This talk will consider some of the attempts to replace or mitigate the effects of the industrial capitalist system that came to dominate Victorian Britain – one that many of your own ancestors will have experienced in one form or another. Most proved impracticable and unachievable, and are often described as ‘Utopian’, echoing the non-existent society described in Thomas More’s 16th century essay. Nevertheless, they can still tell us a great deal about how and why men and women across the Victorian social spectrum were attracted to them, and the extent to which they did succeed.
We will look first at Robert Own’s socialist experiment at New Lanark Mills before considering the Chartist Land Plan, one of several 19th century movements that saw a return to the land as a solution to the ills of urban industrial life. We will also analyse some middle class experiments in communal living, intended to offer a ‘refuge’ from the perceived ‘ugliness’ of Victorian urban life, both in terms of its physical landscape and social relationships.
The talk will conclude with a brief overview of schemes founded on similar aspirations in the early 20th century.
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About the Speaker
Cynthia Brown
Cynthia Brown is a social historian who has conducted extensive research into her own family history. She is active in the field of oral history as a trustee of the Oral History Society, one of its Accredited Trainers, and co-author with Mary Stewart of the oral history and family history guidance on the Oral History Society website.
