Walk 3

Walk

Intro - this walk is still being set up - completed soon

This walk follows in the footsteps of Charles Booth's assistants as they walked through Bloomsbury in 1898 in the company of local police officers, updating the original version of Booth's Poverty Map. We have provided a re-ordered transcript from the Police Notebooks, matching the order of our suggested route: we have combined parts of walks with PC R.J. French, 27 Oct 1898 and PC Robert Turner, 15, 18 and 19 July 1898.

The idea of this walk is to follow in the footsteps of Charles Booth's assistants who surveyed the area in 1898, carrying with them the original Poverty Maps that had been compiled about a decade earlier. Most of the streets they visited still exist, so you can make comparisons between then and now; but some sites have been cleared of their 19th-century buildings or redeveloped. The notes for this walk are simply the transcripts of their comments, contained in so-called 'Police Notebooks' (because the walks were made in the company of local police officers). The original Notebooks are held by the LSE but can be viewed online [http://booth.lse.ac.uk/]. Some of the notes refer back to the original survey. So, for example, where, in the entry for Little Gower Place, you find the note 'lb to db, in map lb', this means that on the original map the street was coloured light blue (lb) (Poor. 18s. to 21s. a week for a moderate family), but by 1898 it had deteriorated to a mixture of light blue and dark blue (lb to db) (where dark blue was Very Poor. Casual. Chronic Want). For a more detailed information on Booth's coding system see below. Very occasionally, we have also added notes of explanation [in square brackets].

This walk will therefore provide you with an insight into living conditions in London at the end of the 19th century. Along the route you will be able to read about topics that interested Booth, his principal research assistant, George Duckworth, and the police, including health conditions, ethnic groupings of people, drinking and drug culture, the smells, crime reports, commercial activities and transportation details.

Booth's work has been described as the first 'empirical sociology' of poverty and wealth. The relevance of Booth's work is still very much apparent today.

We have not provided any more conventional notes for this walk. If you want to know more about the architecture, the chronology of development and patterns of landownership in Bloomsbury, you can find more information in the notes for the 'Bloomsbury and King's Cross walk'. (Nick, here we should add link to page)

Some streets have changed their names since Booth's day. It is worth following the route on historic Ordnance Survey maps, or on Bacon's 1888 Map (also available as the A to Z of Victorian London) and on the successive editions of Booth's map.

Note Booth's colour coding system:

• Black - Lowest class, Vicious, semi-criminal
• Dark Blue (db) - Very poor, casual. Chronic want.
• Light Blue (lb) - Poor. 18s. t o 21s. a week for a moderate family.
• Purple - Mixed. Some comfortable others poor
• Pink (pk) - Fairly comfortable. Good ordinary earnings.
• Red - Middle class. Well-to-do.
• Yellow - Upper-middle and Upper classes. Wealthy.

Examples of other abbreviations in the notebooks:

• 3½ - 3 storeys plus basement
• n. - North
• bd - board

The Route

1 - Gower Street: 3½ + attic - two servants usual - apartments for board and residence. 6 houses on east side south of University College are occupied by Shoolbred assistants & there are work rooms behind [Shoolbred's was a department store on Tottenham Court Road - a bit like Heal's today, but located farther north, between Grafton and University Streets].

2 - Gower Place: 3½ respectable, mechanics, no servants, pink as map.

3 - Little Gower Place: 2 st. on n. side only, hospital on south side, costers, casuals, windows dirty, broken, doors open; bread & vegetables lying about, chickens & barrows, very poor, lb to db, in map lb [the houses on Little Gower Place and the south side of Gower Place were demolished just before World War I to be replaced by UCL's Kathleen Lonsdale Building, but you will see that Little Gower Place still exists as a service road for UCL].

4 - Euston Road: 4½ st. hotels of questionable repute & some regular brothels. Inspector Weedner has had a regular crusade against the houses here: his object is to drive them from the subdivision tho' he knows they will set up somewhere else.

General Remarks: The poorest spots in the walk are Little Gower Place, Pancras St and Whitfield Place. French did not know whether their worsement was due to in migration. He thought it very likely but knew of no particular instances.

He did not think education had lessened crime, though it had lessened the sort of crime. There is less roughness but more ingenuity.

There is more female than male drunkenness in the subdivision.

Going over the poor streets in the subdivision he picked out:

… Little Gower Place - very quiet & v. poor

Not much outside crime among foreigners - 'When they rob, they rob one another'.

5 - Endsleigh St, Taviton St, Gordon St: are all alike - red to yellow - in map yellow.

6 - Endsleigh Gardens: less good, apartments, bd & residence, houses for ladies etc., red rather than the yellow of the map.

7 - Upper Woburn Place: principally Bd & residence, all nations, Welsh, German & American boarding houses, red rather than yellow.

8 - Woburn Buildings: 3 st shops - some let out in floors - purple as map.

9 - Dukes Road: flats on the e. side - clerks - pk - '3 rooms in basement to let £45 a year' - not marked in map - at the south east end is Callard & Bowsers toffee factory. 'No one could eat their sweets if they knew what rough, dirty girls they are packed by'.

10 - Burton St: n. end lb to db overflow is from Brantome Place; on the w. side is a common lodging house for women - of a disorderly character - two specimens were parading the street & objurgating the deputy with a very choice selection from their vocabulary. N. of Burton Crescent may be lb and s. of it remain purple as map.

11 - Brantome Place [now Flaxman Terrace]: 3½ st. rough Irish, thieves, overcrowding, all doors open, windows patched and dirty - women sitting on doorstep suckling babies - children pale and very dirty - much drunkenness - I have known them sell their Xmas dinners! Tickets given by the charitable for change at the seaside often sold - flower girls - clothes not very bad though dirty - add a line of black to the db of map [Brantome Place and North Crescent Mews were demolished in the early 1900s and replaced by Flaxman Court, erected by St Pancras Borough Council in 1907].

11 - North Crescent Mews [now Flaxman Terrace]: cabs, e. side used to be small houses many of which are now demolished. Those that are remain are still bad - are mere hovels at the s.e. end - one barefoot, windows broke, add a line of black to the db of map. 'Several came in here from the clearances north of Cromer St (black in map) they won't leave the neighbourhood if they can help it.'

12 - Mabledon Place [west side]: many doubtful houses & two lodging houses - beds 6d - 9d & 1/-. The doubtful houses said Turner are practically brothels & the man who keeps the dosshouse has already been 'done' as a 'fence'. Bits of bread & bacon in the street, purple barred black rather than the pink of the map.

13 - Euston Road: a great number of hotels with gardens running down to the main road - of very doubtful reputation. 'We can't tell whether they are respectable couples or no,' said Turner.

14 - Mabledon Place [east side]: 4½ st. known prostitutes living here.

15 - Burton Crescent: the e. side should be pk rather than the purple of the map. On the w. side are some questionable characters, houses let out in floors - 4½ st - but better than it used to be - purple as map.

16 - Bidborough St: less good E then west of Judd St - as pk to purple - as map. Large liquorice factory on the n. side & tarpaulin factory on south.

General Remarks: Brantome Place & North Crescent Mews gives a sudden check to the yellow & red prosperity of the Bedford Estate. Note that some are the outcasts from the Cromer St clearances (black in map).

17 - Hastings St: also purple 3½ st.

18 - Sandwich St: not so good as foregoing [Leigh St] - 2 small cabyards on e. side, 4½ & 3½ - mechanics and some police - windows not very clean - one and some times more families on each floor - purple as map.

19 - Thanet St: 2½ st. two cabyards & a horsedealers yard, purple as map.

20 - Tonbridge St: 2½ & 3½ storied houses a mess in the street. The west side of Tonbridge St s. of Argyle St is rough. - dblue rather than purple of map. On the east side opposite, are Whidborn Buildings, built 1893 - 5 st. East End Dwellings Co 6/6 2 r. - police & postmen - purple as map.

21 - Tunbridge St: on the west side (n. end) is a clearance where the Euston Theatre of Varieties is to be built.

22 - Speedy Place: n. side of Cromer St at w. end - 2 st. poor, 23 ho., 2 rooms for 5/- & 6/-, lb to purple in map purple.

23 - Peace Cottages: opening out of s.w. side of Tonbridge st. - 'Several known characters here' - 2 st. narrow, houses on both sides - a rabbit-warren. 30 houses - Irish, windows bad, bread and mess about, birds at windows, wash [?] across passage - children ragged & pale but not ill-fed looking, ragged school at south end. db-barred rather than lb of map. Of this place & the s. end of Tonbridge St, Hunter spoke as 'a fine get away from the Euston Road' for thieves [Most of Speedy Place and all of Peace Cottages were demolished to make way for the second phase of the East End Dwellings Co. estate, on the west side of Tonbridge Street, erected in 1904].

24 - Brunswick Buildings: at s.w. end of Tonbridge st - 2 houses, quiet lb, not coloured in map.

25 - Argyle Place: late North Place - on the north side are the rooms of the Salvation Army prison gate Brigade - 'which has brought a number of undesirable characters to this quarter'. Purple.

26 - Whidborne St: late Brighton st. 5 st. buildings on either side - purple, in map black.

27 - Midhope St: Charlwood Houses on the east side here are slightly better than the rest 8/6 to 10/- for 2 rooms & a scullery, purple - in map black.

28 - Tankerton St: one or two of the old 2 st. houses remaining at the south end - a great number of police inhabit these buildings. Purple.

29 - Loxham St: has Bdgs on the west side. Purple.

30 - Argyle St: Home for fallen women at s.w. end. 'Have been a number of brothels in this street, & there are still one or two houses I should not care to guarantee' said Hunter.

31 - Belgrave St: 3½ st. apartments, pk barred rather than red of map.

32 - Chesterfield St: pk barred rather than red.

33 - Liverpool St: 3½ some hotels, respectable & disrespectable. Like Argyle st & Chesterfield st pk to pk barred - in map pk.

34 - Derby St [now St. Chad's Place]: 3½ 'like Argyle St' brothels - pk barred rather than red of map.

35 - Argyle Square: 4½ st. red as map.

36 - Manchester St: like Chesterfield st 3½ st. pk barred - in map pink.

37 - Lucas Place: s. side of Cromer St. 2 st. rlwy porters & police - 9/- to 10/- for 4 r. - creepers over them - purple, in map lb.

General Remarks: two things to be noticed in this walk 1) the demolition and rebuilding of the black area n. of Cromer st. 2) the number of streets in the neighbourhood of Argyle Square containing disorderly houses - to supply a provincial demand arriving on the GNR at Kings X & St Pancras by the Midland. The majority of the brothel keepers are foreigners said Hunter. Should these streets be marked with a line of black or no? ['demolition and rebuilding' refers to the area occupied by the East End Dwellings Company estate to the east of Tonbridge Street, erected in 1892].

38 - Harrison St: not so good as Compton St. 3½ st - cabyard on s. side, some roughish houses near Seaford St. purple on map pink. 'is a mixed street, might be one or two prostitutes living in it' - 'they drink and quarrel on both sides of the st.' map marks s. side pk. NB The s.e. side of Harrison St in bad repair, lb, to be sold.

39 - Seaford St: houses on e. side only, roughish, 3½ st holey blinds, open doors, birdcages outside windows, 'like the rough bit in Harrison St', some houses better than others - lb to purple, in map purple.

40 - Sidmouth Mews: on the e. side [from Seaford St] cabyard. 2 st. 'better than Seaford St' purple as map [redeveloped following bombing in World War 2].

41 - Sidmouth St: 4½ st some crowding in single rooms - mess, bread in st. mixed working class purple to lb in map purple.

42 - Derry St: 3½ st. very rough, costers. Irish predominant, asphalt paved, vegetables, meat & bread lying about, all doors open, children dirty, ragged, 4 barefoot boys, one child with only a shirt. Hunter had been into a house after some watch stealers & found rooms low & dirty & a father & mother & 8 children in one room. Bricks thrown down on police from housetops, none living in the basement 'though a good many make a free nights lodging of it'. db barred as map [Derry Street was demolished in the early 20th century, bombed in WW2, and replaced by Kingsway College].

43 - Prospect Terrace: houses on n. side only, plenty of space since the s. side has been cleared away, barefoot, bread & great mess in st. Vicar proved his right to the road as leading to the Burial ground in the law courts, as a result the parish will not clean the road & hence its filthy state - a disgrace. Only about 8 houses on the north side 'but three or 4 different owners'.

General Remarks: The worst spot on this walk is without question Derry St & Prospect place. The first and most obvious improvement here wd. be to sweep the streets. …

44 - Wakefield St: 3½ pk as map - on the w. side are the Wakefield Mews, one or two small cabowners & small stables used by shops - The rooms overhead are let out to a poorer class - lb as map.

44 - Compton St: e. from Judd st. [between Wakefield St and Hunter St] 3½ & attic - cobblepaved pink as map.

45 - Hunter St: used to be many houses here of questionable character, now only 2 or 3 are suspected; a few but not many keep servants - pk as map.

46 - Handel St [East of Hunter St]: purple as map on s. side, some questionable houses. On the n. side at the corner of Wakefield St is a School of Medicine.

46 - Handel St [West of Hunter St]: 4½ st. 'like Kenton St', purple as map, on the s. side of it is Hunter Mews, cabyard with stablemen over, lb in map pink.

47 - Kenton St: 4 st. mixed working class "very like the lower end of Marchmont St", tho' it does not look so good. On the Foundling estate a few small shops - purple rather than lb of map. S. of Gt Coram St it is also mixed working class - windows unbroken, clean, most doors shut, purple [all of Kenton St South of Handel St was demolished to make way to the Brunswick Centre].

48 - Compton St: west of Hunter St on south side are Compton Mews, a cabyard, purple rather than the pink of the map, forges & repair shops in the yards.

48 - Compton St: 4½ st. wood paved, mixed working class & shops. Pk as map.

49 - Compton Place & Hunter Place (n.side of Compton St): both marked black in map. Now all that is left are the houses at the west end opposite the relieving office, a few at the n. end and a few at the east end on both sides of Compton Place (see map). Irish - one barefoot - medical mission at the w. end - 3 st. - exits both into Hunter St & Compton St - has been very bad - now less of it - db barred instead of black. Light, air & space have done a little even for those who remained [Compton Place has been almost completely rebuilt since Booth's day, but the entrance through an arch from Compton Street [now Tavistock Place] and the cobblestones still give the place a 19th-century feel!].

50 - Leigh St: 4½ st. cobbles - mixed shops and residences - pk as map.

51 - Marchmont St: n. of Tavistock Place, on w. side is Margaret Row, in map lb, now demolished & closed. North of it are South Crescent Mews, cabyard, poor, not many living there, belonging to one Pettitt who has 3 other yards - on a wall was a notice 'According to Union Rules any driver giving blood money will be discharged'. Turner said his drivers were a 'warm lot', lb as map.

52 - Great Coram St: asphalt paved, let by unfurnished floors, one or two houses amiss but much better than it used to be said Hunter. Very few keep a servant. pk to pk barred rather than red of map.

53 - Marchmont St: the n. portion [between Tavistock Place and Great Coram St.] is a street market - very small one - shops - pk as map.

53 - Marchmont St: 4 st. pk as map 'like Great Coram St' shops n. of Gt C St but let out in floors s. of it, working class, clerks, tailors, etc.

54 - Herbrand St: the west side is all down, belongs to Bedford estate & is to be rebuilt with broader roadway. The east side belongs to the Foundling Estate - purple in character, houses let out in floors - in map lb [this refers to Herbrand Street south of Great Coram Street].

55 - Bernard Mews: on e.s. Herbrand st, 2 st is equally purple.

56 - Little Coram St: which will in time be a continuation of Herbrand St & called so. On the e. side are Peabody's Bldgs - police and working class, 2 r. 5/- 3 r. 6/6 one room for 3/- per wk. purple rather than pk of map [Little Coram Street is now the north end of Herbrand Street. On its west side, Abbey Place and Tavistock Mews were replaced at the very beginning of the 20th century by Thackeray, Dickens and Coram Buildings (now Houses), erected by the London County Council].

57 - Tavistock Place: better w. than e. of [Little] Coram St. Tenements east of Coram St pk, some questionable characters living here, red as map. West of Coram St on the n. side is the Salvation Catholic Church & the place is called St Andrews Temple & training hostel, lately shut because it was found that the Salvationist running it was defraying his expenses by ordering bicycles and then pawning them (This man was not a Salvation Army man. He called himself some adjective Salvationist & wore a naval uniform). This Building has had a chequered life - was a chapel, then a disorderly club, lately a cycle school and cabinet factory.

58 - Woburn Place: well-to-do boarding houses, red as map.

59 - Russell Square: leases falling in & houses being done up with terra cotta facings, not many what you'd call carriage people living here now; perhaps still yellow as map.

60 - Woburn Mews: on the w. side is a cabyard. 2 st. poor, purple to lb rather than pk of map.

61 - Tavistock Square: better, no Bd & Residence, 4½ st. used to be many Jews here but they are leaving, going to Hampstead - yellow as map.

62 - Upper Bedford Place [now Bedford Way]: 4½ st. boarding houses red as map.

63 - Gordon Square: 'as good as Russell Square' - 2 or 3 indoor servants kept - some carriages - no lodgers allowed or apartments, 4½ st. Catholic Apostolic Church on the west side, approached by cloisters, church is almost a cathedral, open but empty, strong smell of stale incense 'have very small congregation on Sundays'.

5 - Gordon Street: 4½ st. like the square, yellow as map.