2. The national curriculum framework such
that children's life at school must be
linked to their life outside the school. This
principle marks a de portable use from
the legacy of bookish learning and thus
the students have been given provisions
to preface some project reports on certain
subjects.
I express my hearty gratitude to CBSE
for providing such an interesting and
board scope topic for our project. I am
really thankful to our respected Soc ial
Studies teacher Mrs.Priti Singh mam who
helped us in a passive way. I would also
like to thank my parents and my friends
for their help, encouragement and
3. London is the capital city of England and
the United Kingdom. It is the most populous
region, urban zone and metropolitan area in the
United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames,
London has been a major settlement for two
millennia, its history going back to its founding by
the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's
ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its
1.12-square-mile (2.9 km2) mediaeval boundaries
and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375,
making it the smallest city in England. Since at
least the 19th century, the term London has also
referred to the metropolis developed around this
core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the
London region, governed by the Mayor of
London and the London Assembly.
5. The origins of London slums date back to the mid
eighteenth century, when the population of London, or
the “Great Wen,” as William Cobbett called it, began to
grow at an unprecedented rate. In the last decade of the
nineteenth century London's population expanded to four
million, which spurred a high demand for cheap housing.
London slums arose initially as a result of rapid
population growth and industrialisation. They became
notorious for overcrowding, unsanitary and squalid living
conditions. Most well-off Victorians were ignorant or
pretended to be ignorant of the subhuman slum life, and
many, who heard about it, believed that the slums were
the outcome of laziness, sin and vice of the lower classes.
However, a number of socially conscious writers,
social investigators, moral reformers, preachers and
journalists, who sought solution to this urban malady in
the second half of the nineteenth century, argued
convincingly that the growth of slums was caused by
poverty, unemployment, social exclusion and
homelessness.
6. Garden
City
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by
Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-
contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts", containing proportionate areas of
residences, industry and agriculture. Howard founded the Garden Cities Association (later
known as the Town and Country Planning Association or TCPA), which created First Garden
City of the world in Letchworth in 1899.
7. London Suburbs
Because of population pressure and the absence of
inexpensive housing in the city center, the population of
London had to move outwards, creating a new
relationship between the center and the periphery. For a
long time, the affluent had had houses or cottages in the
country to which they could retreat on weekends or
holidays or for retirement. In the nineteenth-century,
transportation made it possible to live in the suburb and
work in the city.
Victorian builders used both types of street
plans in the remaking of London. Arterial
roads like Oxford Street or Marleborne Road
were cut to parallel the Thames; radial roads
were also built from the center out, not unlike
the railroads.
8. Number of trends evident:-
The Inner
City
1) Loss of social heterogeneity of many London districts: Take Westminster, Mayfair, or
Pimlico. There Georgian and Regency terraces, with courts behind them for a service
population, and a nework of mews or alleys for the storage of carriages and the stabling of
horses. But by the 1870s, the mews and courts were demolished, largely because public
transportation and cabs rendered obsolete the carriages and horses, together with the
grooms and coachmen. Also workers did not move to the suburbs until the cost of the
railroads and the Underground dropped considerably.
2) The depopulation of the City: traditionally home to small masters, merchants,
stockbrokers and financiers, insurance underwriters, and ship owners. Beginning in the
1860s, they all moved outwards. In 1851, the population of the City was 127,000; by 1861,
it was 112,000, and by 1900, it was 31,000. The City became a business center, busy during
the day and deserted at night. Its architecture changed, great office blocks were raised,
often in the grand styles borrowed from previous eras like the Gothic, the Jacobean, and the
Italian that the Victorians favored.
9. 3) Suburban exodus altered relationship
between employer and employee: before the
Victorian era, prosperous merchants and
craftsmen operated their businesses from their
homes. Employers, clerks, journeymen, and
apprentices lived near each other, often in the
same building. Even if there was not much
contact, there was proximity. After 1860, skilled
workers began abandoning the city for the
suburb; then home and family became more
important than work; the working day was also
shortened and income rose.
4) The growth of vast slums like the East End: Dramatic growth in the first half of the 19th
century. People who worked in the docks and industries like foodstuffs, beverages, building
materials and soap lived in the boroughs of Whitechapel, Stepney, Poplar, Bethnal Green,
Bermondsey, and Southwark. Descriptions of living conditions are found in Edwin
Chadwick's Report on the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Classes (1842), Henry
Mayhew's London Labour and Lond Poor (1861), Charles Booth's Life and Labour of the
People in London (17 vols.; 1886-1903), and the accounts of contemporary observers. The
novelist Charles Kingsley wrote in 1849: "And, oh God! what I saw! People having no
water to drink—hundreds of them—but the water of the common sewer which stagnates
full of . . . dead fish, cats and dogs, under their window."
11. Railroads And Suburban
GrowthThe introduction of the commuter train
helped determine patterns of suburban
development; towns grew up around the
suburban stations; fit in with the British
desire to live in the country; also made
possible north-south development and
ended the Thames' role as the determinant
of the direction or urban development.
Development of the rail road within London
was different from the suburbs; the rail
lines do not connect; hence a traveller must
often change stations to continue a journey;
hence the need for a means of rapid transit.
The London Underground was born in the early 1860s, with the opening of the Baker Street
Station of the Metropolitan Railway. The opening was preceded by a decade of political and
financial discussion. Plans had to go through Parliament. Plus there were the technical
problems of actually constructing the Underground. In 1862, the Lond Times complained
"of dark, noisome tunnels, buried many fathoms deep beyond the reach of light or life;
passages inhabited by rats, soaked with sewer drippings, and poisoned by the escape of gas
mains.”
12. In 1861, 23,000 people were directly
employed by the railways; by 1891, the
figure was almost 70,000. In addition,
48,000 people were employed in ancillary
transport industries. Result is the conclusion
that 250,000 people depended on the rail
industry for their livelihood. Other
industries grew up near the rail lines; also
service industries like hotels, restaurants,
refreshment stands, etc.
But by the end of the 19th century, the
Underground was complete; the result
was the linking of the railway termini in
the city center and an acceleration of
settlement on the city's periphery, away
from the Center. The direct and indirect
impact of the railroads on the economy
of London is difficult to underestimate.
13. In the beginning of the19th century,
the main mode of transportation was
the horse and carriage. It wasn't until
the latter part of the century that
railways changed people's lives and
habits. But even after the advent of the
railway, remote areas still relied on
the horse for local transport. Carts,
drays, vans and wagons were
generally used for carrying goods in
England. They could also be used to
carry people, but generally people of
the lower orders. Carriages carried
people in England. Barouches,
landaus, victorias, curricles and
broughams were all carriages.
Following is a brief summary of the
types of vehicles used to get around as
per the cities:
Various Modes Of
Transportation
14. Barouche- A four-wheel fancy carriage with a fold-up hood at the back and with two inside
seats facing each other. It was the fancy carriage of the first half of the 19th century.
Berlin- A big four-wheel carriage with a hood.
Curricle- A two-wheel carriage that was fashionable in the early 1800s. It was pulled by
two horses and deemed sporty by the younger set.
Landau- Open, fancy carriage with four wheels with a hood at each end and two seats
opposite each other. It was popular in the first half of the 19th century. Two horses pulled
the landau.
Phaeton- A light four-wheel carriage with open sides and drawn by one or two horses.
Victoria- A low, open carriage with four wheels, which sat only one or two people. It was in
use from about mid-century and very popular with ladies' driving.
OPEN CARRIAGES:-
Waggon--long, heavy vehicle used in the English countryside for carrying heavy goods and
people who didn't have the money to travel fast.
Dray--a cart with no sides used for hauling heavy loads.
Van--A covered-over, lightweight version of the waggons used for hauling goods, and
sometimes for people.
COUNTRY VEHICLES:-
15. Hackney--For hire, hackneys were often discarded carriages of the wealthy. They served as
taxis in the 19th century.
Cabriolet--(cab)--These were introduced into England in the 1820s from France. They
quickly replaced hackney coaches.
Hansom--Invented in the 1830s, it had two wheels and the driver sat in back, so the
passengers could get a clear view of where they were going. They eventually replaced the
cabs. It was introduced into the United States later in the century. By the 1890s, tires were
rubber, making the ride smoother.
Omnibus--The first one appeared in London in 1829 and carried about 22 passengers. By
the 1880s, a circular staircase leading to the roof added more seating on top. They carried
12 passengers inside and 14 on top. They ran fixed routes and were pulled by horses.
CLOSEDCARRIAGES:-
Brougham--All-purpose everyday vehicle for the quality in the latter part of the
century. Originally a two-wheel vehicle, by the latter part of the 19th century, they were
most often four-wheel carriages.
FOR HIRE VEHICLES:-
16. Road Wagon, Dog-cart, and Surrey--Were most useful for country work and for fast
trotting.
Rockaway--Usually relegated to country use, as it was difficult for the coachman to drive in
crowded streets on a low seat. They were either closed or open.
Runabout--The most generally used light wagon for two passengers.
Wagonette--lightweight and led by two horses, it was useful in the country because it
carried a large number of passengers with the least effort to the horses.
CARRIAGESOF AMERICANORIGIN:-
COACHES:-
Coaches were enclosed, four-wheel vehicles used for long-distance travel.
Stagecoach--coaches which stopped at various pre-appointed stages in order to pick up and
drop off passengers. They were the only way to visit people not on the
mail coach routes. They were built to carry the same passengers as the mail coaches.
Mail coaches--subsidized or owned by the post office and painted uniformly. They carried
four inside passengers and up to eight outside passengers. Mailbags were piled on the roof
and luggage was carried in receptacles called boots.
17. Sources Of Entertainment in 19ᵀᴴ century:-
The eighteenth century was the great age of theatre. In London and the provinces, large purpose-
built auditoriums were built to house the huge crowds that flocked nightly to see plaays and musical
performances. A variety of entertainments were on offer, from plays and ballets to rope-walkers and
acrobats.
18. Theatre going was a very different experience from that of today. Theatre audiences could be rude, noisy and
dangerous. Alcohol and food was consumed in great quantity, while people frequently arrived and left
throughout the duration of the performance. Audiences chatted amongst themselves and sometimes pelted
actors with rotten fruit and vegetables. Others demanded that popular tunes be played over and over again.
Audiences were a mixture of both rich and poor, and sat in different parts of the theatre depending on whether
they could afford cheap or expensive tickets. ‘Persons of quality’ were seated in boxes placed alongside the
stage, while working men and women were squeezed into hot and dirty galleries. In front of the stage, young
men would drink together, eat nuts and mingle with prostitutes down below in the notorious ‘pit’.
There were fetes, carnivals, art exhibitions and lessons in singing, dancing and cooking to attend. Talks were
given by visiting notables, scientists, preachers, and people who had been adventuring in different cocuntries, to
join social groups, as they had families and children to look after.
Depending on your social status, you could join various social groups such as 'The Gleaners of Nature', sewing
and craft groups, sporting and church groups, as well as various lodges and friendly societies. Well-to-do ladies
would often join committees and organise events such as bazaars, fetes and exhibitions to raise money for
hospitals, churches and charitable exhibitions. However, in the 19th century, working hours were long and the
pay inadequat emoney. Many working people were poor and could not afford to attend the theatreor do not
have time.
THEATRE:-
19. Boxing:-
A cockfight is a blood sport between two roosters (cocks), or more accurately gamecocks, held in a
ring called a cockpit. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to
a “game”, a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1646, after the term “cock of the game”
used by George Wilson, in the earliest known book on the sport of cockfighting in The
Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting in 1607. But it was during Magellan's voyage of
discovery of the Philippines in 1521 when modern cockfighting was first witnessed and documented
by Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's chronicler, in the kingdom of Taytay.
Cock fighting:-
Boxing has always had strong links with public houses. In the early days pubs have staged fights and
even now some pubs are used as gyms and traianing centres. We take a look at three of London's
pugilistic pubs.
20. Occupational Structure of london in 19ᵀᴴ century
London in 1715 was at one and the same time Britain’s largest manufacturing
centre, its largest port, and the centre of governance, the professions, trade, and
finance. Perhaps a third of the population was directly involved in
manufacturing, and the capital formed the centre of many trades (perhaps
most notably the silk industries). The numbers of medical and legal
professionals, in particular, grew strongly from the last quarter of the
seventeenth century through the 1740s when the number of professionals began
to level off. Employed in an ever growing number of hospitals and institutions,
in the plethora of courts (both civil and criminal) and in the army and navy, by
around 1730 there were perhaps 15,000 men employed in the law, medicine, the
church and the military; while during the same period around one in nine
Londoners kept a shop; and a further ten percent worked in the transport
sector.
21. their lives, but a full sixty per cent were likely to find themselves in receipt
of charity, or parish relief during periods of unemployment, illness or old
age.
This employment and economic pattern, however, was substantially skewed both in terms of gender and class.
Female employment, for instance, was largely restricted to a small number of occupations, of which domestic service
was overwhelmingly dominant, with perhaps half of all employed women working in service in this period. Beyond
this, women were largely restricted to needlework and laundry , and thelarge numbers of unskilled and poorly paid
employments associated with street selling and casual labor. The elite, the wealthy and aristocratic, made up between
two and three percent of Londoners, while the "middling sort" – the professionals, large shop-keepers and
manufacturers, bankers and traders – formed around a fifth of the population. Of the rest, some twenty per cent,
skilled artisans and the simply lucky, might avoid poverty and dependence throughout
23. Steps Taken To Accomodate Immigrants in
London:-
The former riverside town required new forms of
government, of communications, and of sanitation if it
was to continue to grow. These were slowly and
painfully evolved in the London of 1820-1914. In
1829 a centralized Metropolitan Police Force was
provided, under the ultimate control of the home
secretary, in place of the uncoordinated watchmen
and parish constables. The lighting of streets by feeble
oil lamps was revolutionized by the introduction of
gas, and soon the Gas Light and Coke Company (1812)
was followed by similar companies scattered
throughout London. Omnibuses (1829) began a
revolution in road transport, and carriage by rail came
less than 10 years later.
24. In 1845 an inquiry into public health was made, with the exposure of London's worst
deficiencies, followed by legislation in 1852 ensuring a purer water supply. A statute
in 1855 (the Metropolis Management Act) combined a number of the smaller units of
local government and replaced the medley of franchises with a straightforward
system of votes by all ratepayers. Major works, such as main drainage, were put in
the hands of a Metropolitan Board of Works.
The Victorian middle class preferred the suburb with its privacy; the affluent still
favored the city for its diversities, novelties, and range of pleasures; department stores
like Harrod's; music halls, theatres, restaurants, concerts, Gilbert and Sullivan;
museums; great newspapers; and the tourist and post card industries. Pleasures for
the working classes: sports, especially soccer; free museums, public lectures, open-air
concerts. All such were lacking in the suburb.
Above all, city dwellers had to adjust to a rapid pace of change and
uncertaint; hence to survive, one had to be flexibile and independent,
hence London often attracted the rural young and women, who had
the opportunity to earn wages as clerks, shop assistants, and factory
girls, many also found emploment in the suburbs as domestics or
gardeners.