AT first glance, the middle classes might be thought of as an unlikely group to indulge in play for money. In an age of unlimited business and personal liability, of uncertain commerce, and of new and vulnerable investment markets, their fortunes and possessions were unprotected and ruin was always a possibility. Time was a precious commodity in itself and not lightly given over to frivolous pursuits. Even in such circumstances, however, people found ways to enjoy their favourite pastimes. The middling sort were, in fact, uniquely qualified to play prudently, relying on the habits and characteristics of their widely varying trades and professions to construct a safety net that allowed them to combine prosperity with play within limits.

The Complete Tradesman: work ethic and professionalism

Historians agree that the eighteenth century's ‘middling classes’ did not constitute a self-conscious ‘middle class’; that sort of coalescence did not occur in England until the nineteenth century. However, merchants, skilled tradesmen, and professionals did have a distinct sense of common purpose, the roots of which extended back to the guilds of the Middle Ages. The eighteenth-century business ideal owed a great deal to the collective honour and fair dealing of the guild structure, while borrowing standards of sober industry and honesty from religious traditions. These values made trust and its financial counterpart, credit, possible, which in turn fostered the smooth function of cooperative commercial networks. Such shared standards, drummed into middling children from an early age, fostered a sense of collective identity, which was strengthened by a shared social network and common amusements.