Speed skating on short distances in England
There is an area, Fen region, close to Cambridge which is rather similar to the Netherlands and also the same activities are taking place. Even nowadays, when there is ice, the people are going to skate. In the 19th century they organized short distance speed skating matches like in the Netherlands. The agricultural laborers were participating in the races which were organized by the landowners and noble people. The winners received a considerable amount of money compared with their weekly income. A nice video illustrates the similarity between the Dutch and British skating scene at that time.
The people who comment in the video are equally exited as the Dutch people who called skating “divine”. We can also see in the video how many people came to see these races.
There is also a longer version of this document which can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le6M_ZO5AEc
Although some people will have been happy receiving extra money by skating, one may assume that during the long winters the British agricultural laborers suffered in the same way as the Dutch ones. We like to pay attention to this situation before we move on with the activities of the upper class creating the skating sport of the 20th century.
There is also a longer version of this document which can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le6M_ZO5AEc
Although some people will have been happy receiving extra money by skating, one may assume that during the long winters the British agricultural laborers suffered in the same way as the Dutch ones. We like to pay attention to this situation before we move on with the activities of the upper class creating the skating sport of the 20th century.