Social and cultural constructions of communities in South Yorkshire colliery settlements : the mining households of the Darfield and Wombwell district, c.1851-1900.

Much of the literature relating to the history of miners
has been written from a union orientated perspective. In
this study a broader understanding of the lives of miners
and their families is sought. Notions of community and
communal belonging are central throughout the investigation.
The extent of migration is considered. Clear evidence of
residential clustering of migrants is uncovered. This had a
significant impact upon community development within the
settlements.
The study acknowledges the centrality of the workplace in
mining communities. Primary evidence suggests, though, that
the mining workplace was not a cohesive social unit.
Divisions within the workplace were as significant as those
bet ween capital and labour. Longstanding, rigid divisions
between grades of mining employees were uncovered which
impacted upon their lives outside work.
An examination of women's lives within the settlements
questions the general assertion that they played an
economically passive role within mining settlements. Women
participated actively in the public life of the settlements
through their involvement in mining disputes and other
communal expressions of approbation, such as rough music.
Religious and leisure activities revealed much about how
individuals sought to construct their own identities and
those of their settlements. Both boundaries of belonging and
the triumph of custom over capitalist relations were
affirmed through events such as
celebrations.
The study reveals the composite
belonging. Individuals engaged in
the annual feast
nature of community
a multiplicity of
communities ranging from the micro-community of the family
to the macro-community of the nation. The nature of
individuals' communal participation was determined by
factors such as their: age; gender; workplace position; and
marital status. Communal belonging was fluid. Particular
aspects of communal identity fluctuated in significance
depending upon circumstance.