Victorian Working Children

As the number of factories grew people from the countryside began to move into the towns looking for better paid work. The wages of a farm worker were very low and there were less jobs working on farms because of the invention and use of new machines such as threshers. Also thousands of new workers were needed to work machines in mills and foundries and the factory owners built houses for them. Cities filled to overflowing and London was particularly bad. At the start of the 19th Century about 1/5 of Britain’s population lived there, but by 1851 half the population of the country had set up home in London. London, like most cities, was not prepared for this great increase in people. People crowded into already crowded houses. Rooms were rented to whole families or perhaps several families. If there was no rooms to rent, people stayed in lodging houses.

Coal Mines Coal was the main source of power in Victorian times. It was used for cooking and heating, and for driving machinery, trains and steam ships. In order to produce more coal, the mines needed more workers and children as young as 5 years old were used to supply this need. They worked for up to 12 hours a day.The coal mines were dangerous places where roofs sometimes caved in, explosions happened and workers often injured themselves.

Below is a small sample of how children were killed working in coal mines (information from www.dmm.org.uk) A trapper, only 10 years old killed in an explosion. A horse driver aged 11. Crushed by horse. A driver, aged 14 fell off limmers and was crushed between the tubs and a door. A token keeper aged 14. Crushed by surface wagons on branches. A screenboy aged 12. Crushed by surface wagons. A trapper aged 12. Crushed by tubs. A driver aged 12. Horse fell on him. A bank boy aged 11. Caught by cage. A driver aged 12. Head crushed between tub top and a plank while riding on limmers. A trapper aged 13. Head crushed between cage and bunton while riding to bank. Tub Cleaner, aged 13. Fell down the shaft off a pumping engine. Boy aged 14, drowned. Boy, aged 7. Killed in an explosion. Trapper , aged 9. Killed in an explosion. Driver, aged 14. Crushed against wall by a horse. Screen Boy, aged 15. Head crushed between a tub and screen legs ; too little room.

Trappers Trappers were children who operated the air doors providing ventilation for the miners. By keeping the fresh air flowing they prevented the build up of dangerous gases. The children would sit in the draft of the doors, cold, damp and very frightened, with little or no light for 12 hours a day. "I sit in the dark down in the pit for 12 hours a day. I only see daylight on Sundays when I don't work down the pit. Once I fell asleep and a wagon ran over my leg" Boy aged 7 "I hate the dark, it scares me. I never go to sleep. Sometimes I sing, there is nothing else to do other than open and close the door." Girl aged 8

Drawers Drawers pulled heavy carts of cut coal to the pits surface with heavy chains around their waists. " I am a drawer, and work from six o'clock in the morning to six at night. stop about an hour at noon to eat my dinner: I have bread and butter for dinner; I get no drink. I have a belt round my waist, and a chain passing between my legs, and I go on my hands and feet. The tunnels are narrow and very wet where I work. My clothes are wet through almost all day long." Girl aged 10

While thousands of children worked down the mine, thousands of others worked in the cotton mills. The mill owners often took in orphans to their workhouses, they lived at the mill and were worked as hard as possible. They spent most of their working hours at the machines with little time for fresh air or exercise. Even part of Sunday was spent cleaning machines. There were some serious accidents, some children were scalped when their hair was caught in the machine, hands were crushed and some children were killed when they went to sleep and fell into the machine.

Chimney Sweeps Although in 1832 the use of boys for sweeping chimneys was forbidden by law, boys continued to be forced through the narrow winding passages of chimneys in large houses. When they first started at between five and ten years old, children suffered many cuts, grazes and bruises on their knees, elbows and thighs however after months of suffering their skin became hardened.

Factories and Brick Works Children often worked long and gruelling hours in factories and had to carry out some hazardous jobs. In match factories children were employed to dip matches into a chemical called phosphorous. This phosphorous could cause their teeth to rot and some died from the effect of breathing it into their lungs.

Street Children Hordes of dirty, ragged children roamed the streets with no regular money and no home to got to. The children of the streets were often orphans with no-one to care for them. They stole or picked pockets to buy food and slept in outhouses or doorways. Charles Dickens wrote about these children in his book "Oliver Twist".     Some street children did jobs to earn money. They could work as crossing-sweepers, sweeping a way through the mud and horse dung of the main paths to make way for ladies and gentlemen. Others sold lace, flowers, matches or muffins etc out in the streets.

Country Children Poor families who lived in the countryside were also forced to send their children out to work. Seven and eight year olds could work as bird scarers,out in the fields from four in the morning until seven at night. Older ones worked in gangs as casual labourers.

Women and girls worked down coalmines until 1842 when a law stopped them from doing so. But they still worked at the pit head above ground sorting and grading the coal. A large number of girls and women became servants during Victorian times. They worked as maids, cooks and cleaners for very long hours, for low pay and often having to live in small, cold attic bedrooms. Girls as young as 8 were often hired as maids.

Servants had many rules to follow. Here are a few. When being spoken to, stand still and look at the person speaking. Never offer your opinion to your employer. You shall not have any guests, relatives or friends to the house. Any breakages will be deducted from your wages Always ‘give room’ to your betters on the stairs. Always return lost items to the owner on a tray Never speak to another servant in the presence of the owner of the house Always respond with ‘Sir’, ‘Ma’am’ or ‘Miss’