Lloyd, JP;
(2006)
The Lloyds of Birmingham: Quaker culture and identity 1850 - 1918.
Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).
Abstract
This thesis focuses on the men and women of three generations of the Birmingham Quaker Lloyd family, ironmasters, bankers and industrialists. Using the family biography as a case study, the thesis explores the social and cultural world of a provincial middle-class family, paying particular attention to questions of class and gender between 1850-1918. Their lives were framed by their spiritual beliefs though this was a time of much change for Quakers: many left the faith to join the Church of England, while those who remained merged with the rest of the middle classes and were no longer identifiable as a 'peculiar' people. I argue that while the patterns of their Quaker culture shifted significantly over the period under review, some aspects of its distinctiveness remained well into the twentieth century. The twin themes of culture and identity are explored through the use of an extensive family archive. The approach has been thematic and includes an investigation of the Lloyds' familial world, philanthropic activity, public contribution to Birmingham municipal government, travel in the colonies and lastly their experience during the First World War. The emphasis is on generational change and continuity and the ways in which the social and cultural practices of one prominent Quaker family were constituted from one generation to the next. The thesis is placed in the context of wider historical events which profoundly affected the family's fortunes. Since they dwelt, assumed public responsibilities and practised their Quaker religion in Birmingham, the histories of the Lloyds and Birmingham are inexorably entwined. While much Quaker history has been celebratory, the thesis often complicates and goes against the grain of some received notions of who the Quakers were.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Lloyds of Birmingham: Quaker culture and identity 1850 - 1918 |
| Identifier: | PQ ETD:593063 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Thesis digitised by ProQuest. |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1445739 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
