Category Archives: Commerce

Georgian Chimney Sweeps

In Georgian England, chimney sweeps took boys from orphanages and homeless children from the streets as indentured servants and apprentices. What they looked for were small boys, usually between five and ten years of age, to clamber up narrow chimney … Continue reading

Posted in Commerce, Georgian Society | 3 Comments

The Georgian Letter-writing Boom

People had written letters to family and friends long before the eighteenth century. The famous Paston letters are only one example. However, both the Georgian and Regency periods saw a vast increase in the amount of correspondence of all kinds. … Continue reading

Posted in Commerce, Georgian Society, Politics | 3 Comments

The Georgian Apothecary

Medicine in georgian times was categorised largely by the social class of the practitioner and the scale of fees they charged. Some doctors did tend to focus on one or two main approaches to treatment — sea bathing, for example. … Continue reading

Posted in Commerce, Medicine & Science | 5 Comments

The Path to Landed Gentry Status

Until recent years, the British upper classes, including the aristocracy, were defined by the ownership of land. Why should land ownership matter so much? After all, from the 17th century onwards, there were many merchant and professional households with incomes well … Continue reading

Posted in C18th Norfolk, Commerce, Georgian Society | 5 Comments

The Georgian Way with People ‘Passing off’ or Short Measure

Giving short measure or trying to pass-off substandard goods is not a modern phenomenon. As the following notice from The Norwich Mercury of December, 1757 shows, the masters of the trade guilds sometimes took strong action against those who threatened … Continue reading

Posted in Commerce, Tid-bits | 1 Comment

The Complicated Lives of the Poor: Seeking a Living

In a previous post, I explained the demands of the 18th-century English Poor Laws. I also mentioned how I came on a locally-printed booklet of transcripts of records made by magistrates taking depositions under the Poor Law in Holt, Norfolk[1]. … Continue reading

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