Author: Nicholas C. Collins (Department of Archaeology and History, University of Exeter)

ABSTRACT:

This article argues that continuity was the key feature of non-elite experiences of leisure in England 1700-1850. It uses a new dataset of leisure activities collected from criminal and coroners’ depositions which fills gaps in existing knowledge, particularly by providing new evidence on rural areas, the north of England, women, and those below the level of the middling sort. For all of these groups, the most popular form of leisure was drinking; distinctively new activities appeared only rarely. This contributes to a broader argument that changes to daily life in this period were less significant than once thought.

KEYWORDS: Leisure, gender, sociability, drinking, long eighteenth century

Published on Cultural and Social History, Volume 23, 2026 - Issue 2

https://doi.org/10.1080/14780038.2025.2578907

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