This is the first intensive study of an industrial community in early modern England. Levine and Wrightson employ the latest techniques of socio-historical research and make full use of a wide variety of contemporary sources to explore many aspects of life in Whickham between 1560 and 1765. They bring together vital strands--including industrial development, agrarian change, social stratification, demography, religion, work, leisure, living standards, kinship and the family--to produce a rounded and vivid picture, which throws into relief the achievements, benefits, and costs of the complex process of industrialization. The development of Whickham is set in the larger context of socio-economic change during this period.