Whitechapel Case Study

C+P Case Study

population of Whitechapel

30,000

number of homeless in Whitechapel

1000

why is Whitechapel heavily polluted

prevailing wind from the west carried smoke and stinking gas fumes

why did many women turn to prostitution

women weren’t preferred for manual labour and needed to make money

what was the majority of housing in Whitechapel

in overcrowded slum areas called ROOKERIES

common features of rookeries

• overcrowded

• dirty

• disease

• crime

example of a well-known rookery

Flower and Dean Street

how many lodgers and doss houses were there on Flower and Dean Street

902 lodgers staying in 31 doss houses

what source proves Flower and Dean Street has that many people and doss houses

1871 census

what was Flower and Dean Street like

• yards built over

• outside toilets; buckets used indoors which often spilled

• reputation for thieves and prostitutes

how many people could there be in one apartment sharing beds

up to 30

in the 1881 census, what was the total population of Whitechapel, and what was the total number of occupied houses

total population 30,709 but only 4069 occupied houses

what was a lodging house

a rented bed in squalid conditions

what sleeping shifts did some lodging houses have and why

three eight hour sleeping shifts a day so beds could be used by the max people

number of lodging houses in Whitechapel at this time

over 200

how many people lived in lodging houses in Whitechapel at this time

over 8000 (a quarter of the local population)

examples of good housing in Whitechapel

• Artisans Dwellings Act as part of London’s earliest slum clearance programs

• in Whitechapel 11 new blocks of flats

when was the Artisans Dwellings Act

1875

who designed the new blocks of flats in Whitechapel

architect Henry Darbishire

who paid for the new blocks of flats in Whitechapel

George Peabody, who was a wealthy American who had moved to London

when did the Peabody Estate open

1881

how many flats did the Peabody Estate provide

286 flats

what were the weekly rents for the Peabody Estate

started at three shillings (15p) for a one room flat and went up to six shillings (30p) for three rooms

average weekly salary for a labourer at this time

22 shillings and 6 pence (£1.12)

common jobs in Whitechapel

• sweated trades like tailoring, shoe making and making matches

• railway construction or as labourers in London docks

characteristics of sweatshop work

• long hours

• low wages

what were hours at a sweatshop like

20 hours a day, and some slept on site

was work common in Whitechapel

no; not everyone found work and the economy became severely depressed in 1870s and employment was widespread

when where workhouses set up and part of what

in early 19th century as part of the poor relief system

who ran workhouses

Poor Law administrators

who funded workhouses

funded by the taxpayer through the workhouse union

what were workhouses

offered food and shelter to those too poor to survive in the general community

examples of people who would stay in workhouses

• old

• sick

• disabled

• orphans

• unmarried mothers

what were conditions like in workhouses and why

conditions deliberately made worse than those that could be provided by a labourer for his family; did this to keep costs down by putting poor people off of entering the workhouse

what were people in workhouses made to do

tough manual labour like oakum

what is oakum

the picking apart of old rope or breaking rocks

what is a workhouse like

• bad conditions

• tough manual labour

• wore a uniform

• families split up and could be punished for even trying to talk to each other

• workhouse infirmary for the sick

what was the Casual Ward at the workhouse

for those who wanted a bed for one night

how many inmates could the Casual Ward take

400

where were vagrants held in a workhouse and why

they were held separately from long-term residents as they were thought to be lazy and a bad influence on others

famous orphanage in Whitechapel at this time

Barnardo’s orphanage

who set up Barnardo’s orphanage and why

Dr Thomas Barnardo (a doctor) set up a school for children whose parents died in an outbreak of an infectious disease

when was Barnardo’s orphanage opened

1870

were there girls and boys orphanages or not

originally only for boys, but then opened a girls home

when did Barnardo die

1905

how many Barnardo’s homes were there nationally

nearly 100

how many children did a Barnardo’s orphanage care for

85 children

examples of official records (sources) for life in Whitechapel

• census

• board of trade reports

• board of works reports

• local government/Whitechapel council records

• workhouse records

examples of other records (sources) for life in Whitechapel

• Booths Poverty Map

• the press

• novels

• drawings and photographs

how often is the census taken

every 10 years (1871, 1881 etc)

what does the census do

it records details about the whole of Britain’s pop like:

• names

• ages

• relationship

• employment

how is census information collected and how do they enforce the completion of the census

forms were sent to every address, help was provided where needed and punishments for inaccurate or incomplete information

who are more likely to have incomplete census information

recent immigrant populations (due to language difficulties)

what is the board of trade reports

the government department responsible for working conditions

what would board of trade inspectors do

they visited workshops and factories to see that they complied with legal requirements regarding light, ventilation etc

are the board of trade reports good sources

yes, as they contain detailed factual and objective evidence

what are board of works reports

reports from the government department responsible for the conditions of buildings

what was evidence from the board of works reports sometimes used for

to implement slum demolition

are board of works reports trustworthy

yes as they contain detailed, factual and objective evidence

what would the local gov/Whitechapel council do

they would carry out their own inspections into living and working conditions and wrote reports on their findings

example of workhouse records

Whitechapel Workhouse, South Grove

what types of people would workhouses keep records about

• records about inmates

• records about staff

• records about buildings

what information would workhouse records keep about inmates

• name

• age

• place of birth

• occupation

• relationship to other inmates

• start and duration of stay

what can we find out from information about inmates from workhouse records

we can find out numbers and typical characteristics of inmates and how numbers fluctuated

what information did workhouse records contain about staff

• names

• jobs

• etc

what can we find out from workhouse records about staff

kind of support given to inmates and ratio of inmates to staff

what information did workhouses record about buildings

• details of buildings

• rooms- dormitories, refectory, infirmary

• separate men/women/children accommodation

what does information that workhouses recorded about buildings tell us

evidence of expenditure on repairs, like furniture

when was Booth’s poverty map made

1889

who created Booth’s poverty map and who is he

Charles Booth, a social reformer who wanted to collect evidence about London’s pop to help put pressure on gov to make social improvements

how did Booth collect evidence for his map

employed 80 investigators who followed police officers on their beat to collect detailed evidence

what types of press commonly contained comprehensive, objective, accurate and typical evidence

higher class publications like the Times

what types of press usually sensationalised and exaggerated information

more popular journals like the Illustrated Police News and East End Observer

positives of information given in novels

• may contain COAT evidence

negatives of using novels as evidence

tendency to sensationalise and exaggerate to get attention and increase sales, so need to corroborate information given and test against own knowledge

famous novels dealing with poverty in Whitechapel

• Tales of mean streets by Arthur Morrison (1894)

• the people of the abyss by Jack London (1903)

what two groups of immigrants caused tensions in Whitechapel

• Jewish/E. European

• Irish

why were large numbers of Irish immigrants settling in Whitechapel

they would run out of money and not be able to continue on to America

what decade was this mass migration of Irish to Whitechapel starting to happen

1840s

what were the majority of Irish immigrants like and what would they work as

mainly young men who worked as navvies or dockers

whats a navvie

labouring jobs on canals, roads and railways

why did the Irish earn a bad reputation

• violence when drunk common

• Fenians

who were Fenians

Irish nationalists who wanted independence from UK rule

what did the Fenians do (example of one of their attacks)

organised bomb attack on Clerkenwell Prison leading to a rise in anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment

what year was the Clerkenwell Prison bomb attack by Fenians

1867

what did the Met police do in response to increasing Fenianism and Irish immigration

set up a Special Branch to counter Irish terrorism

what did the formation of the Special Branch to tackle Irish terrorism say about the gov and views of the Irish at the time

• shows how even gov believe Irish bad and a threat

• police and gov prejudiced

• if gov thinks this then everyone thinks this; spreads the ideology further

• these views made people think Irish would be the Ripper

why was there a mass influx of Jewish immigrants from E. Europe

Jews fled Russia, Poland and Germany as pogroms (outbreaks of violence) against them and went to London

what percentage of Jewish migrants in London were located in Whitechapel

by 1888, 95%

why were Jewish immigrants resented by the local population

cultural differences and conflicting attitudes. Also quick to find employment so the English thought they were taking their jobs

what type of businesses did Jewish people commonly run and what did this mean for English businesses

tailoring sweatshops which drove businesses that had fair conditions out of business as they couldn’t keep their costs down

what caused the growth of revolutionary political movements across Europe in the 19th century

growing social and economic problems all over the continent; believed to be the answer was to overthrow the existing gov’s

year that anarchists and other revolutionaries briefly took control of Paris

1871

what did the leaders of countries taken over by anarchists do

they fled and often headed for Britain as it was seen as more politically tolerant than most European nations

how were the activities of these revolutionaries in London monitored

a Special Branch begn an undercover operation to monitor their activities

when was this Special Branch set up

1893

examples of two potentially revolutionary groups in London

• anarchists

• socialists

what was the first socialist party in Britain and when was it founded

Social Democratic Federation (SDF) founded in 1881

what did the SDF represent

agricultural and industrial labourers and rights of women