Life in an English village was similar to other villages throughout Europe in the 18th century. Change traditionally came very slowly. Three out of every four Englishmen were rural and lived in small villages. The average village was inhabited by about 200-400 people. The tallest structure in the village was the church.
Home life & work life were closely integrated as most work was done in nearby fields or in the home or perhaps adjoining workshop. The family was an economical unit as well as a social unit. Every member of the family worked very hard from sun-up to sun-down. Even small children had chores.
The homes of villagers were very small with earthen floors and inadequate lighting and ventilation. All members of the family slept in the same room and sometimes shared living quarters with the livestock. Sons worked with their fathers farming and tending livestock while daughters worked with their mothers cleaning, cooking, sewing and at other domestic chores.
The main occupation of England was farming. Private and public lands were not separated by fences as they are today. Every village had a public area called the commons. This was land which was available to anyone for pasturing, hunting, the gathering of firewood, growing of crops, etc... so poor farmers who did not own their own land, or rented, could eke out a marginal living by depending on the commons. Unlike France, most English peasants or farmers did own their own land, however small.
Villages were connected by a system of dirt roads that became almost impassable during the wet season. As a result, transportation was often slow and trade beyond the village was not easy. Most English farmers never visited any place further than 25 miles from their birthplace, ever! People made their own food, clothes, furniture, tools, and homes. A few items which could not be produced could be obtained from wandering peddlers who also brought with them news.
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1.
Draw your own village:
6 small houses, 1 manor house, a common area for all to use and the rest of the land divided into 4 fields.
Put crops in 3 of the fields, write the world Fallow in the empty field (this means field is resting).
Draw at least 6 common people, and a few farm animals.
Draw and label the lord of the manor make sure looks rich.
Life expectancy was slightly over 40 years of age. Most people married in their teens and had babies before they were 20. It was common for women to die during childbirth so the average marriage lasted about 15 years. Step mothers and step fathers were common. One baby out of three died before their first birthday, only one child in two saw their 21st birthday.
The Agricultural Revolution Paves the Way
Large landowners bought smaller pieces of and put up fences (enclosures) around the land. This allowed them to try some of the new techniques and technology in farming
›Crop rotation increased the nutrients in the soil
›Selective breeding of stock (Bakewell).
›Gradual introduction of machinery (Tull seed drill, etc)
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2.
Update your village:
Look back at your original village.
Draw your manor house.
Draw 2 of the village houses from your original picture.
Divide the remaining land into 6 enclosed (fenced) sections
Draw some of your commoners leaving the village and moving to the city.
Draw your lord smiling with some money
Show crop rotation in your fields and a new tractor or seed drill
Show your fields making lots of food.
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3.
Why did the people move to the cities?
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4.
Why did the lords invest in the new machinery and techniques?
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5.
Would you have moved to the city if you were a commoner? Why or why not?
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6.
What is urbanization?
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7.
What is another word for textiles?
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8.
Drawing the Domestic System
Draw and label 1 house for each of the steps in the process:
1.Sheep shearing
2.Carding or straightening the wool
3.Spinning the wool into thread
4.Weaving the thread into cloth
5.Fuller – softening the cloth in urine
6.Finishing – trimming the cloth
7.Now draw arrows showing the path between each house.
