Railway Excursion Agents in Britain,1840–60

Abstract

Using a range of contemporary press evidence, now searchable online, this article offers new perspectives on the British railway excursion agent in the period 1840–60. It argues that competing forces which were specific to localities shaped the potential for working-class leisure mobility offered by these agents, who might be regarded as social entrepreneurs. The role of Thomas Cook has been re-interpreted, using a case study of excursion agent Henry Marcus.