Barbara Hammond | |
|---|---|
 Chalk portrait byW. Rothenstein in 1908[1] "intensely penetrating blue eyes and ... beautifully abundant, copper-red hair"[2] | |
| Born | Lucy Barbara Bradby (1873-07-25)25 July 1873[2] |
| Died | 16 November 1961(1961-11-16) (aged 88)[2] St Paul's Hospital,Hemel Hempstead,[2] England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | social historian |
| Organization | Women's Industrial Council[2] |
| Known for | TheLabourer trilogy |
Lucy Barbara Hammond (néeBradby, 1873–1961) was an Englishsocial historian who researched and wrote many influential books with her husband,John Lawrence Hammond, including theLabourer trilogy about the impact ofenclosure and theIndustrial Revolution upon the lives of workers.[3]
Born on 25 July 1873, she was the seventh child ofEdward Bradby, who was a master atHarrow and headmaster ofHaileybury College.[2] In 1885, her father retired from Haileybury and moved to the new charitable settlement ofToynbee Hall in London'sEast End, with the family residing atSt Katharine Docks – a significant change from Barbara's rural upbringing but which she took in her stride.[4] She was then sent to the progressive new boarding school ofSt Leonards in Scotland, which was pioneering academic education for girls.[2]
In 1892, she won a scholarship toLady Margaret Hall, Oxford, following her sister Dorothy. She was the first woman student at Oxford to use a bicycle and was also head of the college'sboat club, captain of thehockey team and a tennis champion.[1][5] She further distinguished herself by being the first woman to take adouble-first inClassical Moderations andGreats – a set of examinations renowned for their difficulty.[2] This feat inspired alimerick:[1][6]
In spite of long hours with acrammer,
I never get more than a Gamma,
But the girl over there
With the flaming red hair
Gets Alpha Plus every time, damn her!
At Oxford, she became a fellow of Lady Margaret Hall.[7] There, she had metJohn Lawrence Hammond and they married in 1901 after he had established a career in political journalism, becoming the editor of the Liberal weekly review,The Speaker, in 1899. They lived inBattersea and were both active in campaigning against theBoer War. She was also active in theWomen's Industrial Council untilovarian tuberculosis forced her to retire and also prevented her from having children.[2]
The couple moved toHampstead Heath in 1905 for the sake of her health, which was now delicate.[2] In 1907, John became secretary of theCivil Service Commission and this position gave him sufficient time to write books too.[2] They worked together on these with Barbara focussing on the research while John concentrated on the writing. While she had done better academically at Oxford, she told her husband John that "she hated using her brains".[8] He wrote that her strength was "putting great masses of fact & detail in order, seizing their significance & seeing how they should be set out."[8] Their first work together was a study of the effects ofenclosure and theIndustrial Revolution upon theworking classes. When taken to the publishers,Longmans, this was found to be too long and so Barbara restructured the work into separate volumes.[9] The first of these wasThe Village Labourer which was published in 1911.[2] This was well-received and had an immediate political impact, informing Liberal policy produced by theLand Enquiry Committee ofDavid Lloyd George – a driver of theLiberal welfare reforms.[10]
In 1912, they moved again to a farmhouse called Oatfield in the rustic village ofPiccotts End which was to be their home for most of their lives. Barbara would work here while tending the large garden and collection of animals. Their friend, the historianArnold J. Toynbee, recounted her spartan,therapeutic lifestyle which emphasised fresh air – open windows, long walks, riding and outdoor sleeping.[11] She would make occasional trips to thePublic Record Office for research while John spent more time in London for his job. During the Second World War, he worked at theManchester Guardian and so they moved toManchester for the duration but then returned to Piccotts End in 1945. John died there in 1949 and Barbara died later in 1961.[2]
