Living Conditions in the 1800's By, Gaganjyot Bhatti
England, in the 1800’s. The words provoke ideas of royalty, prosperity, dominance, and elegance. However, those words are also synonymous with poverty, hardship, oppression, and tyranny. Nineteenth century England was a blend of both worlds, in which a small handful relished in wealth, and millions of others lay in a net of inability.
England saw a massive increase in population throughout the 1800’s. There are many possible reasons for this including immigration, longer life spans, more children living to adulthood, and the industrial revolution (Mayhew 2012). The industrial revolution brought new machines, designed to mass produce products. These machines brought factories, which in turn blew open a door to massive employment chances. People flocked from far and wide, to live in cities where new factories had sprung up. Although this may sound like Britain's savior to years of mass unemployment, it brought new problems with it.
All of a sudden, Britain’s population was booming: thousands of people were flocking to growing towns. The people may have been ready for the cities, but the cities weren’t ready for the people. Many cities didn’t expand fast enough to accommodate the growing population, leaving few buildings to rent, but thousands wanting to rent them. The high demand, coupled with low supply- resulted in impossibly high rent. Because of this, many people lived together, in small rooms or buildings. This overcrowding brought with it the atrocious living conditions that we now associate with the 1800’s (Malik 2004).
The industrial revolution magnified England’s previous social problems. Neighborhoods expanded, but their owners couldn’t have cared less for their property’s conditions. Kellow Chesney, an author of the time described conditions during the nineteenth century saying, “Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the, metropolis … In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room” (Chesney 1861). As Chesney explains, overexpansion reduced England’s housing capacity, resulting in poorly maintained housing.
In order to fully understand the extent of England’s poor living conditions, it is important to understand the condition of public drinking water during the time. The citizens of London, dumped their waste into small channels, and these channels flew directly into the Thames. The Thames was also the primary source of drinking water in the city. The condition of the water was so bad, that London authorities estimated that there were at least seven dead bodies in the waste filled river, and that the river was among the main sources for disease in the city (Malik 2004).
With cities packed to the brim with people, most of whom struggled to support themselves and their families, England seemed to have asked for crime. Crime in the 1800’s ranged from theft, to murder, to blackmail. England had a great deal of criminals, but a poorly funded, and equipped police system. Policemen carried a baton, and a single shot muzzle loaded pistol. Despite valiant efforts from the police, the number of preventable crimes was still rather low. In order to better combat crime, the English government turned to public punishment. People found guilty of a severe crime were often hanged publicly, or tortured. England also turned to banishing criminals from the mainland, and often exiled criminals to English colonies. Australia was a prominent British penal colony, which harbored many hardened British criminals (Diniejko 2013).
No one could escape the poor living conditions of the 1800’s, not even children. Because many of their families did not earn a great deal, children were forced to help support themselves, and their families. Child labour was abundant in the 1800’s, as children could work for hours, without tiring, and they could be made to work in conditions that adults could not, or refused to work in, and most importantly of all they could be made to work for little pay. Children worked many jobs, from selling newspapers, to working in coal mines, but perhaps the most famous children’s job in the 1800’s, was that of the chimney sweep. Most houses burned coal or wood for heat, both of which clouded and blocked their chimneys. Children were chosen for this job because they were small, and could easily fit into a chimney, to clean it out. This work was dangerous, and many children got stuck in the chimneys, or died of breathing the hazardous soot all day. Chimney sweeps were not the only occupation that children worked: hundreds of children also worked in coal mines. Coal mines were unforgiving on their workers, especially children. Miners were forced to crouch in cramped areas, and breathed air that was full of dust and dangerous chemicals. Injuries like severed or crushed fingers were common. One coal mine reported 349 deaths in a year, 58 of which were children under the age of 13 (Trueman 2000). The atrocious living conditions and lackluster acts to fix them did not go unnoticed in England. A new hobby emerged among the upper class, called “slumming”. Slumming was a hobby enjoyed by England’s upper class, in which groups of upper, and middle class men and women dressed in common clothes and visited slums. Slumming was enjoyed by a multitude of people, from dukes to journalists. Thousands of upper class people marveled in awe, at the ghastly conditions they had lived in ignorance of. England’s slums now became a widely accepted problem, that was covered by various news sources, spoken about by social aid workers, and wealthy monarchs. The conditions of slums were debated in British Parliament, and lobbied against by humanitarian groups, such as the English Children’s society.
England in the 1800’s was not the greatest place to live, crime, poor sanitation, child labour, and overcrowding hung over England like a dark cloud. The country was plagued by an unbalanced power system, in which rich aristocrats had more control in government than the people being affected. All of these problems were ones that had long played a part in England’s history, the industrial revolution did not start England’s problems, it simply brought them to light. Although the 1800’s weren’t England’s best years, they helped bring out the country’s problems, setting the stage for a twentieth century that was not riddled with the same problems as its predecessor. However, England’s change could not have come about if it had not been for the work of those who cared. Slumming helped Aristocrats realize the issues with the country they were living in, and motivated them to solve these problems.
England saw a massive increase in population throughout the 1800’s. There are many possible reasons for this including immigration, longer life spans, more children living to adulthood, and the industrial revolution (Mayhew 2012). The industrial revolution brought new machines, designed to mass produce products. These machines brought factories, which in turn blew open a door to massive employment chances. People flocked from far and wide, to live in cities where new factories had sprung up. Although this may sound like Britain's savior to years of mass unemployment, it brought new problems with it.
All of a sudden, Britain’s population was booming: thousands of people were flocking to growing towns. The people may have been ready for the cities, but the cities weren’t ready for the people. Many cities didn’t expand fast enough to accommodate the growing population, leaving few buildings to rent, but thousands wanting to rent them. The high demand, coupled with low supply- resulted in impossibly high rent. Because of this, many people lived together, in small rooms or buildings. This overcrowding brought with it the atrocious living conditions that we now associate with the 1800’s (Malik 2004).
The industrial revolution magnified England’s previous social problems. Neighborhoods expanded, but their owners couldn’t have cared less for their property’s conditions. Kellow Chesney, an author of the time described conditions during the nineteenth century saying, “Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the, metropolis … In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room” (Chesney 1861). As Chesney explains, overexpansion reduced England’s housing capacity, resulting in poorly maintained housing.
In order to fully understand the extent of England’s poor living conditions, it is important to understand the condition of public drinking water during the time. The citizens of London, dumped their waste into small channels, and these channels flew directly into the Thames. The Thames was also the primary source of drinking water in the city. The condition of the water was so bad, that London authorities estimated that there were at least seven dead bodies in the waste filled river, and that the river was among the main sources for disease in the city (Malik 2004).
With cities packed to the brim with people, most of whom struggled to support themselves and their families, England seemed to have asked for crime. Crime in the 1800’s ranged from theft, to murder, to blackmail. England had a great deal of criminals, but a poorly funded, and equipped police system. Policemen carried a baton, and a single shot muzzle loaded pistol. Despite valiant efforts from the police, the number of preventable crimes was still rather low. In order to better combat crime, the English government turned to public punishment. People found guilty of a severe crime were often hanged publicly, or tortured. England also turned to banishing criminals from the mainland, and often exiled criminals to English colonies. Australia was a prominent British penal colony, which harbored many hardened British criminals (Diniejko 2013).
No one could escape the poor living conditions of the 1800’s, not even children. Because many of their families did not earn a great deal, children were forced to help support themselves, and their families. Child labour was abundant in the 1800’s, as children could work for hours, without tiring, and they could be made to work in conditions that adults could not, or refused to work in, and most importantly of all they could be made to work for little pay. Children worked many jobs, from selling newspapers, to working in coal mines, but perhaps the most famous children’s job in the 1800’s, was that of the chimney sweep. Most houses burned coal or wood for heat, both of which clouded and blocked their chimneys. Children were chosen for this job because they were small, and could easily fit into a chimney, to clean it out. This work was dangerous, and many children got stuck in the chimneys, or died of breathing the hazardous soot all day. Chimney sweeps were not the only occupation that children worked: hundreds of children also worked in coal mines. Coal mines were unforgiving on their workers, especially children. Miners were forced to crouch in cramped areas, and breathed air that was full of dust and dangerous chemicals. Injuries like severed or crushed fingers were common. One coal mine reported 349 deaths in a year, 58 of which were children under the age of 13 (Trueman 2000). The atrocious living conditions and lackluster acts to fix them did not go unnoticed in England. A new hobby emerged among the upper class, called “slumming”. Slumming was a hobby enjoyed by England’s upper class, in which groups of upper, and middle class men and women dressed in common clothes and visited slums. Slumming was enjoyed by a multitude of people, from dukes to journalists. Thousands of upper class people marveled in awe, at the ghastly conditions they had lived in ignorance of. England’s slums now became a widely accepted problem, that was covered by various news sources, spoken about by social aid workers, and wealthy monarchs. The conditions of slums were debated in British Parliament, and lobbied against by humanitarian groups, such as the English Children’s society.
England in the 1800’s was not the greatest place to live, crime, poor sanitation, child labour, and overcrowding hung over England like a dark cloud. The country was plagued by an unbalanced power system, in which rich aristocrats had more control in government than the people being affected. All of these problems were ones that had long played a part in England’s history, the industrial revolution did not start England’s problems, it simply brought them to light. Although the 1800’s weren’t England’s best years, they helped bring out the country’s problems, setting the stage for a twentieth century that was not riddled with the same problems as its predecessor. However, England’s change could not have come about if it had not been for the work of those who cared. Slumming helped Aristocrats realize the issues with the country they were living in, and motivated them to solve these problems.