Good afternoon dear Friends
Another bright and sunny Saturday on Regent St and beyond which saw a new character joining the cast
Today, we are welcoming...
Peter the little Streetboy discovers the Gardens of the MansionPeter grew up in the London East End district and lost both his parents from pneumonia at an early age. He was then forced to work for a living and was once a mustard seller, then a young Chimney Sweeper. He even worked as a Crossing Sweeper sweeping a way through the mud and horse dung of the main paths to make way for ladies and gentlemen until he found a job as a paper boy on Regent St. The arrivals of our prestigious Guests sent the newspapers sales rocketing and the young Peter was then spotted by Ms Adelaide. After enquiring about the little boy's story, our three Kitchen Ladies with a heart of gold decided to give him a home as taking him in as a young kitchen helper !
We are catching up with young Peter as he arriving at the Mansion and he is soon introduced to Ms Periwinkle and Monsieur Firmin who will take him around a tour of the Grand Gardens to the delight of the little boy
However, the reality of life of the Victorian Street Children was somewhat different and very few of them were lucky enough to ever cross the path of someone with a heart of gold like Ms Adelaide...
Remembering the Victorian Street Children
Children were often forced to work almost as soon as they could walk. This was not something new to the Victorian period as children had always been been expected to work for hundreds of years. Many were used as cheap labour.
The working conditions for children during the Victorian timesChildren worked very long hours with little breaks and no fresh air.
They often worked in very dangerous conditions resulting in injuries or even death.
Very young children were expected to work
There was no education for the poor, so it was very unlikely they could get better paid jobs when they were older.
Children were paid very little because they were younger
Most children had no choice - they needed to work to help their families earn enough money to live.
The lucky children got apprenticed in a trade, the less lucky ones worked on farms or helped with the spinning. When new types of work appeared with the development of industries and factories, it seemed perfectly natural to use children for work that adults couldn't do; Crawling underneath machinery or sitting in coal mines to open and close the ventilation doors.
Chimney Sweeps Chimney sweeping was a job children could do better than adults. Small boys (starting at the age of 5 or 6 years) would be sent scrambling up inside the chimney to scrape and brush soot away. They came down covered in soot, and with bleeding elbows and knees.
"I have two boys working for me. after work their arms and legs are bleeding so I rub them with salt-water before sending them up another chimney" Sweep Master
The chimneys were usually very narrow (in some cases as small as 30cm) and twisted. Children often got stuck or froze with terror in the cramped darkness - in these cases the Master Chimney Sweeper, would simply light the fire underneath to 'encourage' them to get on with their work.
The work was dangerous and painful. Some boys got stuck and died of suffocation.
"I never got stuck myself but some of my friends have and were taken out dead." boy aged 8
In 1832 the use of boys for sweeping chimneys was forbidden by law, however, boys continued to be forced through the narrow winding passages of chimneys in large houses.
Factories
Children worked long hours and sometimes had to carry out some dangerous jobs working in factories.
"I start work promptly at 5:00 in the morning and work all day till 9:00 at night. That’s 16 hours! We are not allowed to talk, sit or look out of the window whilst we work. The only day off from work I get is on Sundays, when we have to go to church." Girl aged 9
In textile mills children were made to clean machines while the machines were kept running, and there were many accidents. Many children lost fingers in the machinery and some were killed, crushed by the huge machines.
In match factories children were employed to dip matches into a dangerous chemical called phosphorous. The phosphorous could cause their teeth to rot and some died from the effect of breathing it into their lungs
Factory working for Children - the factsChildren were much cheaper than adults as a factory owner did not have to pay them as much.
There were plenty of children in orphanages, so they could be replaced easily if accidents did occur.
Children were small enough to crawl under machinery to tie up broken threads.
1833 the Factory Act was made law. It was now illegal for children under 9 to be employed in textile factories
Street SellersThousands of poor children worked and lived on the streets. Many were orphans, others were simply neglected. They worked very long hours for very little money. To buy bread, they sold matches, firewood, buttons, flowers or bootlaces, polished shoes, ran errands and swept the crossing places where rich people crossed the busy roads
Coal Mines
Coal was the main source of power in Victorian times. It was used for cooking and heating, and for driving machinery, trains and steam ships.
In order to produce more coal, the mines needed more workers and children as young as 5 years old were used to supply this need. They worked for up to 12 hours a day
TrappersTrappers were children who operated the air doors providing ventilation for the miners. By keeping the fresh air flowing they prevented the build up of dangerous gases. The children would sit in the draft of the doors, cold, damp and very frightened, with little or no light for 12 hours a day.
"I sit in the dark down in the pit for 12 hours a day. I only see daylight on Sundays when I don't work down the pit. Once I fell asleep and a wagon ran over my leg" Boy aged 7
"I hate the dark, it scares me. I never go to sleep. Sometimes I sing, there is nothing else to do other than open and close the door." Girl aged 8
Drawers
Drawers pulled heavy carts of cut coal to the pits surface with heavy chains around their waists.
" I am a drawer, and work from six o'clock in the morning to six at night. stop about an hour at noon to eat my dinner: I have bread and butter for dinner; I get no drink.
I have a belt round my waist, and a chain passing between my legs, and I go on my hands and feet. The tunnels are narrow and very wet where I work. My clothes are wet through almost all day long." Girl aged 10
The Mines Act was passed by the Government in 1847 forbidding the employment of women and girls and all boys under the age of ten down mines. Later it became illegal for a boy under 12 to work down a mine.
Let's never forget these brave Victorian Street Children
