154 ENGLISH AGRICULTURAL LABOURER. 



he was followed by Miss Davies in 1905 by her Life in an 

 English Village ; and later on Mr. Rowntree in his How the 

 Labourer Lircs applied the same method to rural life which 

 he had to town life. 1 



Ridgmount, lying twelve miles from the county town of 

 Bedford, is in the centre of one of the largest purely agricul- 

 tural districts in England. The village is bounded on one 

 side by the YVoburn Park of the Duke of Bedford, who is 

 the greatest landowner, house-owner, and employer of labour 

 in the district. A considerable amount of freehold land had 

 existed in the village, but by the process of absorption, the 

 whole parish became almost entirely the property of the 

 Duke. 



Ridgmount is typically English, for not only has it its 

 Duke, owning and controlling nearly everything, but, besides 

 its church it has its Baptist chapel which is said to have 

 been founded by John Bunyan. The whole population 

 was directly or indirectly engaged in agricultural pursuits. 

 The sole exceptions of any importance consisted in the 

 residence of two railway signalmen in the village and of 

 one man and three lads who worked in the printing works 

 at Aspley Guise, two and a half miles distant. 



The best cottages were those owned by the duke and let 

 at is. 6d. per week, and this sum might be taken as the 

 standard rent. 



To get at a minimum standard consistent with physical 

 efficiency Dr. Mann accepted Mr, Rowntree's basis, which 

 was that the necessary minimum cost for food for a man was 

 3s. per week, for a woman 3s., and for a child 2S. 3d. 



On enquiry Dr. Mann found that Mr. Rowntree's standard 

 of 6d. per week for a man or woman, and ^d. per week for a 

 girl or boy under sixteen years of age for clothes, was regarded 

 by the people as an absolute minimum and these figures 

 were therefore retained. A shilling a wivk was allowed for 

 fuel after taking into consideration the amount of wood 

 which could be picked up. Beyond this, 2d. per head per 

 week was allowed for other sundries such as soap, light, furni- 

 ture, crockery and similar articles. A man, wife and three 



1 Poverty : A Study of Toicn Life, by 13. Sccbohm Ro\vatree. 



