Popular recreation in pre-industrial Britain

Overview

Popular recreation and mob games, their occasional, local and unwritten character, aristocratic and peasant pastimes, field sports, class, blood sports, gambling, the church and the threat to law and order.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

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1. 1

   What is meant by popular recreation?

   Model answer

   Popular recreation describes the pastimes of ordinary people before industrialisation. The activities were local, occasional and largely unregulated.

2. 2

   What were the main characteristics of mob games?

   Model answer

   Mob games were violent, with few rules and unlimited numbers of players. Mob games were played between whole villages on festival days.

3. 3

   Why were mob games played only occasionally?

   Model answer

   Peasants worked long hours on the land and had little free time. Games were held on holy days and festivals, such as Shrove Tuesday.

4. 4

   Why did mob games have so few written rules?

   Model answer

   Most of the population was illiterate, so rules were passed on by word of mouth. Rules varied from village to village.

5. 5

   Why were pre-industrial games often local?

   Model answer

   Transport was poor, so people rarely travelled far from home. Each village developed its own version of a game.

6. 6

   How did the pastimes of the aristocracy differ from those of the peasants?

   Model answer

   The aristocracy played refined, codified games such as real tennis. Courtly pastimes needed money, space and expensive equipment.

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