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How Did Bethnal Green Workhouse Change Throughout The 19th Century

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How Did Bethnal Green Workhouse Change Throughout The 19th Century
Bethnal Green Workhouse: An Unhomely Home Throughout the 19th century, London faced many changes most notably due to its population boom, growing from around 1 million in 1801 to an astounding 7 million by 1911 (Week 3, Slide 7). London’s infrastructure struggled to match the dramatic and frequent inflow of millions of people, with many groups residing in the city slums. These slums were notoriously overcrowded, unsanitary, and horrendously stunk from the combined smells of garbage, tobacco smoke, unwashed bodies, and fecal matter – both animal and human. With the dramatic boost in population within the working class, with uncertain income and limited job opportunities, many turned to the New Poor Law for support. The system was intended to …show more content…
As the population in London grew exponentially throughout the 19th century, the extreme wealth parity became increasingly apparent with high concentration in urban areas. growth within the working class population. The cost of managing the poor during the Victorian era were primarily paid by the middle and upper classes in each town through taxes, which grew increasingly more expensive on an annual basis. Thus, the New Poor Law was implemented in 1834 to create a uniform national system to feed, clothe, and house the poor at a reduced cost. Each parish was grouped into a union and, if they did not have one prior, would have to build a workhouse in that area. The New Poor Law was initially designed to help mainly able-bodied paupers, or men and women between 16 to 60 years of age, who were judged fit enough to work for a living and should not require any assistance. Under this new law, the poor could only receive help if they were willing to leave their home and enter a workhouse or “Prisons for the Poor,” with many families torn apart from each …show more content…
1891 Census Enumerator Book. Bethnal Green Workhouse -. 1881 Census Enumerator Book. Bethnal Green Workhouse, 1871 Census Enumerator Book. Clarke, Kate. A. “Women and Domestic Service in Victorian Society.” The History Press. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/women-and-domestic-service-in-victorian-society/#::text=In%201891%20it%20was%20estimated,and%20%C2%A312%20a%20year. Department of Geography and Faculty of History. “Paupers and the Workhouse 1851-1911.” The Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/workhouses/. Dyos, H. J. & Co., Ltd. “The Slums of Victorian London.” Victorian Studies, 1967. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3825891. Evans, Jordan. “10 Things You Never Knew about Victorian London.” Charles Dickens Museum, June 17, 2021. https://dickensmuseum.com/blogs/charles-dickens-museum/10-surprising-facts-about-victorian-london. Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - Findmypast.com - “The History of the Workhouse with Peter Higginbotham.” October 3, 2016. MP4 -. 43:49. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SeiyN_TEE0. Fowler, Simon. The. The Workhouse: The People, the Places, the Life Behind The Doors. Great Britain: Pen & Sword Books
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