Abstract
This chapter looks at the spread of day nurseries in England, the country showing the least interest in organising a coherent system. The discussion of the history of English day nurseries starts with an analysis of the treatise An essay upon nursing and the management of children from their Birth to Three Years of age by William Cadogan (1711–1797), the English physician best known for his connection with the London Foundling Hospital. Published in 1748, this work anticipates Rousseau in its recommendation of maternal breastfeeding. This is followed by an account of the poor relief system as represented, on the one hand, in the Poor Laws and, on the other, in relation to the series of laws passed in the late nineteenth century designed to protect very young infants, whether or not abandoned. The small number of institutions offering care for infants confirms the hypothesis – formulated by many historians – of a “maternalist” social policy. It was widely held that it should be the mother herself or, failing that, a nursemaid or nanny, who cared for her infant at home – an attitude that did not favour the creation of day nurseries. The chapter continues with an account of the spread of day nurseries in various English cities, set up by associations that were also active in promoting school nurseries, their evolution in the context of the First World War and eventual unification – although with little financial advantage – under the wing of the Ministry of Health.
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Bibliography
1. Primary Sources on Day Nurseries
2. General Historiographical Works
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Caroli, D. (2017). The Spread of Day Nurseries in England. In: Day Nurseries & Childcare in Europe, 1800–1939. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59227-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59227-9_4
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