Old age, regionalism and the ‘North-South’ divide in late Victorian and Edwardian England
Old age, regionalism and the ‘North-South’ divide in late Victorian and Edwardian England
In late Victorian and Edwardian England, contemporaries argued that older people (or, those aged sixty years and over) in particular had greater employment opportunities, stronger familial ties and were less reliant on welfare in northern than in southern England. This paper discusses whether opportunities were indeed better for older people living in northern England. Using nineteenth-century census datasets for two English ‘southern’ and ‘northern’ counties, it will examine the labour force participation rates of older people, the rates on welfare and the extent of familial support. Overall, prospects were generally greater for older people living in the ‘northern’ counties. However, their fortunes varied within the counties based on particular districts. Also, women were more disadvantaged in terms of poverty and the labour market than men, irrespective of region. As will be shown, more research is needed into the history of older people through a regional perspective, especially for northern England.
old age, regionalism, 'north-south' divide, poverty, employment, family
46-67
Heritage, Tom
b7be57ea-87d0-4474-9122-f51b3b3cc9fe
April 2019
Heritage, Tom
b7be57ea-87d0-4474-9122-f51b3b3cc9fe
Heritage, Tom
(2019)
Old age, regionalism and the ‘North-South’ divide in late Victorian and Edwardian England.
Romance, Revolution and Reform, (1), .
Abstract
In late Victorian and Edwardian England, contemporaries argued that older people (or, those aged sixty years and over) in particular had greater employment opportunities, stronger familial ties and were less reliant on welfare in northern than in southern England. This paper discusses whether opportunities were indeed better for older people living in northern England. Using nineteenth-century census datasets for two English ‘southern’ and ‘northern’ counties, it will examine the labour force participation rates of older people, the rates on welfare and the extent of familial support. Overall, prospects were generally greater for older people living in the ‘northern’ counties. However, their fortunes varied within the counties based on particular districts. Also, women were more disadvantaged in terms of poverty and the labour market than men, irrespective of region. As will be shown, more research is needed into the history of older people through a regional perspective, especially for northern England.
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RRR_No1_4Heritage_Old_Age_Regionalism_North-South_Divide
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Published date: April 2019
Keywords:
old age, regionalism, 'north-south' divide, poverty, employment, family
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Local EPrints ID: 431858
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/431858
ISSN: 2517-7850
PURE UUID: f69c1d3b-14db-4383-a004-2bd9399565d1
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Date deposited: 19 Jun 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:04
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Author:
Tom Heritage
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