The social history of a Midland business : Flower & Sons Brewers, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1870-1914

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with brewery workers in England between 1870 and 1914. It deals with most aspects of labour management and workers' experiences, including their recruitment, training, promotion, working conditions, benefits and retirement. Besides being written in a way which mirrors most labourers' working lives, this study is concerned with these institutions during a dynamic period in a particular industry at a specific midland firm. Primarily, it examines working conditions and business practices at Flower & Sons Brewery in Stratford-upon-Avon and the way in which these evolved in relation to certain scientific and technological developments specific to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although considering economic and political conditions in their national scope, this study also emphasises the local context of employment and business during this period. Most recent histories of the English brewing industry have examined the state of the trade at the turn of the century, as well as developments in science and technology as they related to the trade. Few, however, have had anything to say about the industry's workers, whether employed in manual or clerical capacities. Consequently, this study is an attempt to fill a noticeable gap in the existing literature. However, unlike past histories of labour, this study considers the experiences of the trade's employees within a business-history framework, while always employing the broadest possible definition of what constitutes a worker. It is through tracing a particular firm's financial and administrative past, together with workers' experiences, roles and duties, that makes this study a social history of a midland business