Proto-Industry, Women's Work and the Household Economy in the Transition To Industrial Capitalism

Abstract

Using samples of households from the 1851 and 1881 censuses of Arnold, Nottinghamshire, a proto-industrial village specializing in framework knitting, the research reported in this article examines the changes in the economic activities of household members as the domestic industry was being superseded by the factory system. The data show the continuing importance of the family economy to the economic viability of households and the increasing significance of the economic contribution of wives. These economic contributions were made possible by an increased demand for women to do homework as seamers of hosiery, which occurred as a consequence of changes in the methods of manufacturing knitted garments.