Victorian London, the Thames, & the Great Stink

Victorian London, the Thames, & the Great Stink Tory Worobetz, Jacob Orkwis, Evan Verrilli

Victorian London

The Poor • River Men • Scavengers • Wealthy East End/Poor West End • Housing • Model Dwellings • Workhouse • Became less of individuals • Families separated • Salvation Army • Founded by William Booth in 1878

Rookeries • Districttriangularly bound by Bainbridge Street, George Street/High Street, and St. Giles • Lowest Lodging Housing

Other Neighborhoods • Richer Neighborhoods • Hyde Park Corner • Piccadilly • Arlington Street • Park Lane • Grosvenor Square

Soho • Broad Street cholera outbreak • 1854 • Contaminated water • Home to prostitutes and low quality music halls

Cheapside • One of the busiest districts, especially with throughway traffic • Dominated by men’s shops/jewelers • Bow church dominated city • Known for large bells

Little Britain • Location of Jagger’s office in Great Expectations • Home to goldsmiths and clothing traders • Refers to city north of the London Wall

White Chapel • Mentioned in Dickens’s Pickewick Papers • Location of Bull Inn • (1840’s) Developed in classic Dickensian London • Dorset Street • Worst street in all of London • Irish/Jewish immigrants were main denizens during Victorian Era • District had many prostitutes • Some fell victim to Jack the Ripper • (1878) Formation of Salvation Army

Other Neighborhoods • Poorer Neighborhoods • The New Road • Paddington • Pimlico • Bayswater • Clapham • Upper Clapton

Sanitation • Jacob’s Island • Bermondsey • Sewage drained directly into drinking water • Graves dug only a foot deep • Lacked waste-disposal system until mid-19th century • Refuse was tossed into the rivers • “Venice of Drains” • “Capital of Cholera”

The Great Stink • Summer of 1858 – Smell of sewage almost overwhelmed people of London • Thames and tributaries were extremely polluted • Very warm summer • Warm weather=more bacteria=NASTY SMELL • Affected: • House of Commons • Law Courts • Crisis ended by rain • Broke heat

The Great Stink • Water pollution caused disease • Cholera became widespread in 1840’s • Outbreaks in 1831, 1848, 1853 & 1866 • Doctors thought cause was the smell of refuse • Outbreaks in industrial towns • Drinking water was polluted with sewage • Many houses built without sanitation

The Great Stink • Causes • Flush toilets • Increased volume of water used • All drains led to the Thames River • Lack of sewer system • Sanitation became priority • Metropolitan Commission of Sewers (1848) • Objective accelerated by the Great Stink

Gentlemen’s Clubs • Flourished from 18th to 19th century • Men & women lived separate social lives • Example of social class importance • Appealed to men as an all exclusive, men-only club

FASHION • Invention of the sewing machine led to mass production of clothing • Formed in upper levels of society • Affected everyone • Post-1840’s – Brighter fabric, heightened waistline, full skirts • Invention of light dress frame

FASHION • Aniline Dyes • Discovered 1856 by Sir William Perkin • Potentially hazardous • Antiago Cathedral Fire • Men were simple • Less inhibitedby clothes • Lounge suits (1850’s), top hats, and silver/ivory canes • Waistcoats • Prince Albert popularized them(1850’s)

Religion • Many attended church twice a day • Became more lackadaisical near the end of the Victorian Era • Changed by Darwin’s Origin of Species

Justice/Crime • Mob violence, violent crimes, highwaymen, and smugglers • Brought about by industrial revolution • Police Force organized in 1829 • Sir Robert Peel • Civilian Force • Peelers • Police Act of 1890

The Thames River • Overview • “The St. Lawrence is water, the Mississippi is water, but the Thames is liquid history.” • MP John Burns (1929) • Very large population lived on the river

The Thames River • History • During the ice age, it was 10 times its modern size • First settlers used it for farming, fishing, and milling • Castles were created along the river • “String of Pearls”

The Thames River • Transition • Individual Settlements • Medieval Kingdoms • Developed into cities • Major trade  unification • London became the capital • Split into three parts • Upper Thames • Middle Thames • Lower Thames

The Thames River • Victorian London • Trading post for British Empire • Docks, warehouses, etc. • Thames Tunnel • Industrial Revolution • Steamboat • Thames provided people of London with trade and connectivity

The Thames River • Unstable river’s flow caused floods • Adaptation needed • Flood-proof buildings • Sewer system • Flood of 1819 • Narrowed and deepened river • Rowed everywhere

The Thames River • London Fog • Cause=Burning coal • Brownish or greenish • Smoky sulfuric smell • Thickened with rising sun • Soot coated everything

The Thames River • Effects of the Fog • Complete darkness at night • Accidents prevalent • No vision • Began to dissipate around 1906

The Thames River • Leisure • Rowing (Cambridge v. Oxford) • Regattas (Boat Races) • Henley Regatta (1839) • Canoeing • Cruises

Victorian London, the Thames, & the Great Stink