Dear Lacemakers,
in a minute, I'll write about the thesis that "lacemakers are
immoral", but first - while I've got your attention - I'd like to give
you this link to a description of a scheme for adding an "ICE" (in
case of emergency") facility to your mobile phone. It can be a great
help to the emergency services when they are trying to help people.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4674331.stm
Now, let me quote from page 79 of "Children of Straw" by Lazlo L. Grof:-
"In 1842 Parliament heard that 'The moral condition of lace-makers
seems nearly as low as that of the plaiters . . .', and '. . .
chastity is at a sad discount, . . . prostitution is at a high
premium'." Apparently this opinion was widespread, particularly among
churchmen, throughout the nineteenth century. Reports from various
parliamentary commissions commented on 'a great lack of chastity',
frequent fornication, and even prostitution.
Straw plaiters were the people who made the long plaits of straw which
were sewn together to make bonnets and boaters. Especially in
Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, it was the main occupation for women
and children, apart from lacemaking, farm work and domestic service.
Like lacemaking, it had the advantage that they were able to live at
home while making a contribution to the family income. My own home is
just off Hatters Lane.
"Children of Straw" is about the lives of the straw plaiters of
Edlesborough in North Buckinghamshire, but much of what it has to say
sheds light on the lacemakers too. Grof, (I'm afraid I don't know how
to get the accent over the 'o' into this email), examines the question
of their immorality and - I'm thankful to say - concludes that it was
probably no worse than anyone else's at the time. In fact, it may
have been somewhat better. The main grounds of the argument were that
living in crowded cottages had a bad effect on morals. Grof writes:-
"Mr. Werge Howey from Coleshill (Buckinghamshire) commented: 'As a
rule cottages have two rooms. Male and female . . . huddle together
to keep in warmth; . . . frequently one blanket for the lot of
children', which, in his view, was 'certainly not conducive to decency
and morality'."
Not only the bedroom was seen as a source of immorality, but also the
living room, where they all worked together. This was because this
had the effect of ' . . . keeping at home ALL the females, hence a
good deal of immorality in the young, and morality held little in
esteem.' But if you went out of doors you were not safe either.
Straw plaiting had the advantage over lacemaking in that it could be
carried with you - you could work as you walked along. So you were
probably meeting young men in the country lanes and fields, and
getting up to no good there too. It becomes clear that the only
morally safe place was in domestic service, and there just happened to
be a shortage of servants in these districts. Of course, girls who
went away from home to work were more vulnerable, despite their more
restricted lives, but that wasn't mentioned.
Another of the 'disadvantages' of lace making and straw plaiting was
that they provided some income for women, making them 'too independent'.
They were not submissive, and also liked to dress well. Their fine
clothes were quickly explained as the profits of prostitution.
Lacemaking usually paid a little better than straw-plaiting, but was a
little more difficult to learn. However, straw could be taken about
with you, unlike lace. This led to lacemakers looking pale and
unhealthy from spending long hours indoors, but straw plaiters often
had sore lips - they held the straw in their mouths and it was often
treated with brimstone and vitriol to bleach it. There was a local
saying that a man should marry a lacemaker if he could, because she
would bring in more money and be nicer to kiss.
There's lots more of interest in the book, but I'm afraid I've gone on
for far too long already.
Linda Walton,
(in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, U.K.).
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