British Friendly Societies,

Transcription

1 British Friendly Societies,

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3 British Friendly Societies, Simon Cordery Monmouth College

4 Simon Cordery 2003 S o f t c o v e r r e p r i n t o f t h e h a r d c o v e r 1 s t e d i t i o n All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 2003 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. I S B N I S B N ( e B o o k ) D O I / This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cordery, Simon, British friendly societies, / Simon Cordery. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Friendly societies Great Britain History. 2. Public welfare Great Britain History. 3. Working class Great Britain History. 4. Great Britain History Sources. 5. Great Britain Social conditions. 6. Great Britain Politics and government. I. Title. HS1508.G7C dc

5 For Stacy and Gareth

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7 Contents List of Illustrations and Tables Acknowledgements Abbreviations ix xi xiii Introduction 1 1 Roots and Rituals 12 2 Patrons, Radicals, and the Struggle for Control 42 3 Regulatory Voluntarism 65 4 The Politics of Respectability 98 5 The Late-Victorian Loss of Confidence Into the State 152 Conclusion 175 Notes 183 Index 224 vii

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9 List of Illustrations and Tables 1.1 Ancient Order of Foresters sash Independent Order of Rechabites medal Great Bedwyn Friendly Society drinking mug Medbourne Ancient Order of Foresters procession Anti-free trade poster Grand United Order of Oddfellows postcard Independent Order of Rechabites postcard Scottish Widows Fund annual report The National Insurance Act Illustrated 170 Tables 3.1 Royal Commission on Friendly Societies classification system Membership growth in selected affiliated orders 105 ix

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11 Acknowledgements It is with great pleasure that I thank the many people who have helped me in this project. First and foremost I owe a tremendous debt to my family. To Stacy there are more obligations than I can possibly ever repay: she researched, read, revised, and continually encouraged despite her own writing commitments. Gareth, who derived great enjoyment from my notecards and gave great joy in return, lived gracefully with this project for a quarter of his young life. My father, Ned, and my mother, Mary, helped at every stage, from coffee making to researching and revising. My in-laws, Jim Rozek and the late Agnes Rozek, gave me refuge and love. My professional debts are many but were without exception gratefully contracted. First, Edward Royle and Standish Meacham proved to be helpful, critical, cheerful, and above all patient mentors. Daniel Weinbren shared with me his vast knowledge of friendly societies and of the process of becoming a historian; he also lent generously of his time and hospitality. David Neave, at an earlier time, encouraged me to keep plugging away and symbolically passed the mantle. Marcel van der Linden and Jan Lucassan, along with Richard Price, provided me with an invaluable opportunity to listen and learn from others studying mutual benefit societies at a crucial time in my doctoral studies. I am also grateful to James Riley for his encouragement and assistance. Many scholars on both sides of the Atlantic helped me in a variety of ways, including Angela John, David Crew, Howard Miller, Andy Boeger, Jim Sharpe, Jim Walvin, Colin Divall, Brad Brown, Stacey Robertson, Paul Johnson, David Nash, Jamie Bronstein, Peter Clark, Chris Prom, and John Stewart: I am grateful to all of them and more besides. I also benefited tremendously from the positive contributions made by audience members in Leicester, York, Austin, Asheville, Leeds, Chicago, Milton Keynes, Oxford, and Urbana. I have been blessed with congenial and helpful colleagues at Monmouth College. I particularly want to thank Judi Kessler and Ira Smolensky for reading and commenting on the entire manuscript. Discussions with Andrew Weiss at an early stage of this project helped me conceptualise some of the problems. The administration, particularly Richard Giese and George Arnold, made it possible for me to gain the time and space needed to complete this project. The college librarians, xi

12 xii British Friendly Societies, especially Trish Pepmeyer and J.Richard Sayre, have been unfailingly helpful, as have Leah McLaren and Bev McGuire. The students in my modern British history seminar also deserve thanks for forcing me to clarify my thinking and for keeping me cheerful. I also wish to thank the professional and helpful staff at Palgrave Macmillan for shepherding me through the publication process, particularly Luciana O Flaherty and Anne Rafique. This book has been immeasurably improved by their assistance. Like all historical studies this one rests on archival material without which it would have been impossible to write. I am grateful to the many archivists and librarians who assisted me, including especially those at the Doncaster Archives; the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick; the University of Leicester Library; the Leicestershire Record Office; the Suffolk Record Office in Bury St Edmunds; the Public Record Office, Kew; the British Library Newspaper Library, Colindale; the British Library of Social and Political History at the London School of Economics; the Tolson Memorial Museum, Huddersfield; the Manchester Central Library; the Derbyshire Local Studies Library, Derby; the Library of Congress, Washington, DC; and the Newberry Library, Chicago. I have also been the fortunate recipient of research funding which has enabled me to travel to these depositories, beginning with a Dora Bonham Travel Grant from the University of Texas and the Sheffield Fellowship from the same institution. I greatly benefited from a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend, an Associated Colleges of the Midwest travel grant, and faculty development grants from Monmouth College.

13 Abbreviations pounds sterling s shillings d old pence Foresters Ancient Order of Foresters Oddfellows Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity BPP British Parliamentary Papers BL British Library PRO Public Record Office MRC Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Libraries xiii