Pets and Family Life in England and Wales, 1837-1939

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In Britain today, pets are often at the heart of family life, but we know relatively little about the roles they played in families in the past. This project will be the first systematic study of the relationships between families and their cats, dogs and other companion animals in British history. Our aim is to track the changing position of animals in the home, in relation to broader shifts in family life, including transformations in size, relationships, intimacy, housing and living conditions that took place between the nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. Pets played a powerful emotional role in the everyday lives of individuals and families and their presence constituted an important part of domestic life. Often considered peripheral, these creatures have a great deal to tell us about the changing behaviours of families, new emotional configurations and everyday practices. Our project aims to investigate the position of pets in the family, in relation to shifting authority structures, hierarchies and relationships, and changing built environments and domestic routines. So far, pets have attracted the attention of scholars who point to their increasing presence in Victorian society, and the broader social and ethical significance of the treatment of animals. But we know much less about their role in family life. The research for the project comprises a major new archival survey, focusing on the cultural representation of pets and families, consumption and the growing market for pet-related products, and their everyday presence. The archival research will be divided into three sections. Firstly, we will consider how pets figured in the contemporary imagination, by tracking their changing cultural representation by looking at artwork and illustrations, novels, and popular print culture. Secondly, we will survey how pets were bought and sold and the new things that were created for them, looking at advice literature and surviving material objects, examining the expansion in specialist products such as food, collars and toys. Finally, we will look at how they figured in the everyday lives of families, carrying out a large-scale survey of personal documents including diaries, letters and photographs. Our sources will also include oral histories and court records, allowing us to build up a picture of pet keeping in families from a range of social backgrounds. To gain an overview of differences in pet-keeping practices across the nation, our research focuses on key locations in England and Wales, the urban centres of Cardiff, Liverpool and London, as well as the rural north west. The project will generate new historical research and interpretation, substantially advancing knowledge in this area and transforming interpretations of the family and domesticity in social and cultural history. A significant part of the project will be concerned with engaging with audiences beyond academia and taking forward a public history agenda. Working together with The Bishopsgate Institute and the National Trust Hardman House, institutions that hold signifcant but underdeveloped collections of pet photography, we will create physical and digital exhibitions and a series of events allowing us to interact closely with members of the public. We will also collaborate with Pets as Therapy, contemporary practioners with a significant stake in the emotional role played by pets.