Lucy Barbara Hammond (née Bradby, 1873–1961) was an English

social historian Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...

who researched and wrote many influential books with her husband,

John Lawrence Hammond John Lawrence Le Breton Hammond (18 July 1872 – 7 April 1949) was a British journalist and writer on social history and politics. A number of his best-known works were jointly written with his wife, Barbara Hammond (née Bradby, 1873–1961). ...

, including the ''Labourer'' trilogy about the impact of

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

and the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

upon the lives of workers.

Early life and education

Born on 25 July 1873, she was the seventh child of Edward Bradby, who was a master at Harrow and headmaster of

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an international ...

. In 1885, her father retired from Haileybury and moved to the new charitable settlement of

Toynbee Hall Toynbee Hall is a charitable institution that works to address the causes and impacts of poverty in the East End of London and elsewhere. Established in 1884, it is based in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, and was the first university-affiliat ...

in London's

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, with the family residing at

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

– a significant change from Barbara's rural upbringing but which she took in her stride. She was then sent to the progressive new boarding school of

St Leonards St Leonards may refer to: Places Australia *St Leonards, New South Wales **St Leonards railway station *St Leonards, Tasmania, suburb of Launceston * St Leonards, Victoria Canada *St. Leonard's, Newfoundland and Labrador New Zealand * St ...

in Scotland, which was pioneering academic education for girls. In 1892, she won a scholarship to

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

, following her sister Dorothy. She was the first woman student at Oxford to use a bicycle and was also head of the college's

boat club A boat club is a sports club serving boat owners, particularly those interested in rowing and yachting, but also kayaking, canoeing, motor boats and other small boats. See also *Rowing club *Yacht club A yacht club is a sports club specifi ...

, captain of the

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

team and a tennis champion. She further distinguished herself by being the first woman to take a

double-first The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

Classical Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...

and Greats – a set of examinations renowned for their difficulty. This feat inspired a

limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

: ::In spite of long hours with a

crammer A cram school, informally called crammer and colloquially also referred to as test-prep or exam factory, is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high school ...

, ::I never get more than a Gamma, ::But the girl over there ::With the flaming red hair ::Gets Alpha Plus every time, damn her!

Marriage and writing

At Oxford, she became a fellow of Lady Margaret Hall. There, she had met

and they married in 1901 after he had established a career in political journalism, becoming the editor of the Liberal weekly review, '' The Speaker'', in 1899. They lived in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

and were both active in campaigning against the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. She was also active in the

Women's Industrial Council The Women's Industrial Council (WIC) was a British organisation active from 1894 to about 1917, promoting the interests of women at work. Federation The organisation originated as the Women's Trade Union Association, founded by Clementina Black i ...

until ovarian tuberculosis forced her to retire and also prevented her from having children. The couple moved to

Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath (locally known simply as the Heath) is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band o ...

in 1905 for the sake of her health, which was now delicate. In 1907, John became secretary of the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rou ...

and this position gave him sufficient time to write books too. They worked together on these with Barbara focussing on the research while John concentrated on the writing. While she had done better academically at Oxford, she told her husband John that "she hated using her brains". He wrote that her strength was "putting great masses of fact & detail in order, seizing their significance & seeing how they should be set out." Their first work together was a study of the effects of

and the

upon the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

es. When taken to the publishers,

Longmans Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

, this was found to be too long and so Barbara restructured the work into separate volumes. The first of these was ''The Village Labourer'' which was published in 1911. This was well-received and had an immediate political impact, informing Liberal policy produced by the Land Enquiry Committee of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

– a driver of the

Liberal welfare reforms The Liberal welfare reforms (1906–1914) were a series of acts of social legislation passed by the Liberal Party after the 1906 general election. They represent the emergence of the modern welfare state in the United Kingdom. The reforms demons ...

. In 1912, they moved again to a farmhouse called Oatfield in the rustic village of

Piccotts End Piccotts End is a village in Hertfordshire, England situated on the upper River Gade. While often mistaken for a hamlet, it became a village when its church – All Saints – was dedicated in 1907 and remained a place of worship until the 1970s ...

which was to be their home for most of their lives. Barbara would work here while tending the large garden and collection of animals. Their friend, the historian

Arnold J. Toynbee Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's Colleg ...

, recounted her spartan, therapeutic lifestyle which emphasised fresh air – open windows, long walks, riding and outdoor sleeping. She would make occasional trips to the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...

for research while John spent more time in London for his job. During the Second World War, he worked at the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and so they moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

for the duration but then returned to Piccotts End in 1945. John died there in 1949 and Barbara died later in 1961.

Publications

''The Village Labourer 1760–1832: a Study of the Government of England before the Reform Bill''
(1911)
''The Town Labourer 1760–1832: The New Civilisation''
(1917)
''The Skilled Labourer 1760–1832''
(1919) * ''

William Lovett William Lovett (8 May 1800 – 8 August 1877) was a British activist and leader of the Chartism, Chartist political movement. He was one of the leading London-based artisan Radicals (UK), radicals of his generation. A proponent of the idea tha ...

, 1800–1877'' (1922) *''

Lord Shaftesbury Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his fa ...

'' (1923) *''The Rise of Modern Industry'' (1925) *''The Age of the

Chartists Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...

1832–1854: A Study of Discontent'' (1930) *''

James Stansfeld Sir James Stansfeld, (; 5 March 182017 February 1898) was a British Radical and Liberal politician and social reformer who served as Under-Secretary of State for India (1866), Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1869–71) and President of ...

: A Victorian Champion of Sex Equality'' (1932) *''The Bleak Age: England 1800–1850'' (1934)

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Barbara 1873 births 1961 deaths Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford British women academics English classical scholars Women classical scholars English female cyclists Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Liberal feminism Social historians