Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2024
First exams 2026
The Problems of Housing & Overcrowding in Whitechapel (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Natasha Smith
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
How did the Environment of Whitechapel Compare to the Standard of Living in England in the 19th Century? - Summary
The standard of living in England in c1870–c1900 was different than they are today. Between 1800 and 1900, there was a significant growth in the number of people living in towns and cities. The Industrial Revolution caused mass migration from the countryside to towns and cities to work in factories. London’s population increased from 959,000 in 1801 to 6,339,500 in 1901. Homes in towns and cities were of very poor quality. Overpopulation meant that communal facilities like toilets and water pumps could not cope with the demand. Toilets were often overflowing with sewage and water pumps were contaminated. The 1875 Public Health Act attempted to improve living conditions. Local authorities had to provide clean water and sewage disposal. Failure to comply resulted in a fine. Working conditions during the 1800s were poor. Factory conditions were often dangerous and pay was low. The population of Whitechapel experienced this. Many people worked in the ‘sweated’ trades of shoe-making and matchstick-making. Sweatshops had poor conditions and some people worked 20-hour shifts. Due to Whitechapel’s poverty, the residents of Whitechapel’s standard of living was lower than most in Britain. |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You may have noted a date that begins with ‘c’. This stands for ‘circa’, which means ‘approximately.’ Even historians are unsure when some historical events happened. You can also use the abbreviation ‘c’ in an exam if you are uncertain of the exact year of a significant moment that you want to talk about. An approximate date is better than an incorrect date.
What was it Like to Live in Whitechapel?
Whitechapel is located in East London
What did Whitechapel look like in the nineteenth century?
Whitechapel used to be a wealthy area of London
Many breweries and tanneries opened in Whitechapel during the Industrial Revolution
The smell deterred the wealthy away from the area
Whitechapel was one of London’s poorest districts in the nineteenth century
Out of a population of 30,000 people, roughly 1,000 people were homeless
Many people suffered from unemployment
Some women became prostitutes to survive
Some wealthier people lived and worked in Whitechapel
Most wealthier people lived on Whitechapel Road and Commercial Road
Whitechapel contained many nationalities
The area had a high level of immigration, particularly from Ireland and Eastern Europe
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Immigration in Whitechapel and how it connects to public disorder is discussed in more detail here.
What were living conditions like in nineteenth-century Whitechapel?
Whitechapel suffered from air pollution
Smoke and fumes from London’s many factories blew from west to east
Whitechapel contained many small, narrow streets and alleyways
For an outsider, Whitechapel would have felt like a maze. People could easily get lost
In some situations, a person navigating through Whitechapel would struggle to see their hand in front of their face
Pollution also affected Whitechapel’s water supply
There was little clean drinking water
As a result, many residents of Whitechapel drank alcohol instead of water
Whitechapel had poor sanitation
It was common to see sewage in the streets
Whitechapel's Rookeries
Whitechapel was a very overcrowded area of London
The 1881 Census showed that Whitechapel’s 30,709 population lived in only 4,069 houses
Overcrowded areas with poor-quality houses were called ‘Rookeries’
Houses were divided into apartments
Landlords could get more money renting individual apartments
In 1877, one rookery contained 123 rooms housing 757 people
Each apartment contained multiple families
An apartment could contain up to 30 people. Sometimes, families would sleep in the same bed
Houses did not have indoor toilets
Numerous apartments would share one outside toilet
The outside toilet often overflowed
Rookeries could also contain lodging houses
Lodging houses are sometimes called ‘doss’ houses
Lodging houses offered people only a bed to sleep in
The landlord rented the bed out for eight-hour periods ensuring they gained the maximum amount of rent for the bed
Conditions in lodging houses were poor
Lodging houses attracted rats
Diseases spread quickly in lodging houses due to poor hygiene and lack of cleanliness
Whitechapel had over 200 lodging houses
There was a large rookery of lodging houses in Flower and Dean Street
Roughly a quarter of the population of Whitechapel lived in lodging houses
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The focus for the historic environment is how conditions in Whitechapel affected crime. Consider the conditions that a large number of Whitechapel’s residents were living in. Poverty and poor living conditions increase the likelihood that the area will have higher levels of crime.
The Whitechapel Workhouse and the Casual Ward
Workhouses offered shelter and food
The government developed the idea of workhouses in the early nineteenth century
Used by the poor, the sick, the disabled and orphans
The workhouse residents had to provide labour in return for their food and shelter
This work kept the running costs of the workhouse down
Residents had to do tough manual labour This attempted to make the workhouse a last resort for the poor
This attempted to make the workhouse a last resort for the poor
The owners of the workhouse separated families and punished them if they attempted to stay together
Vagrants, also known as the ‘idle’ poor, stayed in ‘Casual Wards’
The Casual Ward provided the most basic accommodation at a lower standard than the rest of the workhouse
People could only stay in the Casual Ward for a night
The owners believed that keeping vagrants with other residents would encourage laziness in the workhouse
Whitechapel’s workhouse was located on South Grove
It was built in 1871 and could hold up to 800 residents
The Peabody Estate
The government attempted to improve the housing in Whitechapel
In 1875, the government introduced the Artisans’ Dwellings Act
The Act aimed to destroy substandard housing
The Metropolitan Board of Works, a government organisation, purchased an area on Royal Mint Street in Whitechapel
Royal Mint Street contained a high number of poor-quality lodging houses, which the government destroyed
George Peabody, a wealthy American businessman, purchased the land in 1879
In 1881, the Peabody Estate opened
George Peabody designed the housing estate
Peabody created 286 flats
The Peabody Estate provided much better conditions for Whitechapel
The Peabody Estate provided indoor toilets
Peabody built the toilets by the staircases
Two flats shared one toilet
Peabody set the rent for three shillings a week for a one-room flat and six shillings for a three-room flat
The average worker’s weekly salary in the nineteenth century was around 22 shillings
Some landlords charged the poorer people in Whitechapel around a third of their salary on rent
Worked Example
How could you follow up Source A to find out more about workhouses in Whitechapel?
In your answer, you must give the question you would ask and the type of source you could use
4 marks
Source A: From The People of the Abyss by Jack London, 1903. Jack London was an American writer who spent time living among the poor in Whitechapel. Homeless poor people could stay overnight in a workhouse casual ward in return for completing work. Here Jack London is describing a conversation about a casual ward. ‘I was told that after a cold bath, I would be given bread and skilly. Skilly is made from oatmeal stirred into hot water. Then I would be sent directly to bed. I would get up at half past five in the morning and breakfast would be the same meal – bread and skilly. Then I would have to do my work. I would be locked up in a cell to pick oakum*, or to clean and scrub, or to break stones. My friend said, ‘I don’t have to break stones; I’m old, you see. But they’ll make you do it because you’re young and strong.’ ‘Then comes dinner,’ he went on. ‘Bread, cheese, and cold water. Then you finish your work, eat the same as before, and then bed. At six o’clock next morning, you’re let out, provided you’ve finished your work.’ * pick oakum – picking out tar from old ropes |
Answers:
Detail in Source A that I would follow up: ’I would be given bread and skilly.’ (1)
Question I would ask: Why did the owners of the workhouse feed their residents so badly? (1)
What type of source: The financial accounts of the workhouse (1)
How this might help answer my question: It would show me how much money the owners of the workhouse had available for food. If the number was low, it would explain why the food was so basic (1)
Examiner Tips and Tricks
This answer would receive full marks because it provides an appropriate question related to the detail selected from the source. The suggested source is precise and explains how it would answer the question.
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