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PRINTING CHAPELS
Nobody knows for sure how the term Chapel became so familiar with the Printing Trade, particularly in the United Kingdom. Being an Aussie it was imported into Oz by the POHMS (Prisoners of Her Majesty), more affectionately known as Poms over here or "Ten Pound Tourists in the 60's and 70's.
But back to Chapels, I like to think it can be linked to the time that Abbeys etc. had hundreds of scribes, translating and copying the Bible and other manuscripts. In between being pillaged and raped by the Vikings they worked away making copies of the Latin Bible.
The head of the Scribes would have most likely been a Father and he beat on and loved his scribes so much he become the Father of the Chapel. When Joe Gutenberg and later Bill Caxton (in the UK), started doing there thing, I am sure that the printing shops all around the place started employing hundreds of hand compositors.
Now being Comps. (I was one!) I'm sure they thought the sun shone out of their arse and were somewhat militant and formed themselves into groups to protect their interests. They would have elected a Spokesman to meet the boss and so it went.
They called the Head Union delegate the Father of the Chapel and his offsider the Clerk of the Chapel. So FOC and COC would go and complain to the Boss about whatever! That's my theory anyway!
Rod Parham
But back to Chapels, I like to think it can be linked to the time that Abbeys etc. had hundreds of scribes, translating and copying the Bible and other manuscripts. In between being pillaged and raped by the Vikings they worked away making copies of the Latin Bible.
The head of the Scribes would have most likely been a Father and he beat on and loved his scribes so much he become the Father of the Chapel. When Joe Gutenberg and later Bill Caxton (in the UK), started doing there thing, I am sure that the printing shops all around the place started employing hundreds of hand compositors.
Now being Comps. (I was one!) I'm sure they thought the sun shone out of their arse and were somewhat militant and formed themselves into groups to protect their interests. They would have elected a Spokesman to meet the boss and so it went.
They called the Head Union delegate the Father of the Chapel and his offsider the Clerk of the Chapel. So FOC and COC would go and complain to the Boss about whatever! That's my theory anyway!
Rod Parham
Views: 175
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Meredith Miller on -
I'm not in the printing trade, so I never new any of this. But in the UK the word 'chapel' made me wonder if it had something to do with dissenters (methodists and others) and early workers organising, since chapel specifically denotes dissent from the C of E and general working class politics. The Wiki article seems to agree with both of these ideas, the early church stuff and the later dissenter connection.
I had a friend in Wales who bought a bunch of old floor boards from a salvage guy. Since she spoke fluent Welsh he identified her right away as both a Welsh Chapel person (which she isn't) and a lefty activist (which she is). Both are pretty sweeping assumptions. So anyway, in order to convince her it was ok to buy the floorboards he said, 'I got them from a church, not a chapel'.
I've learned something already from being a member of History Talk. Hurray. -
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Permalink Reply by Rod Parham on -
Dear Meredith, That's a great point! My ancestors in Australia came out to South Australia around 1840 and most of them were Primitive Methodists. Now these Christian people were a breakaway group from the Methodist establishment and certainly were active in helping the British Farm workers form themselves into the early genesis of Trade Unions. As you know they were shockingly exploited by most of the landowners and the Primitive Methodists allowed them to meet and organise in their churches. A lot of the time the Church supplied the Leaders for the Movement!
One thing you should look up on Wikipedia is the Burston School Strike from 1914 to 1939. It is a wonderful story and worth following up! I believe the BBC made a telemovie about it in the 70's or 80's. Sorry for the Rant! Cheers Rod -
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Permalink Reply by Meredith Miller on
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Hi Rod, I read about the Burston School Strike, thanks so much for pointing this out to me. So inspiring! Makes me believe we can do this again. Now that education has been completely taken over by business managers it's getting more and more corrupt and quality is dropping like a stone in the UK, especially for working people's children of course. Many of us have been thinking grassroots community education is the only way forward. I'll be sending this on to lots of friends.
Cheers!
Rod Parham said:Dear Meredith, That's a great point! My ancestors in Australia came out to South Australia around 1840 and most of them were Primitive Methodists. Now these Christian people were a breakaway group from the Methodist establishment and certainly were active in helping the British Farm workers form themselves into the early genesis of Trade Unions. As you know they were shockingly exploited by most of the landowners and the Primitive Methodists allowed them to meet and organise in their churches. A lot of the time the Church supplied the Leaders for the Movement!
One thing you should look up on Wikipedia is the Burston School Strike from 1914 to 1939. It is a wonderful story and worth following up! I believe the BBC made a telemovie about it in the 70's or 80's. Sorry for the Rant! Cheers Rod -
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Permalink Reply by Pete Martin on -
Hi Rod and Merideth
I used to work for the Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU) in the Leicester Branch (UK).
The term 'chapel', though widely used, had very vauge origins. One theory was that the Church used to control the majority of print houses and as such the term was adopted by the workers. This seems to fit in with both your ideas and Meredith's thoughts.
There is mention of the print chapel in Henry Pelling's 'A History Of British Trade Unionism':
"For much of the seventeenth century....the practice had existed of the journeymen in each London printing establishment forming a body known as a 'chapel'.The term 'chapel' apparently had no religious signifigance when used for this purpose: it may be derived from similar usage in France, which can be traced back to the sixteenth century" (Pelling,1988:p10).
I would suggest that the term may have been a 'bastardisation' of a French word or phrase (only a theory though!).
So, we are still none the wiser are we of the true origin!!!! What we do know is that that workers in the industry have a long and proud history of dissent and fighting for fairness and justice.
Hope this is useful - Cheers, Pete -
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Permalink Reply by Rod Parham on
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Dear Pete and Meridith, Yes! It is useful, and contributes wonderfully to the mystery of the Printing Trade particularly in years gone by. I did my apprenticeship in hot metal and graduated to being an Intertype operator setting Hansard for the South Australian government in the 1970's and 1980's, before being elected as a Union Organiser in 1983.
One of my pet loves in the printing industry is the "wayzgoose" (Printer's picnic or Dinner). Anyway, a day out for the printers. Definitely a tradition we inherited from the United Kingdom and observed up until the 1950's in Australia, before some well meaning egghead starting calling it a Printer's Picnic.
I once came across a request from the Father of the Government Printing Office chapel asking the boss if the printers could have Saturday morning off (44 Hour Week) to go to the Wayzgoose. The Boss had written in red ink across the request "DENIED". This was around 1908. The bastards never change! regards Rod -
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Permalink Reply by Pete Martin on
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Great story Rod - you are right, they never change in their attitude to workers!!!!!
Rod Parham said:Dear Pete and Meridith, Yes! It is useful, and contributes wonderfully to the mystery of the Printing Trade particularly in years gone by. I did my apprenticeship in hot metal and graduated to being an Intertype operator setting Hansard for the South Australian government in the 1970's and 1980's, before being elected as a Union Organiser in 1983.
One of my pet loves in the printing industry is the "wayzgoose" (Printer's picnic or Dinner). Anyway, a day out for the printers. Definitely a tradition we inherited from the United Kingdom and observed up until the 1950's in Australia, before some well meaning egghead starting calling it a Printer's Picnic.
I once came across a request from the Father of the Government Printing Office chapel asking the boss if the printers could have Saturday morning off (44 Hour Week) to go to the Wayzgoose. The Boss had written in red ink across the request "DENIED". This was around 1908. The bastards never change! regards Rod -
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Permalink Reply by john Donaldson on -
chapel means local. father of chapel means president of the local
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Permalink Reply by Rod Parham on
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john Donaldson said:chapel means local. father of chapel means president of the local
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Permalink Reply by Rod Parham on
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Dear John, Thanks mate! Much appreciated, it's always been used to describe the head delegate, shop steward etc. in the Printing Industry. I believe in Fleet Street, London, in the hey days of the hot metal newspapers there was a Grand Father of the Chapel, who had a number of departmental FOC's under him or her!
They say that in that time, Rupert Murdoch had to seek permission to go on the shop floor from the FOC.
Anyway, thanks again John.
Regards Rod Parham -
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Permalink Reply by Steve Walsh on
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Hi Rod
I have a slightly different version...the term Chapel started because each morning work used to commence with a prayer meeting , and it was while having that prayer meeting that the workers talked about forming themselves into a union and so to avoid being persecuted by the boss they said they were having a chapel meeting, it was from these early meeting that the compositors then formed the first Typographical unions
Steve walsh -
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Permalink Reply by brian brock on
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If people look at the old Typographical Society membership logo the meaning of the word chapel is printed as part of the membership form
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Permalink Reply by Dave Putson on
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Hi Rod
I have come to this thread a little late. However, my understanding of the term Chapel in the print came about due to the Combination Acts of 1802 which prevented gatherings of 3 or more. Otherwise the same outcome for TU activists would be as for that visited upon Tom Paine who was accused, wrongly, of seditious libel and had to move to France. So rather than just give up with meetings the workers had their Trades Union meetings in a Chapel (good cover, "I'm pursuing my religious beliefs" !!) and so as not to leave leaders exposed called them, rather than Shop Steward or other title, "Father of the Chapel". Of course when the Combination Acts were repealed in 1824 or (6) ? then by that time the name had stuck and voila Father of the Chapel was a Shop Steward or Branch Secretary, Group Conveneor or whatever other title TU's use for their organisation.
This explanation was given to me when I asked a Father of the Chapel friend why such a name. Does this appear as a plausible explanation? It certainly would show how inventive active minds were in circumventing laws drawn from a system at that time which was certainly not democratic but more oligargic in composition.
Dave Putson
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