History

Navarun Jain

History R1B 005: Jack the Ripper and Victorian London

Instructor: Katie Harper

Date: 8th February 2015

Urban Life and Crime in Victorian London

Henry James says – “[Victorian London] is not a pleasant place; it is not agreeable, or cheerful, or easy, or exempt from reproach. It is only magnificent.” Victorian London was a very complex and controversial place. There was a huge economic divide, which was seen in the geography of the city. On one hand there was the luxurious and lavish West End, inhabited by the wealthiest of the city. On the other hand was the poor East End. The economic gap between these two sides of London seemed to widen day by day. While those in the West End had access to basic facilities, wealth and good governance, the East End was densely populated, not governed well, and devoid of many basic amenities.

People in the East End suffered from a life of struggles and abject poverty. Most of them lived in slums or “workhouses” – places in which people could get food and lodging for a small fee. Their living conditions are extremely unhygienic. Rev. Andrew Mearns remarks – “In one cellar a sanitary inspector reports finding a father, mother, three children, and four pigs! In another room a missionary found a man ill with smallpox, his wife just recovering from her eighth confinement, and the children running about half naked and covered with dirt. Here are seven people living in one underground kitchen, and a little dead child lying in the same room.” People living in such conditions were generally employed in lowly paid occupations, such as tailoring or cab driving. The municipal boards of London were well aware of the lifestyle of the poor. However, they did nothing to improve it. What do the poor do in such situations? Desperate to make a quick buck, they often turn to crime. Crime, as a notion, takes on many forms in Victorian London. For some it may be thieving or illegal gambling. For others it may be as heinous as...