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Introduction
We have a good series of records relating to local workers associations, friendly societies and trade unions. Friendly Societies, where members subscribed towards financial benefits in times of sickness, old age, unemployment etc., became increasingly popular in the 18th century. In 1793 Friendly Societies were granted certain privileges and their rules confirmed by Justices of the Peace in Quarter Sessions. Copies of local Friendly Society rules held here begin in 1784. The legal position of trade unions or 'combinations' changed during the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 18th century it was common for individual trade unions and their members to find themselves prosecuted for trade union activities. The Combination Acts of 1799-1800 banned all trade unions from taking industrial action and although these acts were repealed in 1824 the activities of trade unions were still legally limited. With the passing of the Trade Union Act 1871 unions became legal organisations. However, not until the late 1880s were trade unions established for large numbers of unskilled workers. An example of this 'new unionism' was the 1889 London Dock strike. The workforce went on strike over wages and poor employment conditions. They won the strike and later formed the powerful Dock, Wharf and Riverside Labourers Union. For the record:
There is a mass of trade union information in Parliamentary Papers. This is partly connected to the changing legal status of worker's associations, trade unions and trade union activity. The major series of Friendly Society rules (1784-1912) can be found in series FS 1 and FS 3 with the indexes (by place) in FS2 and FS4.
Early trade union material (up to c. 1850) held with us can be mainly found in the Home Office(1) and Treasury Solicitor's Office records explained in chapter 3: Popular protest and, due to the illegal status of much trade union activity, in legal records; see chapter 4: The law. Major record series for union activity regarded as particularly militant or illegal (after c. 1850) are: HO 41, HO 45 and HO 144. 
Information on union activities in particular industries or services can be found in their appropriate series, such as: RAIL, COAL, MH with a wider variety of material held in the various Ministry of Labour (LAB) series. A principal record series of records are the annual returns for registered trade unions in FS 12 (1872-1958). These records provide such information as:
 These records are listed by place name and can be easily searched. Many local (branch) records can be found in the appropriate county or borough record offices. There are related records at the Rural History Centre(2) (for agricultural labourers trade union records) and the National Union of Mine Workers Archives(3). The online indexes of the National Register of Archives contain a mass of information about the location of trade union and friendly society records. For national (and some local) records of trade unions, as well as those of the TUC, researchers should begin their search at the Modern Records Centre(4). The National Register of Archives contains approximately 250 lists and catalogues of Modern Records Centre holding, and the online indexes of the National Regsiter of Archives include references to over 500 trade unions or branches whose records are held in the Modern Records Centre. An increasing number of the Centre's lists and catalogues can also be veiwed on the Access to Archives catalogue. Useful links
Footnotes1. For transcripts of a selection of such material see A. Aspinall, The Early Trade Unions: Documents from the Home Office Papers in the Public Record Office, London, 1949. 2. Rural History Centre, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire. RG6 2AG. 3. National Union of Mineworkers, 2, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. S70 2LS. 4. Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick, University of Warwick Library, Coventry, West Midlands. CV4 7AL. |
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