Occupational Structure and Literacy in Almondbury in 1866

Abstract

Abstract Counting the number of signatures or marks in the parochial marriage register is a frequently adopted way of estimating historic literacy in a population. This method is used here for Almondbury in 1866 and the resulting analysis compared with the signatures on a memorial collected by the churchwardens to determine whom to recommend to Sir John William Ramsden for appointment as the next vicar. The context of this memorial is explained, and the conclusion reached is that, while neither the register nor the memorial is without methodological problems, both can legitimately be used to form a view of Almondbury society and the level of male literacy in the parish and also, to a lesser extent, that of female literacy.