BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

Members of the military, none of whom ranked at the level of
admiral or general, represent merely 1.8 percent of those identified,
as compared with 3.7 percent professionals. Clerical interests were
prominently represented, constituting 9.8 percent of the named
categories if we include individuals working as assistants or servants
for local rectories within this grouping. Service occupations
accounted for 3 percent of those identified while the "drink industry,
which comprised a brewery manufacturer (2.4 percent), inns and hotels
(4.9 percent), and public houses (.6 percent), totaled 7.9 percent.
Industrial merchants constituted 3 percent of those named,
while shopkeepers accounted for a substantial 13.4 percent.
Individuals engaged
in the skilled trades constituted 6.8 percent of
those identified compared with 12.8 percent of unskilled workers,
presumed to be either agrarian laborers or servants.49
Farmers and
estate managers accounted for 33.6 percent of the total.
Given that only 16.9 percent of those listed on the register
are identified by occupation, some degree of caution must be exercised
when drawing conclusions from the material.
Of the 970 individuals
whose names are listed on the roll, only 57 were Knights or Dames.
Asssociates accounted for 94.1 percent of the membership.
Most of the
rank and file participants could not be identified .from the directory,
which featured only the more prominent members of the community. Thus
49 jhis determination is made from the addresses provided on
the register. The individuals identified appear to have few, if any,
family members and are associated with what appear to be large farming
establishments. Their numbers are likely to be substantially
underestimated because of the difficulty of obtaining positive
identification.