whitechapel - historical context Flashcards
what section of the 1829 met police were in charge of white chapel
H division
beat constable
Constables who patrolled a set route to deter criminals from committing crimes.
1878 CID
Criminal Investigations Department - set up in 1878 and was separate from the rest of the police. Quite ineffective at first.
charles warren (1886-1888)
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police between 1886 and 1888
1887 bloody sunday
A protest in Trafalgar Square when Sir Charles Warren (1886-1888) deployed 1000 men from the army along with the police. many lives were lost
2 examples of poor sanitation in whitechapel
Pollution from coal and gas fumes which caused a smog which severely disrupted visibility and breathing.
Poor sewage and unreliable drinking water that could cause typhus and cholera.
what were lodging and doss houses
Where homeless people could sleep in 8 hour-shifts. UNHYGENIC. 200 HOUSES FOR 8,000 PEOPLE.
What did the 1871 census say about Flower and Dean street?
902 lodgers in 31 doss houses.
What were the conditions like on flower and dean street?
Narrow yards, dilapidated (run down) houses, cramped rooms, poor sewage.
What were the crime rates like on flower and dean street?
High rate of theft, prostitution and violent crimes.
What was the Peabody estate?
George Peabody funded clearance and created 286 flats. Rent only 3-6 shillings. Average income 22 shillings.
What did the houses of the working class act do?
The Houses of the Working Classes Act, 1890 sought to replace slums
extra-
opened way for new London county council to begin housing development schemes to replace slums with mass low cost housing
in 1881 how many people lived in how many houses
In 1881, Whitechapel’s 30,709 people lived in 4,069 houses - on average 7.5 in
each
two issues with lodging houses
Terrible unhygienic conditions including heat, rats and shared beds
(dirty, unhygienic bedding, etc.);
200 lodging houses catering for 8,000 people.
what was flower and dean street
Flower and Dean Street was one of the most overcrowded streets in Whitechapel; it had 31 lodging houses on one road. It was a place known to be frequented by criminals, prostitutes, and even Jack the Ripper
what did the 1871 board of works report say about Whitechapel
1871 Board of Works Report: 38 houses, 143 rooms, 298 people including
evidence of overcrowding and buildings in dilapidated condition
state 2 details of flower and dean street
Narrow yards, dilapidated houses, very cramped rooms, poor sewerage.
Terrible reputation for prostitution, thieves and violent crime.
what did the 1875 Artisan’s Dwellings Act do
encouraged slum clearance.
when were peabody estates built
1881, George Peabody funded slum clearance and the creation of 286 flats
in the Peabody Estate
how much did a peabody estate cost
Rents were from 3 to 6 shillings for 1 and 3-room flats respectively (average
labourer income was 22 shillings
when was the artisans dwellings act
1875
when was The Houses of the Working Classes Act
1890
what act in 1890 sought to replace the slums
The Houses of the Working Classes Act, 1890 sought to replace slums
what act in 1875 encouraged slum clearance
the 1875 Artisan’s Dwellings Act
what was the 1890 public health amendment act
The Public Health Amendment Act, 1890 aimed to improve sewerage and rubbish
collection
when was the public health amendment act
1890
what act in 1890 aimed to improve sewerage and rubbish collection
The Public Health Amendment Act, 1890 aimed to improve sewerage and rubbish
collection
what were the two mail types of work in whitechapel
Much of the work in Whitechapel was casual or sweated labour:
what was casual labour
Much of the work in Whitechapel was casual or sweated labour:
Casual labour – such as in the docks or in construction – meant that workers
were employed a day at a time: no job or income security;
what was sweated labour
Much of the work in Whitechapel was casual or sweated labour:
Sweated labour meant work in cramped, dusty and unhealthy “sweatshops”
for low wages in “sweated trades”, e.g. tailoring, dress and shoe making.
what were workhouses
Workhouses were large buildings where poor people who had no home or job lived. People would do jobs around the workhouse in order to stay there to have a roof over their heads.
o Conditions were deliberately made worse than those of labourers to keep costs
down and to dissuade people from using them;
many people saw them as a last resort
what type of people usually stayed at workhouses
Inmates included the poor, old, sick, disabled, orphans, and unmarried mothers and
their child(ren);
3 features of life in the workhouses
Families – men, women and children – separated and forbidden from
communicating;
Inmates wore a uniform; were expected to do tough manual labour;
received monotonous food; enjoyed little or no privacy including sleeping in
soulless dormitories.
o Vagrants – who stayed only one or two nights – were considered lazy and a bad
influence, and were kept separately
when did thomas barnardo open his first orphanage
In 1870 Dr Thomas Barnardo set up his first orphanage
how many barnardo homes were there by 1905? how many people were in them
By 1905, there were 100 Barnardo homes caring for 8,500 orphans.
what were the ophanages called (1870)
barnardo homes
who made the orphanages (1870)
thomas barnardo
who were the two main groups of immigrants in whitechapel
the Irish and eastern European Jews
irish stereotypes
The Irish had a reputation for drunkenness and violence;
The Irish terrorist group, the Fenians, were involved in a series of
incidents from the 1860s to the 1880s and gained for the Irish a
further reputation as violent fanatics.
jewish stereotypes
Jewish immigrants were unpopular for their business success and
business practices such as running sweatshops, paying low
wages and, therefore, being able to undercut British businesses;
The Jews were also unpopular due to their supposed link to
radical socialist and anarchist political groups.
how were jewish and irish immigrants treated
hostilely
what were the two revolutionary political groups
anarchism and socialism
what was anarchism and why was the government concerned
Anarchists wanted a revolution in which all laws and authority
would be swept away.
they were feared by the government due to the large amount of support they had (briefly took over france)
what was socialism and why was the government concerned
Socialists wanted to bring down the existing capitalist system;
There was evidence of growing working-class support – led by
parties such as the Social Democratic Federation - which
the authorities saw as dangerous;
who was charles booth
Charles Booth’s map of Whitechapel showed that there was a great disparity of wealth in
Whitechapel. Some areas were very poor, others were relatively wealthy.
