Victorian London: its Inhabitants and its Events

1. Victorian London: its Inhabitants and its Events TJ Peloquin, Eric Schutter, and Zach Siegert

2. Population Surge • Total populations of London • 1801- 864,845 people • 1871- 3,300,000 people • 75% of people living on >£300 • Large portion of that live on >£100 • Population of Halifax, West Yorkshire in Victorian Era

3. Impact of Population Surge • London not ready for surge • Sewage treatment terrible • Sewage ran in streets and dumped into the Thames River • Fixed by Joseph Bazalgette (created sewage tunnels) • Food was also an issue • Great Potato Famine (1848) • With a lack of food in Ireland, people flooded to London

4. Living Conditions Affected • Cholera ran rampant • Water contaminated caused quick spread of disease • Death and disease severely reduced after Bazalgette’s institution of sewage tunnels • Living with 100,000 new Irishmen • Massive influx of people caused tenements and buildings to become packed with people

5. 19th Century Londoners • 1840’s – Irish immigrants • Potato famine • 1880’s – Russian Jews • Tsar persecution • 80% working class • Middle class – one servant • Female servants

6. London Neighborhoods • Cheapside – poorest section of the city • Soho – part of Westminster- home of Jaggers • Whitechapel – Jack the Ripper (1888)

7. Victorian Landmarks • Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) • Completed in 1858 • World’s largest four-faced chiming clock • Tower Bridge (not London Bridge) • Completed in 1894 • Driving section on bottom with 2 walkways at top of two towers

8. Portrayal of London • Charles Dickens • Great Expectations • High hopes = disappointment • City was filthy • Wilkie Collins • The Moonstone • Crime and mystery • Jack the Ripper

9. What is London Fog? • Thick dark fog caused by pollution • Came from the burning of coal • Also called smog or “pea-soupers” • Caused 19 pedestrians to die due to low visibility in 1873 • Breathing it in was harmful to the lungs

10. Where did all the raw sewage go? • Increase in population, overcrowded slums • Sewage, dead animals, and human waste laid in the streets • They had no place to put the raw sewage • Dumped it into the Thames River • Caused Cholera, Typhus, and Influenza • In 1858, smell caused members of parliament to have to leave House of Commons

11. What Role did the River Thames play? • Throughout the history of London, the Thames River played a huge role • Port used for trading, communication, and as a water supply • During the Victorian Era, raw sewage began to be dumped in the river • Fish died, it smelled, and the former landmark became an embarrassment

12. What was the “Great Stink”? • Summer of 1958 • Smell of human waste filled London • Came from the Thames River • Curtains of Commons soaked in lime because of smell • Bill passed in 18 days to aid the construction of new sewage scheme

13. Works Cited • http://www.victorianlondon.org/population/population.htm • http://www.britainexpress.com/London/victorian-london.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_Tower,_Palace_of_Westminster • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge • http://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/history-of-london/what-the-dickens/ • http://cai.ucdavis.edu/waters-sites/sanitation/

14. Works Cited (Cont.) • http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/social_conditions/victorian_urban_planning_04.shtml • http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/external/la21/articles/stink.httm • http://www.localhistories.org/19thcent.html • http://www.jack-the-ripper.org/ • http://www.wilkie-collins.info/wilkie_collins_biography.htm • Great Expectations, Charles Dickens