The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #138236   Message #3163533
Posted By: GUEST,Paul Burke
01-Jun-11 - 01:55 AM
Thread Name: Did Robert Peel have a Lancashire accent
Subject: RE: Did Robert Peel have a Lancashire accent
we don't have recordings of people's accents before the late 19th century, and even then the few famous recordings (e.g. Gladstone) are of uncertain veracity. Prior to the 19th century, a person's social status could be assessed instantly from their dress. Moreover, Public School and University education was less universal among the ruling classes than was the case later. Accent as a social diagnostic would have become more important as the Industrial Revolution made cheaper clothes more widely available- exactly the period of Peel's youth. Since Robert Peel went to Harrow and Cambridge, you can probably assume he was a fully housetrained toff despite his rather infra- dig commercial background.