Social and cultural constructions of communities in South Yorkshire colliery settlements : the mining households of the Darfield and Wombwell district, c.1851-1900.

摘要

Much of the literature relating to the history of minersudhas been written from a union orientated perspective. Inudthis study a broader understanding of the lives of minersudand their families is sought. Notions of community andudcommunal belonging are central throughout the investigation.udThe extent of migration is considered. Clear evidence ofudresidential clustering of migrants is uncovered. This had audsignificant impact upon community development within theudsettlements.udThe study acknowledges the centrality of the workplace inudmining communities. Primary evidence suggests, though, thatudthe mining workplace was not a cohesive social unit.udDivisions within the workplace were as significant as thoseudbet ween capital and labour. Longstanding, rigid divisionsudbetween grades of mining employees were uncovered whichudimpacted upon their lives outside work.udAn examination of women's lives within the settlementsudquestions the general assertion that they played anudeconomically passive role within mining settlements. Womenudparticipated actively in the public life of the settlements udthrough their involvement in mining disputes and otherudcommunal expressions of approbation, such as rough music.udReligious and leisure activities revealed much about howudindividuals sought to construct their own identities andudthose of their settlements. Both boundaries of belonging andudthe triumph of custom over capitalist relations wereudaffirmed through events such asudcelebrations.udThe study reveals the compositeudbelonging. Individuals engaged inudthe annual feastudnature of communityuda multiplicity ofudcommunities ranging from the micro-community of the familyudto the macro-community of the nation. The nature ofudindividuals' communal participation was determined byudfactors such as their: age; gender; workplace position; andudmarital status. Communal belonging was fluid. Particularudaspects of communal identity fluctuated in significanceuddepending upon circumstance.