‘Admirably situated for Building upon’ Ashton Freehold Land Society and the suburban development of mid-Victorian Preston

Abstract

This dissertation examines the impact of the mid-Victorian freehold land society movement on suburban development, through the case study of the Ashton Freehold Land Society, established in Preston, Lancashire. Although brief and now little-known, the movement was for a time politically and socially significant. The prevailing narrative is of freehold land societies driven by Liberal voter creation, working-class self-help, temperance and non-conformism. More recent studies have suggested they were far more diverse in practice, acting as a spur to social mobility, contributing to the development of permanent building societies and anticipating the garden suburbs. The impact of estates created by the freehold land societies is still discernible in the suburban topography of towns and cities, with many recognised as conservation areas.

The evidence for the freehold land society movement and for individual societies is sparse. Limited documentary sources have been supplemented by newspapers, family records, maps, and extensive fieldwork to establish the history of the Ashton society and the people who created and lived on the estate in Ashton-on-Ribble. The case study underpins three main arguments. The first is that the distinctive character of the Ashton Freehold estate results from its origins as a freehold land society. The diversity of its architecture and consequent early social mix can be traced to the movement’s evolution from self-help to commercial development. The second argues that joining the society and moving to the estate were significant steps in the owners’ and residents’ lives in terms of their social status and financial position. Finally, that the establishment of the estate in Ashton-on-Ribble was the point at which the aspirational but unremarkable tradesmen and shopkeepers of Preston first moved to the suburbs.

This study reveals the impact of the freehold land society movement beyond the large cities, showing how it promoted the suburban development of an industrial town. A similar approach might reveal its significance for other smaller towns. The history of a new community on the semi-rural outskirts of town is particularly relevant when Preston is once again expanding into the surrounding fields.