The building trade workers of London, 1835-1860

Abstract

The building industry was the largest industrial employer of labour in London during the mid nineteenth century. However the industry included a wide variety of trades and types of employer, from the opulent contractors to the humble and insecure speculative or jobbing builders. The building artisans likewise possessed diverse degrees of skill end status which were reflected in their trade clubs and Societies. These had in many cases been formed long before 1835,but were not ideally suited to grappling with the new challenges resulting from the increasing prevalence of competition at all levels in the London building industry. The building trades' resistance to the demands and pressures of the new competitive system was stultified by the failure of the great Operative Builders' Union in 1833-34 to stave off the changes which were so transforming the industry. During the 1840's and 1850's, the London building trades, because of this experience, showed a marked aversion to uniting on a, large scale, and wore unable to maintain the unity which developed during the London building dispute of 1859-60.However notable progress was made in uniting the workers within each London building trade. The stonemasons in particular were able because of their close-knit trade Society to achieve a creditable victory against the master builders in 1841-42, and made in addition a notable contribution to the development of democratic political activity in the capital. Internal cohesion was not however achieved in any London building trade without a long struggle against the geographical and status-based divisions which had for so long dissipated their strength. By the early 1850's however, the London building trades had come to terms with the new situation in the industry and were beginning to take advantage of its weaknesses. This began a period of material improvement which ended with the definitive confrontation with the master builders in 1859-60.