Book excerpt: First published in 1982, this book is concerned with the tensions between continuity and change in customs, rituals, beliefs of artisans, factory workers and sections of the lower middle classes in the nineteenth century. It explores a range of factors which contributed to changes in custom, including the effects of urbanisation, conflict over the use of public land, new conceptions of public order, the decline of the oral tradition and the growth of a new recreational nexus in the larger cities. Drawing on material from all parts of the British Isles, the book demonstrates the enormous variety and diversity of popular tradition. This book will be of interest to those studying Victorian history.