London Season

Traditional annual period and networking event during which upper-class members of British society attended social engagements to find favourable partners for marriage.

History

The London Season developed out of coincidence during the 17th and 18th centuries and enjoyed its greatest popularity during the Victorian era (Wilkins, 5). When Members of Parliament met in London for the parliamentary sessions, they brought their families with them. This phenomenon led to an increase of members of the upper class residing in London who wanted to be entertained and socially integrated during the parliamentary recess from Spring to Summer (Wilkins "Elite", 28).

Although the London Season reached its peak during the Victorian era, it nevertheless gained more importance during the 18th century, too, when a change in mentality towards marriage occured. This time saw a first idea of companionable partnership and romance which encouraged people to select their partners based on their romantic interest. This new mentality allowed for new options to find partners that went beyond arranged marriages between families. But as marriage in the upper class still aimed at the preservation of property, the search for favourable partners had to take place in a respective environment. Thus, the London Season became an important marriage market for the upper classes (Moore, 8-10).

The Season

The Season comprised a series of events for which upper-class society would come together to cultivate relationships. In May 1886, a British journalist described this new phenomenon as follows:

"To give a definition of the London season that would satisfy a West End lady and inform an inquiring Oriental is not an easy task. The difficulty arises from the fact that the "season" is not [...] limited by fixed dates [...] It is not especially the dancing season, the riding-in-the-Row season, the Parliamentary season, the drum season, the bazaar season, or the garden party season, but the season of all combined." (Harper´s New Monthly Magazine quoted in Gosling, 7)

The London Season was an "intensive three-month social whirl participated in by those whose breeding, wealth and status marked them out as the so-called cream of the British society" (Gosling, 5). The Season encompassed a range of engagements designed for social networking - and although participation was not obligatory for an upper-class family, it was crucial to engage in the social engagements for the sake of building relations and displaying wealth and importance (Wilkins "Elite", 31). The social event became increasingly popular during the 18th century. At the beginning of the century, only around 6,000 families participated in the Season and it increased to 26,000 participants by the end of the century (Wilkins, 6). According to Wilkins, there was "the perceived necessity of elite members of society to forge connections with other powerful individuals or whole families, in order to further political careers or to secure the marriages of their offspring" (Wilkins, 6).

The Season traditionally reached its climax in May, June and July. During these months, there was an array of events including morning, afternoon and evening activities such as balls and opera. Each of these events required an appropriate dresscode, which made the London Season a very costly affair for participating families (Phegley, 40-41). Social barriers were thus created by the costs connected to participation alone, leading to an exclusionary system that isolated the upper class from the other social classes (Wilkins "Elite", 32). However, money was not only aspect that contributed to a familie's social acceptability and receiving invitations to social events. Members of society that wanted to participate in the Season had to adhere to strict rules of etiquette all the time (Wilkins, 6-7). Whoever would not conform to the expectations of upper-class behaviour was not desired at any social engagements during the Season and thus excluded from society.

Aftermath

Changes in the economic conditions of the country led to a change in society and to the emergence of newly-rich people. The effects of the industrialisation changed the social structures in London around the late 19th century and by that redefined the traditional qualifications for belonging to a social class. This essentially transformed society as it allowed for social mobility between the classes (Gosling, 8-9). The effect of these social changes was a new constellation of people participating in the London Season as it led to an increasing number of newcomers that originally did not belong to upper-class families but came from wealthy middle-class families, who had moved to London in the context of industrialisation (Ellenberger, 638). By presenting a daughter at the London Season, a family indicated that they wished to belong to and participate in society (Ellenberger, 641). As a consequence, the Season lost its elite and exclusionary character and became more of a glamorous event for urban social classes after the First World War (Gosling, 9).

Although the London Season does not exist in its traditional form anymore, some elements have prevailed. Many events that were an integral part of the Season are still celebrated today, such as the Ascot Derby.

Marriage Market

The London Season served as an elite marriage market for upper-class families. It essentially put favourable daughters on display in order to find a suitable husband. After parental power in finding a spouse had decreased, the marriage system (especially during the Victorian era) followed a more structured system of formal courtship for the upper classes to ensure that ensure that marital connections would result in beneficial social and economic relations for the families (Phegley, 13-39).

The quest for a favourable spouse followed strict courtship rituals and behavioural standards that allowed for no misconduct, which would inevitably damage the public reputation of an upper-class family. For example, it was not possible for a gentlemen to spend time with a romantic interest alone. Apart from seeing each other at formal events during the London Season, a gentleman could never contact a lady directly but had to pay a visit to her female guardian (e.g. mother) in order to visit her at home (Phegley, 45). Hence, the ladies were in a more active position in the context of finding a partner.

Sources

Ellenberger, Nancy: "The Transformation of London 'Society' at the End of Victoria's Reign: Evidence from the Court Presentation Records". Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies 22, 1990, pp. 633-653.

Gosling, Lucinda: Debutantes and the London Season. Shire Publications, 2013.

Moore, Wendy: "Love and Marriage in 18th-Century Britain." Historically Speaking 10, 2009, pp. 8-10.

Phegley, Jennifer: Courtship and Marriage in Victorian England. Praeger, 2011.

Wilkins, Kathryn: Elite Networks of the London Season. Perspectives from the New Mobilities Literature. Durham Theses, 2010. Durham E-Theses Online, URL: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/689/.

Wilkins, Kathryn: “The most exclusive village in the world”: The Utilization of Space by the Victorian Aristocracy during the London Season". Urban History Review 40, 2011, pp. 5-16.