The Historic Environment: Whitechapel Flashcards
Where is Whitechapel located?
Whitechapel is a district in East London.
What was the population of Whitechapel? How many of them were homeless?
30,000 of which 1000 were homeless.
What is a feature of Whitechapel’s environment?
Whitechapel was heavily polluted from all the fumes and gases coming from the industrial factories. The smog was so thick that sometimes people couldn’t see their hand in front of their face.
What was the main type of housing in Whitechapel during the late 1800s?
Most housing was located in rookeries. In these areas, there were lodging houses, where lodgers paid a nightly fee for a bed.
What is a rookery?
A slum area in a town or a city where rates of poverty and crime were high.
How many lodging houses were there and how many people did they accomodate to in total?
200 lodging houses where more than 8000 residents lived.
What was the problem with lodging houses?
- They were extremely overcrowded
- Lack of sanitation (no clean drinking water as it was contaminated with sewage)
What is the name of the well-known rookery of lodging houses?
Flower and Dean Street.
What characterised the lodging houses on Flower and Dean Street?
- Gained the reputation for housing many criminals
- Had a terrible smell due to use of buckets and pots as toilets
- Lots of disease
What was Whitechapel’s form of poor relief in the late 19th century?
Workhouses.
What did workhouses offer and what was this in return for? Give examples.
They offered a bed and food in return for hard labour such as chopping wood or picking oakum (untying old ropes).
What were the main types of people to go to the workhouse?
- The elderly
- Orphans
- The disabled
- The poor
What were the three reasons why Whitechapel workhouses were seen as a last resort?
- Families were segregated
- Inmates had to do hard labour
- Inmates had to wear a uniform
Who was Dr Thomas Barnado?
Was originally a doctor, but later set up orphanages for boys and girls in the 1870s.
How many orphanages did Barnado set up in his lifetime?
Nearly 100 homes.
What act was passed to clear slums in Whitechapel and when?
The 1875 Artisans’ Dwelling Act.
What attempt was there to improve the housing situation in Whitechapel?
The Peabody Trust (a charity set up) to build the Peabody Estate.
Who was the Peabody estate set up by?
Wealthy American banker George Peabody.
What was the aim of the Peabody Trust?
To build 11 new blocks of flats that offered affordable rents to tenants.
How much did a one-room flat cost in the Peabody Estate? Was this affordable?
Weekly rent started at 3 shillings (15p) for one room and this was affordable as the average labourer earned 22 shillings per week.
How did the Peabody Estate improve living conditions?
- Had shared kitchens
- Better ventilation
- Had shared bathrooms
What was the employment situation like in Whitechapel?
There was high unemployment due to economic depression.
How did women earn money?
As there were few jobs available to women, many turned to prostitution as a means of income.
What jobs were available in Whitechapel?
- Factory work in the sweated trades
- Building railways
- Work in the dockyards
What are some examples of ‘sweated trades’?
- Tailoring
- Match making
- Bell Foundry (where Big Ben was cast)
What were working conditions in the sweated trades like?
Had to work up to 20 hours in dusty, cramped and dark conditions.
What are the links between the environment and crime in Whitechapel?
- Low income levels led to people desperately stealing
- Lack of work led to alcoholism and violence
- High levels of prostitution caused more violence towards women
What caused the influx of Irish immigrants in Whitechapel?
Many Irish left for the USA but ended up in London instead.
What did most Irish migrants work as?
They were employed at the docks as ‘navvies’ (labouring jobs such as building roads and railways).
What was the Irish’s reputation?
They were seen as drunk, violent and associated with terrorism. Also, because they were Catholic, they were viewed differently in society.
Why did the Irish’s reputation worsen?
Some immigrants were Irish nationalists demanding independence from UK were often very violent and some even organised a bomb attack on Clerkenwell Prison. This group was known as the ‘Fenians’ and many resented them.
Why did Whitechapel’s native population fluctuate so much?
Most accommodation was temporary, meaning many didn’t have an interest in staying there for long.
What caused the huge influx of Eastern Europeans in Whitechapel?
In the 1880s, many Russian and Polish Jews fled to Whitechapel, avoiding persecution after Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by a Jew.
What three things caused prejudice against Jewish migrants in Whitechapel?
- Jews had different cultures; they spoke Yiddish which made people mistrustful
- Jews were successful in sweatshop trades, causing local traders to resent them
- Worked on Sundays (as their holy day was Saturday) so they were seen as trying to undercut local businesses
By 1888, some parts of Whitechapel had ___ Jewish population.
95%.
Why were there such large concentrations of Jewish immigrants in Whitechapel?
Jews chose to segregate themselves from society as they stuck together and did not see the need to mix with the English.
Why was there increasing political tensions in Whitechapel?
There was an influx of anarchist and socialist immigrants as they were seeking refuge in Britain after their failed revolutions in Europe. However, many locals considered them a threat and feared them.
What is anarchism and socialism?
Anarchism is a political theory that opposes organised government and socialism is an economical theory that opposes capitalism.
What did the general public think of immigrants?
They were distrustful of them and there were tensions over access to housing and jobs.
What problems did the H Division face in Whitechapel?
- Gangs
- Prostitution
- Alcohol
- Protection Rackets
- Violent demonstrations
- Attacks on Jews
- Environment
How did gangs make policing difficult in Whitechapel?
Large gangs of professional thieves employed locals to steal, making it difficult for police to get to the root of the crime.
Why was prostitution a problem for the H Division?
Although prostitution was viewed as a social problem and not a crime, it made women more vulnerable to assault and violence. Since sex work wasn’t a stable income, many women also stole.
By 1888, how many prostitutes worked in Whitechapel?
1200.
Why was alcohol a big issue for the police?
Alchohol was very cheap and was used as a means of escape from everyday life. Due to this, there were many gin palaces and opium dens in Whitechapel and drunkards were very common. Many alcoholics were violent and turned to crime (theft) to feed the habit.
Why did protection rackets make policing harder in Whitechapel?
Gangs such as the Bessarabian Tigers demanded money from businesses to ‘protect’ them from attack. Refusal led to property damage and violence. As a result, many gangs were feared - so locals rarely reported them to the police.
Why did violent demonstrations hinder policing in Whitechapel?
An example of this was the Trafalgar Square riot in 1887. These protests required a large number of police to deal with the violence and disorder.
Why were attacks on Jews a problem for the H Division?
Some police officers were anti-Semitic, so they believed Jews were greedy and dishonest. Moreover, the language barrier and the Jews’ distrust of the police prevented communication.
How did the environment create problems for the H Division?
Dark and narrow alleyways packed with people made chasing and finding criminals very difficult.
How many divisions as the Metropolitan Police split into?
20.
What division was responsible for policing Whitechapel?
H Division.
What was the role of the beat constable?
They had to patrol a set route (their ‘beat’) to look out for trouble. They could question and arrest suspects.
How did H Division beat constables record information they found?
They had to regularly report to their sergeant and everything was recorded in a diary.
Who controlled the Met Police?
The Met was under the direct control of the Home Secretary. The HS then appointed a Commissioner to run the Met.
What were two common problems with the police recruits?
- Drinking on the job
- Absences
By 1885, how many police officers were in the Met?
Around 13,300.
When was the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) developed?
1878.
Where was the CID based?
Scotland Yard in Westminster.
How many officers did the CID have?
216.
What was the purpose of the CID?
Their main aim was to detect crime. They worked in plain clothes so they could gather information on suspects.
Who was appointed as Commissioner in 1886?
Sir Charles Warren.
How did Warren want to change the Met Police?
As a former army general, Warren wanted to increase military drills and recruit more ex-soldiers into the force.
What two events was Warren criticised for?
- Known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ when police and the army used excessive force to manage the 1887 Trafalgar Sqare protest
- Criticised in 1888 when the Metropolitan Police were unsuccessful in catching murderer, Jack the Ripper
What were the public’s attitudes towards the police?
The police were generally mistrusted by the working class and seen in favour of the upper class. Eg: Trafalgar Sqaure Riot. Few cooperated with the police and constables were frequently attacked.
When did Charles Warren resign?
1888.
