Differing Responses to an Industrialising Economy - eTheses ...

Table 8.2 Occupational structure in specific occupational groupings from probate data in
The Whole Study Area 1660-1858 (as % of males with known occupations)
1660-
1858
1660-
1699
1700-
1749
1750-
1799
1800-
1858
Agriculture (excl. labourers) 54.9 61.8 58.5 51.9 47.1
All labourers 4.1 3.9 2.5 5.3 5.2
Extractive 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.7
Building (excl. carpenters) 2.2 2.1 1.6 1.2 3.7
Tailors/bodice makers 1.9 2.1 2.5 2.1 1.1
Other textile, clothing & paper manufacture 2.8 3.2 3.7 2.4 1.7
Shoemakers/cordwainers 2.7 1.7 3.6 3.0 2.4
Other leather, horn and tallow 2.9 5.0 3.8 2.1 0.5
Carpenters/joiners 2.5 3.0 1.8 2.3 3.0
Other woodworkers 1.9 1.9 2.1 1.1 2.3
Blacksmiths/farriers 2.9 1.9 3.5 2.9 3.0
Metal (excl. needles/hooks/pins) 0.7 1.1 0.6 1.0 0.2
Needles/hooks/pins 4.2 0.6 2.8 6.9 6.9
Transport 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.6
Innkeepers/victuallers 3.1 1.9 2.1 3.0 5.1
Other food, retail, service, dealing 8.2 6.5 6.2 9.6 11.0
Domestic servants 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.4
Professional 4.0 2.7 3.9 4.3 5.1
Total males with known occupations (n) 3033.5 723.5 912.5 562 835.5
This table shows the steady decline of farmers as a share of the workforce, while
labourers leaving probate never exceed 5.3 %. The brickmakers, lime-burners and stonecutters
(extractive) leaving probate remain less than 1% throughout. After a decline,
building workers rally in the last period. Perhaps surprisingly, tailors leaving probate fall
in the last period, while the decreased share for other textile workers in that period is more
expected.
The shoemakers’ share changes little, but other leatherworkers show a steady
decline. In this source the pattern for carpenters, other woodworkers and blacksmiths is
less clear. After a large increase needlemakers and associated trades plateau in the last
period. The trend for other metalworkers is generally downward. Although transport
workers form only a tiny share of the workforce leaving probate, they show steady growth.
340