Summary: Cities and people: The uses of leisure – M. Girouard (1985)
In the 16th century a group of people formed the ‘polite society’, or the ‘beau
monde’ or ‘people of quality’, who were later called just ‘society’. They had no
formal existence and no legal powers. It was a group of people who did things
together, entertained each other, wore particular clothes and talked, behaved
and decorated their houses in a particular manner. Any society had an inner ring:
members who were informally recognized as arbiters of who or what was
acceptable. Society became an important element in cities, because it produced
theatres, shops, coffee-houses etc. Till then there was not enough leisure in the
medieval city to produce a leisure industry.
But the seeds were there, especially in 3 groups of the medieval city:
1. The court of the ruler
2. The landowning families, who came into cities for a variety of purposes
3. The city establishment, the group which formed city jousting societies
Not every city contained all 3 groups, and in each city the relations between
them and their relative social importance varied, but the resulting group focused
on having fun. There came a new type of immigrant to the city: immigrants with
comfortable private incomes, who came looking for a way of life rather than a
job. However, it was not only about fun: social position could be a tool towards
acquiring a political position.
From the mid-16th century permanent leisure buildings began to appear in cities.
The development of society was a major factor in their appearance, but it was
also due to the fact that increasing numbers of working people (the lower middle
classes) were also beginning to enjoy regular leisure activities.
Assembly rooms: often independent buildings of considerable size, which
provided tea or coffee, cards and conversation. They became a great feature of
English towns. By the mid-18th century assembly rooms and theatres had both
been accepted as essential meeting places for society.
By then race-meetings also produced significant buildings.
Furthermore promenades and parades emerged, which had several functions: a
parade was a useful place in which those participating could meet people, and
pick up the latest news. Besides that, it was a form of entertainment and of
showing off; people came to see and be seen. It was a place in which society
could establish its sense of identity, and finally a place where mothers could
show off their daughters for marriage.
Parading places in England were called malls, walks or just parades. Those
fashionable parades tended to create a fashionable quarter.
Boulevards were introduced by Paris, public pleasure gardens were a London
innovation. In the 18th century London became a rival to Paris as a pleasure city.
At the beginning of the century it was imitating Paris, but by the end Paris was
imitating London. This was partly the result of the growing size and wealth of
London, as both a capital and commercial city. At the beginning of the 18 th
century it had overtaken Paris as the biggest city in Europe.
Later on pleasure gardens were to be found all over Europe. England invested the
pleasure gardens, and it was England too, that went several steps further and
pioneered the idea of whole cities devoted to pleasure. Or, at any rate, they were
devoted to health and pleasure combined. The combination of being ill and
having a good time seems an odd one, but it has a long history. Therefore
In the 16th century a group of people formed the ‘polite society’, or the ‘beau
monde’ or ‘people of quality’, who were later called just ‘society’. They had no
formal existence and no legal powers. It was a group of people who did things
together, entertained each other, wore particular clothes and talked, behaved
and decorated their houses in a particular manner. Any society had an inner ring:
members who were informally recognized as arbiters of who or what was
acceptable. Society became an important element in cities, because it produced
theatres, shops, coffee-houses etc. Till then there was not enough leisure in the
medieval city to produce a leisure industry.
But the seeds were there, especially in 3 groups of the medieval city:
1. The court of the ruler
2. The landowning families, who came into cities for a variety of purposes
3. The city establishment, the group which formed city jousting societies
Not every city contained all 3 groups, and in each city the relations between
them and their relative social importance varied, but the resulting group focused
on having fun. There came a new type of immigrant to the city: immigrants with
comfortable private incomes, who came looking for a way of life rather than a
job. However, it was not only about fun: social position could be a tool towards
acquiring a political position.
From the mid-16th century permanent leisure buildings began to appear in cities.
The development of society was a major factor in their appearance, but it was
also due to the fact that increasing numbers of working people (the lower middle
classes) were also beginning to enjoy regular leisure activities.
Assembly rooms: often independent buildings of considerable size, which
provided tea or coffee, cards and conversation. They became a great feature of
English towns. By the mid-18th century assembly rooms and theatres had both
been accepted as essential meeting places for society.
By then race-meetings also produced significant buildings.
Furthermore promenades and parades emerged, which had several functions: a
parade was a useful place in which those participating could meet people, and
pick up the latest news. Besides that, it was a form of entertainment and of
showing off; people came to see and be seen. It was a place in which society
could establish its sense of identity, and finally a place where mothers could
show off their daughters for marriage.
Parading places in England were called malls, walks or just parades. Those
fashionable parades tended to create a fashionable quarter.
Boulevards were introduced by Paris, public pleasure gardens were a London
innovation. In the 18th century London became a rival to Paris as a pleasure city.
At the beginning of the century it was imitating Paris, but by the end Paris was
imitating London. This was partly the result of the growing size and wealth of
London, as both a capital and commercial city. At the beginning of the 18 th
century it had overtaken Paris as the biggest city in Europe.
Later on pleasure gardens were to be found all over Europe. England invested the
pleasure gardens, and it was England too, that went several steps further and
pioneered the idea of whole cities devoted to pleasure. Or, at any rate, they were
devoted to health and pleasure combined. The combination of being ill and
having a good time seems an odd one, but it has a long history. Therefore
