Economic History

Black Friday, 1921

The mining dispute of 1921, writes Patrick Renshaw, was one of the most serious industrial conflicts that Britain has faced.

The Cloth Mills of the Stroud Valley

During the Industrial Revolution, many “dark Satanic mills” arose to scar the English landscape. But in Gloucestershire, writes Esther A.L. Moir, home of the cloth industry, commerce and the art of architecture achieved a happy compromise.

Marriage and Property in Jane Austen’s Novels

For the landed gentry at the end of the eighteenth century, writes J.F.G. Gornall, there were two main components in marriage. Jane Austen’s novels reveal how 'equal alliance' was at least as important as mutual affection.

The British State Lotteries

Often denounced by moralists and economic experts, writes Robert Woodhall, public lotteries flourished in England from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I until their abolition in 1826.