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Dr Claire Strachan discusses her findings on Wednesday 10 February in a free public lecture entitled ‘Congregation and Community: Space, Architecture and Identity in the South West woollen industry, c.1760-1850’.
A new study into the role of religion among the working classes during the industrial revolution will be presented at the University of Leicester. The research centres on the woollen industry of South West England, where a domestic industry had existed since the twelfth century.
The study involved analysing the architecture and spatial locations of nonconformist chapels in seven case studies in the South West, and illustrates the significance of religious observance in the expression of community identity.
Dr Strachan’s detailed research into the social and economic contexts of the region revealed that nonconformist Christian identities were not only visible in the built environment, but also in the social actions of the cloth workers, influencing their behaviour, political beliefs and relationships with their employers. Religious observance had a much greater impact on the social and political landscape of the industrial revolution than has been previously considered.
Dr Strachan commented:
“This research demonstrates that a study of religious observance is not only a valuable tool in understanding the social life, group interaction and identities of the working classes, but also provides a timely and necessary study of the archaeology of the industrial period. This is particularly significant given the increasing focus within industrial archaeology on the social activities of the working classes and the trend to move away from traditional studies of technology and processes that have previously dominated the discipline.”
The research suggests that the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century can be attributed to a rising in confidence of the working classes, not as previously argued, the stunting of it. The study proposes that religion was an integral part of social life during the industrial revolution, providing comfort and security, particularly in times of distress and instability, and a place for people to talk, share their experiences, and their grievances.
Dr Strachan’s research will be presented at the Doctoral Inaugural Lectures being held in Lecture Theatre 3, Ken Edwards Building, University of Leicester. Lecture time: 5.30pm-6.30pm on Wednesday February 10th.
