Women did far more than housework, new Exeter study of England reveals

New research led by the University of Exeter challenges long-held assumptions about women’s work in early modern England, showing they played a far more significant role in the national economy than previously believed. 

Historians have examined thousands of 16th to 18th-century court records and witness statements, finding that more than half of women’s work at the time took place outside the home.

Much of what has traditionally been seen as “housework” was in fact carried out for pay in other households, while women were also active in farming, commerce, care and craft.

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The findings are brought together in a new book, The Experience of Work in Early Modern England, published this week by Cambridge University Press and available open access.

The book draws on evidence from a five-year European Research Council project led by Exeter’s Professor Jane Whittle, an expert on the rural economy.

Professor Whittle, leading the study, said: “Out of the most common types of farmwork, our evidence shows that women dominated milking, undertook more than 40% of other cattle farming tasks, did a third or more of harvest work, and were active in sheep farming and caring for horses.”

“Only in ploughing and wood cutting do we find activities that they rarely undertook – but overall, the many hours of agricultural labour they provided each year reveals the fallacy of describing this as ‘man’s work’.”

Beyond agriculture, the study shows women ran shops, bought and sold at markets, and often worked in money lending and pawnbroking. Many were also employed in paid care roles such as midwifery and nursing.

Professor Whittle said the evidence challenges the stereotype of women as confined to domestic roles: “Our research shows that women in early modern England undertook a much greater variety and quantity of work than has been recognised. Their contribution was vital to farming, commerce and care, and central to the economy of the period.”

The study highlights Exeter’s contribution to reshaping the understanding of women’s history and labour, with the University at the forefront of re-examining assumptions about gender and work.