Joys of the Cottage : Labourers’ Houses, Hovels and Huts in Britain and the British Colonies, 1770-1830

What uses, meanings and rituals did plebeian occupants create around their dwellings and gardens? The following discussion offers some tentative answers to such questions. Labouring and elite interests were not congruent. Although poor people often recognised the terms of cottage debate, their sense of place had distinctive components, notably land, food, specific objects and a freedom to close doors or roam abroad.