Victorian London
London, England is one of the most well known and impressive cities of our time. It is one of the world's leading business, financial and cultural centers. However that is not what draws 27 million tourists annually. The historical significance of this age old metropolis is the basis of 'London's calling.'
Dicken's London
Charles Dickens, you know the guy this whole cite is dedicated to? Well he grew up in London during the Victorian age. In fact many of his novels are based in Victorian London. You can read about them on our Work of Charles Dickens Page. To better understand Dickens' writing it is important to look at where the author comes from. This page is dedicated to the discovery of London as Charles Dickens knew it.
During the Victorian Era London was the greatest, most spectacular city in the world. The population was booming. Imagine Britain's capital in the 1800's. There were street sweepers, horse-drawn carriages, chimney soot, street vendors, beggars, and glass lamps. Dickens highlighted these physical aspects of London in many of his novels, such as Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities.
During the Victorian Era London was the greatest, most spectacular city in the world. The population was booming. Imagine Britain's capital in the 1800's. There were street sweepers, horse-drawn carriages, chimney soot, street vendors, beggars, and glass lamps. Dickens highlighted these physical aspects of London in many of his novels, such as Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities.
Health & Sanitation
This colorful town was extremely dirty. In the quote at the top of the page Dickens talks of the soot that covered the city at this time. What our culture today considers to be sanitation was non-existent in Victorian London. Residents drank from the same area of the Thames river that open sewers were discharging into and waste was dumped where ever there was space for it. As you might envision, health conditions were not up to par and diseases, such as Cholera, were easily spread. Middle class men lived, on average, to be 45 years old. Workmen and laborers were expected to live half that time often because their jobs were quite dangerous. Children were lucky if they survived their fifth birthdays. Well known medical experts at this time were Florence Nightingale and Dr. John Snow. Doctors such as these believed that disease was carried through foul air, although later Dr. Snow discovered that Cholera was spread through water. Those with mental illness or nervous disorder were locked up in County Asylums or Private 'madhouses.' Also STD's, such as syphilis, were widely spread due to popular prostitution houses.
Fashion
Dickens wrote of his own time period so his characters often reflected the fashion of Victorian London. Isaac Merrit Singer's invention of the sewing machine in 1851 led to the mass production of clothing; however many still had their attire handmade. As in the world today, the upper levels of society created the fashion style of the age. The lower levels of society strived to dress like the rich but many could not afford such clothing. Their different dress was one of the physical differences between the different classes.
Crime
Another difference of the classes could be crime involvement. The well off could afford anything they needed but the poor sometimes had no means of feeding themselves and would steal. In fact many destitute children lived by pickpocketing. Dickens touches on this in Oliver Twist; “What was Oliver's horror and alarm as he stood a few paces off, looking on with his eyelids as wide open as they would possibly go, to see the Dodger plunge his hand into the old gentleman's pockets, and draw from thence a handkerchief!” - Charles Dickens. Victorian Crime did not stop here. There was mob violence, violent crimes, highwaymen, and smugglers. To deal with the increase in delinquency London's first police force, the Metropolitan Police, was created in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, (hence the name Bobbies). The Metropolitan Police headquarters would come to be known as the Scotland Yard. New prisons were developed to put the mass of convicts away. These prisons were quite harsh. The inmates were shut in their cells all day, except for exercise periods which were usually brief. Their heads were masked and they were unable to speak as it was believed that silence would force them to think about their past actions. Instead of morally improving the prisoners this silence often led to suicide. The increase in the number of individuals entangled in criminal activity was caused by an increase in population.
Social Gap
Spurred by the British industrial revolution, population was booming. London received great benefits as well as consequences, some of which have already been mentioned, such as crime. There was a big population of rich, well off folk; but there was also a titanic number of poverty stricken individuals living next to the extreme rich. The gap between these social classes was so great many who lived at this time didn't realize it, at least until Dickens works were published. The three classes were the Upper Class, the Middle class, and the Working class.
The Upper Class
The Upper class for the most part did not work. Their income came from inherited land or investments. The higher end of this class consisted of Royalty and Aristocrats who made about £30,000 a year. They set the stage in fashion and all other aspects of Victorian life. On the lower scale of this high society sat merchants and bankers who made an average of £10,000 per year. Although this society is often thought of as greedy or stingy, like Dickens' Ebeneezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, there were those among them who were philanthropists.
The Middle Class
The Middle class preformed mental or “clean” work such as doctors, lawyers, and clerks who made between £300-800 a year. Examples of lower middle class jobs include teachers, journalists, and shopkeepers who made between £150-300 a year. A middle class family lived comfortably but not extravagantly. Middle class families often lived suburban cottage just outside the city. The middle class man was educated and would walk to work, work a nine to four day, and come home to an obedient wife and children. If he grew tired of the domestic scene he would escape to his Gentleman club and converse with his social peers. A middle class woman was dependent on a supply of household servants, the number depending on how much money her husband made. A housewife had control over all things domestic and would assign the servants tasks, speak with her children before sending them back to a nursery maid and then have the day to herself. She might take a cap and visit her friends or shop for clothing in the town centre. Occasionally the family would enjoy a weekend vacation in Brighton.
The Working Class
The Working class could not afford such expenses. The men and women of this class performed physical labor. There were three layers of the Working class; the intelligent working man, the intelligent artisan and laborers. Intelligent working men held jobs such as carpenters or typesetters and made £75-100 per year. Intelligent artisans included sailors and domestic staff and their annual income was £40-75. Lastly there were physical laborers and soldiers who made £25 per year. People of the working class would do any kind of job to earn a few pennies. There were street sellers, called costermongers, and mudlarks, they would waded thigh-deep in the Thames to retrieve anything that would sell. Afterwork there were Working Men's and Women Colleges, as well as affordable newspapers to read. Many of Dickens' characters and his own family came from this class.
Workhouses & Sweat shops
If you had no prospects or were sick or disable you were sent to workhouses. Created by the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 in order to cut the cost of provision the Act was deliberately designed to deter the poor from workhouses. Living conditions were appalling and the criteria for admission was inhumanly hard. Families were separated and the hard labor forced upon workhouse inhabitants was worse than any of the laboring jobs outside the houses. They were only given enough food to keep from starvation and they were clothed and occasionally washed. The demand for jobs was much higher than the jobs available, but people would only come to a workhouse if there was no other option.
Crime was one way out and so was casual labour. Shipbuilding yards required huge labor forces but still the demand for jobs was higher. If the shipyards did not let you in or if they were closed there wasn't any other option but charity or the workhouse. Women would work in sweat shops but the conditions were awful. She would work long hours sewing one shirt by candlelight, she must provide her own, and she would hardly make any money. Scores of women took up prostitution, a trade that was always in high demand. Even young girls were sold into the business by their own parents. Of those that were better off some took pity on these girls. Charles Dickens himself set up a home for 'fallen women' that offered the girls a new life, work and a safe home.
Crime was one way out and so was casual labour. Shipbuilding yards required huge labor forces but still the demand for jobs was higher. If the shipyards did not let you in or if they were closed there wasn't any other option but charity or the workhouse. Women would work in sweat shops but the conditions were awful. She would work long hours sewing one shirt by candlelight, she must provide her own, and she would hardly make any money. Scores of women took up prostitution, a trade that was always in high demand. Even young girls were sold into the business by their own parents. Of those that were better off some took pity on these girls. Charles Dickens himself set up a home for 'fallen women' that offered the girls a new life, work and a safe home.
Working Children
Children were expected to help towards the family budget at least when they had a family to work for. These children worked in very dangerous conditions, getting into spaces in machinery that adults could not. Some were employed as chimney sweeps, others worked in coal mines, some ran errands or sold cheap goods. Dickens was one of these children who had to work and later wrote about the awful environment. There were a number of homeless, destitute children who lived on London's streets. Many were turned out of home and left to fend for themselves and others ran away because of ill treatment.