The Victorian City
The Modern Records Centre's collections include a range of sources on the Victorian era. A selection of documents on the theme of 'The Victorian City' are shown below, organised into six sections - 'Crime and punishment', 'Employment and trade unionism', 'Housing and welfare', 'Immigration and the Jewish community', 'Political revolt and reform', and 'Women'.
Crime and punishment
Extract from judicial statistics of returns for the year 1856
Statistics and summarised cases regarding death sentences passed in 1856. These formed part of the evidence put before the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment.
Included in a portfolio issued to John Bright MP, a member of the Royal Commission, from the archives of the Howard League for Penal Reform; document reference: MSS.16A/6/1.
On the efficacy of the laws relating to capital punishment, 1864
Example of a letter written in response to an enquiry from the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment. It gives the opinions of the chief officers of Millbank prison, London, on the effectiveness of capital punishment.
Included in a portfolio issued to John Bright MP, from the archives of the Howard League for Penal Reform; document reference: MSS.16A/6/1.
'Sketches in the Clerkenwell House of Correction': The Oakum-Shed', 1874
Engraving from an unidentified magazine - it also includes an illustration of 'The needle-room'.
Included in the archive of the Howard League for Penal Reform; document reference: MSS.16A/7/23/1.
'The Social Science Congress', 1876
Reprint of an article from the 'Gloucestershire Chronicle'. The Congress debated issues including the Prisons Bill and its proposed increase in centralised power, and the appropriateness of flogging as a punishment for wife-beaters.
Included in the archive of the Howard League for Penal Reform; document reference: MSS.16A/6/2/20.
Annual report of the Nottinghamshire Discharged Prisoners Aid Society, 1890
The Society was founded to help discharged prisoners by finding accommodation, employment or providing temporary financial assistance - motto "Never too late to mend". The section reproduced here is a summary of some of the cases that the Society had dealt with during the past year.
Included in the archive of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders; document reference: MSS.67/4/45.
Extract from notebook recording visits to English and Welsh prisons and reformatories, 1897-8
Notes taken by William Tallack, secretary of the Howard Association (a pressure group in favour of prison reform). This extract records his discussions with Liverpool police officers about the issue of prostitution in the city. Tallack's notebooks have been digitised and can be read through our online catalogue.Link opens in a new window
Included in the archive of the Howard League for Penal Reform; document reference: MSS.16A/7/3.
Extract from report of proceedings at the 11th conference of the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Societies, 1900
The report includes a discussion on the best way to tackle vagrancy and "the disposal of tramps". The section reproduced here is part of a speech by Rev. J.L. Brooks of Lingfield Training Colony on the "criminal and pauper" types that he has encountered.
Included in the archive of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders; document reference: MSS.67/2/1.
Photographs of Wormwood Scrubs, undated [1890s / 1900s]
These examples show "prisoners going to dinner" and "taking finger prints". Building of the prison was completed in 1891.
Included in the archive of the Howard League for Penal Reform; document reference: MSS.16A/7/23/1.
Employment and trade unionism
'The stone masons on strike from the new Houses of Parliament, and Nelson's monument, London, and the Woolwich dockyard', 1841
One of a series of addresses "to the trades of Great Britain and Ireland" from the Masons' Society on the progress of the strike. The strike was over the treatment of masons by Mr Allen, a foreman employed by Messrs Grissell and Peto.
Included in the archive of the Operative Society of Masons, Quarrymen and Allied Trades of England and Wales; document reference: MSS.78/OS/4/1/5.
Apprenticeship indenture for John Byrnes, 30 May 1848
John Byrnes, an orphan of Lambs Buildings Asylum and a scholar in the London school of the Associated Catholic Charities, was bound apprentice to John Tulloch Fisher of Stepney, builder. He was obliged to serve three years as an apprentice rather than the usual seven.
Included in the archives of the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers; document reference: MSS.78/ASW/9/2.
'Hyde Park Bottle Works', 1859
Copy of article from 'Glasgow Post' on an industrial dispute at a bottle works after the employer, Mr McAdam, had altered the rules regulating the labour of his employees without consultation. It compares the circumstances of free-labourers to that of slaves [in the USA].
Included in the archives of the National Glass Bottle Makers' Friendly Society of Great Britain and Ireland; document reference: MSS.126/YG/NG/4/1.
Information from Mr Ken McAdam, the great grandnephew of the employer:
"William McAdam came from a humble background and was a Glasgow city councillor involved in bringing safe drinking water from Loch Katrine to Glasgow. He was also part of the Chartist movement. After the City of Glasgow Bank collapse in 1878, the property syndicate he had invested in was ruined and he was made a bankrupt."
'Trade Unions', 1867
Report of a speech by Lord Derby to the South Lancashire Conservatives on the dangers of trade unionism, with part of a response by Ernest Jones, Barrister at Law. The speech was reported in the Fortnightly Return of the Operative Stone Masons' Friendly Society (17-31 Oct 1867) as evidence that "the trade unions of working men are becoming a recognised power in the realm, awakening alarm in the breasts of some, and enkindling hope in the hearts of others".
Included in the archive of the Operative Society of Masons, Quarrymen and Allied Trades of England and Wales; document reference: MSS.78/OS/4/1/30.
Letter from a servant in search of employment, 1877
John Erry provides information about his previous employer and reason for leaving his position in her household, his current place of residence (with a former employer), and his annual wages. He emphasises that he has "an excelent carhacter". An additional letter includes information about his religion (Church of England), age (21) and height (5 foot, 8 inches).
Included in the archive of the Young Women's Christian Association; document reference: MSS.243/14/22/23.
Leaflet promoting the Liberty and Property Defence League, circa 1880
The LPDL was a lobby group for those opposed to socialism, trade unionism and regulation by government.
Included in the records of the Chamber of Shipping, document reference: MSS.367/COS/3/5/8.
'Trade union label', 1895
Circular from the Felt Hatters and Trimmers Unions, promoting the 'trade union label'. The label was to be fixed to all hats produced "under recognised fair conditions" by trade union labour, rather than by 'sweated' workers, allowing the "middle and upper classes" to make an ethical choice.
Included in the archives of the Trades Union Congress; document reference: MSS.292/8.4/1.
'The children's labour question', 1899
Book on the issue of child labour, containing articles originally printed in 'The Daily News'. It includes descriptions of visits to particular schools and factories, and interviews with interested parties, including children. The extract reproduced here relates to the mills in Farnworth, Lancashire.
Included in the archives of the Transport and General Workers' Union; document reference: MSS.126/TG/RES/X/716.
Extract from a register of enquiries and complaints relating to the working conditions of girls and women (a few men are also included), 1898-1908
The examples shown here date from 1900 and are about firms in the London area. The complaints relate to problems such as long or late hours, minimal breaks, dangerous or unhygienic conditions, industrial injuries, and harassment from foremen or employers.
Included in the archive of the Young Women's Christian Association; document reference: MSS.243/142/1.
Housing and welfare
Report of the Medical Officer to the Board of Guardians on District 4, Leeds, 1865
Reproduced in a chapter on the housing situation in Leeds, included in the book 'The homes of the working classes with suggestions for their improvement' by James Hole. Hole's book was written following a conference held by the Society of Arts on the subject of "the dwellings of the working classes", the author was director of a building society and a member of the Model Cottage Association.
Included in the archives of the Involvement and Participation Association; document reference: MSS.310/5/7/55.
Request for financial aid made to the Executive Committee of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, 1868
In return for a regular membership payment, trade unions or friendly societies provided financial support for members who were unemployed, unable to work through illness or industrial injury, or on strike. This is a copy of an application for aid made on behalf of a member of the Drogheda union branch.
Included in the archives of the ASE; document reference: MSS.259/ASE/6/DR/1.
'Saltaire workmens cottages', c1866
One of a series of illustrations showing examples of "improved dwellings" designed for the working classes in West Yorkshire, taken from the book 'The homes of the working classes...' by James Hole. This plan shows a row of cottages in Sir Titus Salt's model village (Saltaire) near Bradford, built to provide accommodation for workers in his textile mill.
Included in the archives of the Involvement and Participation Association; document reference: MSS.310/5/7/55.
'Whitechapel Charity Organisation Committee' (1886)
Mock application form for charitable relief, filled in on behalf of Jesus Christ by Father Charles Marson, a Catholic priest. Marson had served as a curate in the East End of London and is satirising the assessment of charitable cases according to their perceived worthiness.
Included in the archives of the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians; document reference: MSS.78/5/14/153a.
London street by street: Parker Street, 1891
Extract from 'Labour and life of the people: London', 1891, edited by Charles Booth. Parker Street, near Drury Lane, was classified as one of the 'streets coloured black' and therefore "the lowest grade", "inhabited principally by occasional labourers, loafers, and semi-criminals - the elements of disorder".
Included in the archives of the Involvement and Participation Association; document reference: MSS.310/5/7/17.
'Stories of Stepney pauperism', 1892
Extract from 'Pauperism and the endowment of old age' by Charles Booth. The book includes anonymised case studies of families encountered by Booth in Stepney, London.
Included in the archives of the Involvement and Participation Association; document reference: MSS.310/5/7/13.
'Shantytown' by Robert Blatchford, 1892
Article from 'The Labour Prophet', journal of the Labour Church, on a journey from "Villadom" to "Shantytown" and the conditions in the slums. The publication has been digitised and can be read in full through our online catalogue.Link opens in a new window
Included in papers re Rev. John Trevor; document reference: MSS.143/5/1/1.
'A Parochial Relief Committee', 1897
Extract from a paper read by Rev. E Gurdon, Rector of St Anne's, Limehouse, to a meeting of the Council of the London Charity Organisation Society. Rev. Gurdon complains that "careless and indiscriminate relief" has resulted in the replacement of the independent East-Ender with a "professional whiner and loafing cadger", and praises the emphasis on careful distribution of relief by the Charity Organisation Society.
Included in the archive of the National Institute for Social Work; document reference: MSS.463/box 98.
Great Northern Central Hospital, London: reports on applicants for treatment, 1901
Notes on house visits made by F. Cornish, on behalf of the Charity Organisation Society. The enquirer went to the homes of patients to ask about their financial situation and assess whether they could be eligible for free treatment. In some cases the neighbours were also questioned about the family's finances and moral standing (including their drinking habits), to establish whether they were "deserving" cases for charity.
Included in the records of the Institute of Medical Social Workers; document reference: MSS.378/IMSW/A/1/6/8.
An index to the 'obituaries' of members of the Friendly Society of Operative Stonemasons of England, Ireland and Wales is also available. This contains information about individual members (and members' wives and children) who were members of the union funeral fund, and whose families received a payout at the time of their death. The information includes details of ages and causes of death. Entries included currently date from 1836-1880, and number over 11,800.
Immigration and the Jewish community
'Sweating Song written by T. Maguire on the occasion of the strike of Jewish tailors at Leeds', May 1888
This penny song sheet (with lyrics in English on one side and Yiddish on the other) was published by the London-based Yiddish socialist newspaper 'Worker's Friend'. The song links the strike of the Jewish tailors with the wider exploitation and struggle of the working class in Britain. The name of the author suggests that the song was written by someone with an Irish immigrant background.
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/4/6/11.
'Influx of population: Foreign immigration', 1889
Extract from 'Labour and Life of the People: East London', edited by Charles Booth. The volume includes a separate chapter on the Jewish community in the East End of London.
Included in the archives of the Involvement and Participation Association; document reference: MSS.310/5/7/16.
Strike of London tailors, 1889
The papers of William Wess, a Jewish tailor and trade unionist, include documents relating to the organisation of the 1889 London tailors' strike. The examples shown here are a resolution listing the strikers' demands and a copy of a newspaper article on "Organised importation of Hebrew tailors: Strange disturbances in Whitechapel".
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/3/4.
Correspondence regarding preparations for a mass meeting in protest against the persecution of Jews in Russia, 1890
The open air meeting took place at Mile End waste, East London. These two letters are from proposed speakers - Eleanor Marx Aveling, a socialist activist and the youngest daughter of Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin, a leading Russian anarchist and political theorist, then living in exile in London.
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/3/17.
Examples of advertisements included in Vallentine's Anglo-Jewish Almanac and Diary for 1892-4
The almanac includes information in English about religiously significant dates, lists of Jewish hotels, synagogues, charitable institutions and cemeteries, and information about hours of prayer in London synagogues.
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/4/2/8.
Report of the Trades Union Congress, 5 September 1895
Summary of a debate on immigration following the proposal of a resolution to "prohibit the landing of all pauper aliens who have no visible means of subsistence". The same resolution had also been debated at the previous year's Congress.
Included in the archives of the TUC; document reference: MSS.292/PUB/4/1/1.
'A voice from the aliens' by Joseph Finn, 1895
Leaflet protesting against the anti-alien resolution of the 1895 Trade Union Congress, issued by "the organised Jewish workers of England". It attacks the idea that immigrants in general, and Jewish workers in particular, are detrimental to British society and the conditions of its workers. The publication has been digitised and can be read in full through our online catalogue.Link opens in a new window
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/4/2/9.
Subscription list "in aid of the Russian strikers in Bialystoke, who are standing in their noble fight against their employers", 1898
Donations were to be sent to J. Trushkowsky of 113 Brick Lane, London. The heading and signatures are in both English and Yiddish.
Included in a file on Russian interest groups, from the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/3/24.
Political revolt and reform
Fortnightly return of the Stone Masons' Friendly Society, 4 July 1839
The return contains general information about the business of the trade union, but departs from the standard format with a concluding paragraph that apologises for the late production of the returns. The delay was caused by "an attack that was made on our Lodge-house [in Birmingham], on Thursday evening, by a body of Chartists in pursuit of some Policemen who had taken refuge in it, which compelled the Committee to suspend its proceedings".
Included in the archive of the Operative Society of Masons, Quarrymen and Allied Trades of England and Wales; document reference: MSS.78/OS/4/1/2.
'The English Chartist Circular and Temperance Record for England and Wales', vol.1, no.51, [1841]
The front page contains extracts from a speech by Henry Vincent on the campaign to repeal the Corn Laws and the need for universal male suffrage.
Included in the papers of Henry Sara; document reference: MSS.15/5/7/3.
'Great Reform Demonstration', Hyde Park, July 1884
Leaflet for a demonstration by the "unenfranchised classes" (organised by the London Trades' Council) in protest "against the rejection of the Representation of the People Bill by an irresponsible and unrepresentative House of Lords".
Included in the archives of the London Society of Compositors; document reference: MSS.28/CO/4/1/12.
'Alfred Linnell... A Death Song', 1887
Pamphlet sold for the benefit of the orphans of Alfred Linnell, who died from injuries received during a mounted police charge against political protesters in Trafalgar Square. The protest was held a week after 'Bloody Sunday', a demonstration on the issue of Ireland, at which at least 3 people died. The tribute includes an account of Linnell's death and the resulting attempt at a cover-up, together with a 'Death song' written by William Morris.
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/4/2/6.
Leaflets relating to political meetings in South Place Chapel, Finsbury, London, 1887
The examples reproduced here contain a resolution regarding the death sentence given to 7 Chicago anarchists, and an advertisement for "an international celebration of the Paris Commune", with speeches by leading socialists including Annie Besant, Peter Kropotkin, James Ramsay Macdonald and William Morris.
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/3/6.
'To the workers: Employed and unemployed', undated [c1888]
Leaflet about the coming "Social Revolution" published by the Central Revolutionary Committee. It calls for a popular uprising against the "thieving master-class" and includes tips on building barricades. Three 'Songs for the Unemployed' are on the reverse, referencing the Bryant and May strike and the actions of the Metropolitan Police (under Sir Charles Warren) on 'Bloody Sunday' in 1887.
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/3/29.
Letter of introduction, undated [late 1880s / early 1890s]
William Morris (of the Socialist League) is commending William Wess to John Hunter Watts (of the Social-Democratic Foundation). Wess "has gone to Manchester to try to form a club among the Jewish workers there".
Included in the papers of William Wess; document reference: MSS.240/W/3/11.
Election leaflet for John Burns, socialist candidate in Battersea Parliamentary Division, 1892
John Burns was one of two socialist MPs elected in 1892 (the other was Keir Hardie). Unlike Hardie, who argued for the formation of a separate working class party, Burns worked closely with the Liberal Party and was offered the ministerial post of President of the Local Government Board in 1906 - the first member of the working class to become a government minister.
Included in the papers of Dr Brian Weekes, Professor of Industrial Relations; document reference: MSS.227A/5/3.
Independent Labour Party membership card of F. Kilkelly, 1897
Francis (Frank) Kilkelly was an Irish docker based in Bootle, near Liverpool. The ILP was founded in Bradford in 1893 as a national working class political party under the leadership of Keir Hardie MP. It contested parliamentary and local elections during the 1890s, and slowly gained seats on borough councils. In 1900 the ILP joined with the Social Democratic Federation, the Fabian Society and trade union leaders to form the Labour Representation Council (which later became the Labour Party).
Included in the archives of the National Union of Dock, Riverside and General Workers in Great Britain and Ireland; document reference: MSS.126/NUDL/X/40.
Women
Extract from letters sent by secretaries of Prayer Unions, [c.1867]
The secretaries report on the status of their prayer groups of young, often employed, women. The groups were set up to encourage young women to be active Christians (specifically Protestant, rather than "Popish"), and avoid the temptations of the wider world.
Included in the archive of the Young Women's Christian Association; document reference: MSS.243/14/5/21.
Homes for Working Girls in London, 1882
Information about the establishment of homes to "help the working girls of London" and keep them from "the terrible dangers to which a great number of them were exposed in their hours of need".
Included in the archive of the YWCA; document reference: MSS.243/91/1.
'Women we are, and women we wish to be, but -', 1884
Article by Miss Constance Maynard, Principal of the Ladies' College, Hampstead, from 'Our Own Gazette', the magazine of the Young Women's Christian Association. Miss Maynard writes on the need for education to broaden the outlooks of women. YWCA journals between 1884-1920 have been digitised in full and can be read through our online catalogue.Link opens in a new window
Included in the archive of the YWCA; document reference: MSS.243/5/1.
Photograph showing the residents of the Homes for Working Girls in London at Dollis Hill, Willesden, 1887
Illustration of August Bank Holiday outing included in annual report of the Homes for Working Girls.
Included in the archive of the YWCA; document reference: MSS.243/91/3.
'Silk workers', by Margaret McMillan, 1893
Account of the conditions of women and children working in the silk mills, included in 'The Labour Prophet', journal of the Labour Church. The publication has been digitised and can be read in full through our online catalogue. Link opens in a new window
Included in papers re Rev. John Trevor; document reference: MSS.143/5/1/1.
First annual report of the Manchester, Salford and District Women's Trade Union Council, 1895-6
The extract reproduced here reports on the formation of the Council and the starting of a union amongst the umbrella coverers.
Included in a collection of trades councils' publications; document reference: MSS.524/4/1/23.
'To the members of the Young Women's Christian Association', undated [late 19th century]
Leaflet listing "the several divisions of the class" of young women, and asking "what can be done for them?".
Included in the archive of the YWCA; document reference: MSS.243/13/1/32.
'The Lady Cyclist', vol.1, no.14, 22 August 1896
This issue includes an article on 'The new woman', which identifies the bicycle as delivering "untold aid to the cause of equal suffrage, by dispelling the mistaken idea of women's dependence and helplessness". The publication has been digitised and can be read in full through our online catalogue. Link opens in a new window
Included in the National Cycle Archive; document reference: MSS.328/N10/K/L/3.
The cycling diary of an unidentified young girl, 1893-1896
The diary is included at the back of the commonplace book and diary of Emily Sophia Coddington, written c.1850. The author records her thoughts and feelings about her cycling journeys and who she meets. The sense of the independence cycling gives to her emerges in the deliberate noting throughout the diary of "by myself" next to journeys she made alone.
Included in the National Cycle Archive; document reference: MSS.328/N28/8/1.
