The Decline of Life: Old Age in Eighteenth-Century England

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 5
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Dedication......Page 9
Contents......Page 11
Figures......Page 12
Tables......Page 13
Acknowledgments......Page 14
Abbreviations......Page 16
Introduction: Old age in eighteenth-century England: no “golden age of aging”......Page 17
Elements of continuity in the history of old age over the eighteenth century......Page 23
Change: the origin of old-age pensions......Page 25
1 Who was “old” in eighteenth-century England?......Page 32
Historical literature on defining old age......Page 34
Population age structure, longevity, and the ubiquity of the aged in eighteenth-century life......Page 37
The functional definition of “old”: physical decline and the understanding of the aging process......Page 42
Cultural definitions of old age......Page 46
Cultural signals of men’s old age......Page 49
Women’s old age and menopause......Page 51
The chronological definition of “old”......Page 60
The onset of old age......Page 69
Literary sources......Page 71
Administrative records......Page 72
Diaries and parish records......Page 75
Conclusion......Page 79
2 The activities of the “helmsman”: self-reliance, work, and community expectations of the elderly......Page 81
Retirement and the conception of the elderly’s ability to work......Page 83
Expectations of continued work in later life......Page 84
The rise of retirement......Page 89
The degree to which the elderly did work: men and work in later life......Page 98
Women and work in later life......Page 105
Gender and community roles for the aged......Page 114
Members of Parliament......Page 117
Old age and local community involvement......Page 121
Roles specific to the aged in community life......Page 124
Conclusion......Page 130
3 “The comforts of a private fire-side”......Page 132
The old person in charge: ideals of residential independence for the elderly......Page 135
Old people’s homes in household listings......Page 142
The marriage bond in old age: eighteenth-century ideals......Page 147
Provisions for widows in wills......Page 152
Conclusion......Page 156
4 Independent but not alone: family ties for the elderly......Page 157
Adult children and old parents: reciprocal support and ideals of affection......Page 158
Co-residence between parents and children......Page 166
Grandparents and grandchildren......Page 171
The wider network of kin......Page 181
Non-relatives in the homes of the elderly......Page 186
Conclusion......Page 187
5 Community assistance to the aged under the Old Poor Law......Page 189
Relief to the aged under the Old Poor Law......Page 190
Regional variations in poor relief to the aged: national system or local solutions?......Page 199
The Old Poor Laws at the local level: assistance to the elderly in Terling, Puddletown, and Ovenden......Page 205
Explaining regional disparities in poor relief......Page 223
Family system......Page 225
Charity......Page 227
Economic explanations......Page 232
Conclusion......Page 234
6 Continuity and change in community assistance to the elderly over the eighteenth century......Page 237
The scope of elderly dependence on parish relief in Terling and Puddletown......Page 238
The value of the parish pension......Page 243
Relief in kind......Page 248
Gender differences in poor relief to the aged......Page 253
Poor relief to the “old-old”......Page 257
Conclusion: continuity and change in outdoor relief......Page 261
7 Within workhouse walls: indoor relief for the elderly......Page 263
The Role of workhouses in late eighteenth-century communities: Terling......Page 265
The role of workhouses in late eighteenth-century communities: Ovenden......Page 275
Workhouses around the nation......Page 281
The English workhouse as old-age asylum......Page 282
Conclusion......Page 290
Conclusion: Old age as a useful category of historical analysis......Page 293
calderdale district archives......Page 300
dorset record office......Page 301
essex record office......Page 303
PRINTED PRIMARY SOURCES......Page 304
SECONDARY SOURCES......Page 310
Index......Page 331