Using samples of households from the 1851 and 1881 censuses of Arnold,
Nottinghamshire, a proto-industrial village specializing in framework knitting, the research
reported in this article examines the changes in the economic activities of household members as
the domestic industry was being superseded by the factory system. The data show the continuing
importance of the family economy to the economic viability of households and the increasing
significance of the economic contribution of wives. These economic contributions were made
possible by an increased demand for women to do homework as seamers of hosiery, which
occurred as a consequence of changes in the methods of manufacturing knitted garments.
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