The Village Labourer

by J.L. Hammond

Originally published in 1912. This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies. All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Economics

301 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1984

About the author

John Lawrence Le Breton Hammond was a British journalist and writer on social history and politics. A number of his best-known works were jointly written with his wife, Barbara Hammond (née Bradby)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_La....

Reviews

[R.J. Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. If you want to understand 18th Century England, read this.

This is a first rate piece of work, a well researched study that may well (I don't know) be the authors' doctoral thesis. I thought I knew a lot about the enclosure movement and its effect on ordinary people before I read this, but now I know so much more -- and much of what I thought I knew (and much of what I suspect you think you know) is overthrown. Enclosures changed the face of this country. They prepared the way for the industrial revolution and prosperity -- but at an almost unbearable human price.

On top of all that, it's a good read.

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best of the Hammonds' three classics, 'The Town Labourer,' and, 'The Skilled Labourer,' being the other two. The writing is excellent and the contrast between the currents of the 1700s and the 1800s in the development of the English working class is very clear. I daresay, if you are a student of economic history, English history, or the Industrial Revolution you should make it a point to read this carefully.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult read. this is probably due to the style of writing at the time it was​ published.
It did not contain the information I had expected

[Daniel J Noraika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent social history that is a "must read" for anyone intending to develop an understanding of not only the conditions of ordinary rural people in much of Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries, but also to understand how we have arrived in our current social and political situation. It is especially revealing in terms of the acquisition of wealth and power by minorities in this country at the expense of the majority. It allows the discerning and critical reader to appreciate that in these terms we appear to have made little progress in power sharing or the proper value of labour and those that contribute the most to the wealth of the nation.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enclosure was pretty horrendous. The book is infuriating, fascinating, and at times, though the topic was terribly serious, the authors are quite witty and colorful. Also, this entry should be updated to mention that J.L. wrote it with his wife, Barbara.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at the economics of rural life from 1760 to 1832. The long and short of it is that life backed then sucked. Yet this book, all 403 pages of it, is actually a well researched and written account of a turbulent time in English history.

[David Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although published in 1911, written with an avowadly socialist intent, and, through selective use of evidence, biased in its uniformly critical interpretation of enclosures, this valuable work of social history, if read carefully, remains an important source for the study of the English village of the period, and provides a wealth of information vital to understanding the context surrounding the Swing Riots of 1830 and the coming of the New Poor Law in 1834.