History of Sport - Popular Recreation

Popular Recreation 

Characteristics: 

• Occasional - free time for recreation on holy days, linked to festivals
• Rural - before industrial revolution, Britain was agricultural 
• Violent - reflecting harshness of 18th century, aggession, often linked with alcohol 
• Limited rules - illiteracy, no NGBs 
• Local coding - few rules in one community 
• Wagering - chance to go from rage to riches through betting 
• Popular - two class society 
• Local - limited transport and communications 

Types of Activity:

• Field sports - fishing, fox hunting
• Blood sports - **** fighting, bear baiting 
• Games - cat & dog, mob football
• Combat sports - archery, jousting 
• Water pastimes, recreational bathing, public baths 

Pre-Industrial Britain:

• Feudal - gentry own land, peasants worked 
• Rural - majority lived in countryside communities 
• Literacy - gentry were literate whereas peasants weren't 
• Work - gentry had lots of leisure time, peasants had long working hours 
• Communications - gentry had access to other villages, peasants were restricted to their own village 
• Church - strong influence on daily life 

Popular Aquatics Activities:

• Fishing 
• Rowing 
• Church 
• Public house 

Recreation in River:

• Washing/bathing place
• Competitions could start to develop
• Commercial boating (transport)
• Fishing - occupation, supplements diet 

Pedestrianism:

• Footmen necessary to ensure comfort of travelling gentry 
• Bets placed by gentry 
• Athletic footmen hired for speed and stamina 
• Semi-formal competitions with prizes for winner 

Boat Races:

• Rowing small boats vital to river towns 
• Bets placed by gentry 
• Boats and watermen sponsored by gentry 
• Early professional sculling 

Public Schools 

Characteristics:

• Long standing
• Endowed - recieved large gifts of moeny 
• Boarding schools 
• Tough 
• Elitest 
• Regular - free time due to lack of supervision 
• Free time - boys could do what they wanted 
• Young boys - excessive energy, lots of rough behaviour 
• Numbers - increased numbers in schools 
• Space - more room for buildings and fields 
• Gentry - influential families 
• Fee paying - fees could develop facilities 

Clarendon Schools:

• Charterhouse school - 1611
• Eton College - 1440 
• Rugby school - 1567 
• Clarendon report - the account of public school life written by the Earl of Clarendon and…