuckle prize fighting, cock fighting being violent and often brutal.
Upper classes more educated with a much easier life and could afford to be more civilised and play more complex civilised sports such as real tennis

Question 4

How did education shape the characteristics of, and participation in, sports and pastimes in pre-industrial Britain?

Answer 4

Upper classes literate and more educated, so upper classes sports such as real tennis reflected this – sophisticated, complex rules
Lower classes mostly illiterate and largely uneducated, so sports played by the lower classes played reflected this – few, if any rules, e.g. mob football

Question 5

How did availability of time shape the characteristics of, and participation in, sports and pastimes in pre-industrial Britain?

Answer 5

Upper classes rarely had to work, so had plenty of leisure time so sports could be more frequent and last longer, e.g. fox hunting
Lower classes had to work long hours on the land, so could only play sports on festival days e.g. New Year’s day, Shrove Tuesday

Question 6

How did availability of money shape the characteristics of, and participation in, sports and pastimes in pre-industrial Britain?

Answer 6

Upper classes were usually rich, so could afford horses, equipment, facilities, clothing and owned land on which sport could take place, e.g. fox hunting, archery, real tennis
Lower classes had very little or no disposable income, so could only play sports requiring inexpensive equipment and played on existing space – village streets and market squares, e.g. mob football. Lower classes may wager the little money they had e.g. on prize fighting with the hope of making a lot of money and going from ‘rags to riches’

Question 7

How did availability and type of transport shape the characteristics of, and participation in, sports and pastimes in pre-industrial Britain?

Answer 7

Although roads poor, upper classes had more opportunities to travel via horse and carriage so could travel further to facilities away from their homes – start of standardised rules, e.g. real tennis.
Lower classes mostly only had the option to walk as a way of travel, so sports lower classes played were local with usually unwritten rules unique to the village in which they were played, e.g. mob football.