Whitechapel Home to many of London’s poor, from the working classes right down to the destitute, Whitechapel was plagued by overcrowding, crime and deprivation.
Where did the poor live in London?
These were known as slums and were terraced and /or back to back houses and flats, with several people living in one or two rooms. There was also a large Workhouse on Endell Street near the market. Workhouses were founded by the New Poor Law in 1834.
What was it like to be poor in London in the 1800s?
The Victorian period was a miserable time to be poor. Assistance was only awarded to people who could earn a living, however meagre that living might be. Those who would not or could not work were treated as an ‘underclass’ whose impoverished state was akin to a criminal offence.
What area was the slums London?
The Slums of East London
Two of Phil May’s depictions of life in the East End: East End Loafers and A Street-Row in the East End. The most notorious slum areas were situated in East London, which was often called “darkest London,” a terra incognita for respectable citizens.
Where did poor Victorian children live?
Poor children often lived in small, cramped homes with lots of siblings sharing a room, but some children grew up in the Workhouse, a place where poor people went when they had nowhere else to go for food or shelter. Conditions in the Workhouse were very poor.
Where did poor people live in Victorian London?
The richer people lived in large houses on the main streets and the poorer people lived behind these houses in the “service streets”. Here, horses’ stables and smaller houses were squashed together to create a village of servants, street sellers and labourers.
What were the slums of London called?
A rookery is a colloquial English term given in the 18th and 19th centuries to a city slum occupied by poor people and frequently also by criminals and prostitutes. Such areas were overcrowded, with low-quality housing and little or no sanitation.
What did London smell like in the 1800s?
In the 19th century, London was the capital of the largest empire the world had ever known — and it was infamously filthy. It had choking, sooty fogs; the Thames River was thick with human sewage; and the streets were covered with mud.
What did Victorians smell like?
By the middle of the Victorian era, bergamot and lemon oil had surpassed Eau de Cologne to become the most popular fragrance for women. According to Goodman: “Bergamot and lemon oil, sometimes employed separately but more often used in combination, was the signature smell of the middle years of the century.
What did Victorian London smell like?
The smell of human waste and industrial effluent hung over Victorian London. For centuries the River Thames had been used as a dumping ground for the capital’s waste and as the population grew, so did the problem.
What is the poorest section of London?
The East End has always contained some of London’s poorest areas. The main reasons for this include: The medieval system of copyhold, which prevailed throughout the Manor of Stepney into the 19th century. There was little point in developing land that was held on short leases.
What is the poorest borough in London?
In the East London borough, 56% of children live in poverty, more than double the rate seen in Kensington and Chelsea. It is the poorest borough in London with the highest levels of deprivation and overcrowding.
What happened to the London slums?
During 1964–1969, 385,270 houses in England were demolished or condemned during slum-clearance schemes. Slum clearance accelerated during the 1960s: 10,000 more slum houses were demolished during 1968 than in 1963.
What time did Victorian children go to bed?
In the Victorian era the public would typically fall asleep at 7pm when the sun disappeared, however this dramatically moved to 10pm in the Edwardian era, finally settling at 12pm in the modern age. Although our bedtime has become later throughout the years, we’ve continued to wake up around a similar time.
How were children treated in workhouses?
The conditions were harsh and treatment was cruel with families divided, forcing children to be separated from their parents. Once an individual had entered the workhouse they would be given a uniform to be worn for the entirety of their stay.
What was the life expectancy of a poor Victorian child?
Around one-third of children, and more than half in some poor neighbourhoods, died before they reached the age of five.
What was it like to be poor in the 1800s?
For the first half of the 19th century the rural and urban poor had much in common: unsanitary and overcrowded housing, low wages, poor diet, insecure employment and the dreaded effects of sickness and old age.
What was housing like in the 1800s London?
Housing in 19th century London was highly dependent on the class an individual was a part of. Multiple room and single room housing was reserved for the upper and middle classes respectively, whereas the poor and working classes found themselves crammed into slums and overpacked apartment housing.
Why was Victorian London so poor?
During the Victorian era, the rates of people living in poverty increased drastically. This is due to many factors, including low wages, the growth of cities (and general population growth), and lack of stable employment.
What is the oldest part of London called?
The oldest part of London
Established in around AD50, seven years after the Romans invaded Britain, the City, or Square Mile as it has become known, is the place from which modern-day London grew.
What was life like in a Victorian slum?
It was reported that the main features of slum life were ‘squalor, drunkenness, improvidence, lawlessness, immorality and crime‘. Such stories made readers feel as though part of their city was like the Wild West.