The Poor in Victorian London A Christmas Carol The Poor in Victorian London

In Charles Dickens’ lifetime (1812 – 1870), the average life expectancy was about 38. It rose to the high 40s by the end of the 19th century. Why do you think so many people died at such a young age?

Whole families lived in one room with little heat and lighting.

A mother with her baby begs for food on the street.

Some children worked in the factories.

Or down the dreaded coalmines.

Some worked as apprentices to chimney-sweeps.

By the early decades of the 1800s, there were huge numbers of people flocking to the cities looking for work. It was becoming harder and harder for local government to take care of so many people living in terrible poverty and needing help. To cut back on the expense, a new law was introduced …

The 1834 Poor Law

Inside a workhouse

The women’s dining room in the Holborn workhouse.

Children from the Liverpool workhouse.

Plans for the Leicester workhouse on Sparkenhoe Street behind the railway station.

The Leicester workhouse: front entrance 1880

Workhouse routines laid down by law.

Of course not everyone was poor. Many people lived very comfortable lives and kept themselves at a distance from the ugly sights of the city slum areas.

“decrease the surplus population” Some argued that poverty was inevitable. An economist called Thomas Malthus believed that the human population always grew quicker than food supplies. This overpopulation would lead to many people, usually the poor, dying. “decrease the surplus population”

Dickens believed this viewpoint was wrong and that there was plenty of food to go around if the rich were prepared to share. He blamed the selfishness of the rich whereas Malthus blamed the poor for their own fate. The ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to bustling shops full of mouth-watering food. The lengthy description highlights that there is plenty of food to go around

But a good number of well-off people were very concerned about the horrors facing the poor in England. They donated money, started charities, and lobbied Parliament to improve the conditions of the most vulnerable in society.