Conclusions on Women's Life

There is little to be found about the womens' way of life in the Upper Hamlets of Princes Risborough, (Loosley Row, Lacey Green and Speen), before the seventeen hundreds. i feel sure that it had been exactly the same both before and after that time with little major change until the twentieth century. Even so a very few do stand out.

For centuries women were expected to have one role in life - marriage. Children normally followed immediately. At first one is led to believe that a lot were were born prematurely. However I was told more than once that some men wanted to know that their girl was fertile before marrying her. I do believe that some may have been "shotgun weddings", judging by the look on the groom's face in photos. However, I can with no doubt at all, say that most first children were born within two years of marriage.