Living Conditions Flashcards
What did the 1881 census state?
Whitechapel population: 30,700
Number of occupied houses in Whitechapel: 4,069
What was the problem with the Peabody estates?
Weekly rents were too high for the people that lived in the area before, and tenants were kicked out immediately if they failed to pay rent. This led to more overcrowding as people tried to find more affordable housing
What were rookeries in Whitechapel?
Rookeries were common in slum areas filled with lodging houses for very poor people.
These areas were characterized by overcrowded conditions.
How many common lodging houses were there in Whitechapel in the late 19th century?
233 common lodging houses.
These houses accommodated as many as 8,000 people.
What was the purpose of lodging houses in Whitechapel?
To provide temporary accommodation for the poor who paid for a room for one or two nights.
What was the reputation of the Whitechapel area?
It had a reputation as a haunt of thieves, drunkards, and prostitutes.
Charles Booth classified it as a ‘semi-criminal’ area.
What was a workhouse?
A facility offering food and shelter for those too poor to survive in the community.
It was part of the poor relief system established in the 1830s.
What were the conditions like in a workhouse?
Deliberately unpleasant; families were split up, and strict rules governed daily life.
What was the Whitechapel Workhouse?
A workhouse located at South Grove, providing shelter and food for the poor.
What was the Casual Ward in Whitechapel?
A facility where the poor could seek shelter for one night, with only 60 beds available.
What type of work did inmates have to do at the Casual Ward?
They had to complete tasks like picking oakum or working in the kitchens.
What was the Peabody Estate?
A housing project established by the Peabody Trust to provide affordable rents after the Artisans’ Dwellings Act of 1875.
How many flats were built on the Peabody Estate by 1881?
287 flats.
What improvements did the Peabody Estate offer compared to previous accommodations?
Good ventilation, shared kitchens, and bathrooms, making it more pleasant to live in.
However, rents were still too high for many former residents.
True or False: Only poor people lived in Whitechapel.
False.
Charles Booth’s poverty maps show that well-to-do families lived near Flower and Dean Street, a well known rookery in Whitechapel in 1870
