upper-class gents attended to business between the hours of ten in the morning and four in the afternoon. This did not mean that the clerks, lawyers and agents they were consulting worked only these hours – 8 a.m until 7 p.m. was considered a normal day for them – but that it was the only available business slot for gentlemen who were expected to travel into town from some distance. The prevalence of this pattern even dictated bank opening hours.
