The Historic Environment: Whitechapel

Question 1

Where is Whitechapel located?

Answer 1

Whitechapel is a district in East London.

Question 2

What was the population of Whitechapel? How many of them were homeless?

Answer 2

30,000 of which 1000 were homeless.

Question 3

What is a feature of Whitechapel’s environment?

Answer 3

Whitechapel was heavily polluted from all the fumes and gases coming from the industrial factories. The smog was so thick that sometimes people couldn’t see their hand in front of their face.

Question 4

What was the main type of housing in Whitechapel during the late 1800s?

Answer 4

Most housing was located in rookeries. In these areas, there were lodging houses, where lodgers paid a nightly fee for a bed.

Question 5

What is a rookery?

Answer 5

A slum area in a town or a city where rates of poverty and crime were high.

Question 6

How many lodging houses were there and how many people did they accomodate to in total?

Answer 6

200 lodging houses where more than 8000 residents lived.

Question 7

What was the problem with lodging houses?

Answer 7

• They were extremely overcrowded
• Lack of sanitation (no clean drinking water as it was contaminated with sewage)

Question 8

What is the name of the well-known rookery of lodging houses?

Answer 8

Flower and Dean Street.

Question 9

What characterised the lodging houses on Flower and Dean Street?

Answer 9

• Gained the reputation for housing many criminals
• Had a terrible smell due to use of buckets and pots as toilets
• Lots of disease

Question 10

What was Whitechapel’s form of poor relief in the late 19th century?

Answer 10

Workhouses.

Question 11

What did workhouses offer and what was this in return for? Give examples.

Answer 11

They offered a bed and food in return for hard labour such as chopping wood or picking oakum (untying old ropes).

Question 12

What were the main types of people to go to the workhouse?

Answer 12

• The elderly
• Orphans
• The disabled
• The poor

Question 13

What were the three reasons why Whitechapel workhouses were seen as a last resort?

Answer 13

1. Families were separated
2. Inmates had to do hard labour
3. Inmates had to wear a uniform

Question 14

Who was Dr Thomas Barnado?

Answer 14

Was originally a doctor, but later set up orphanages for boys and girls in the 1870s.

Question 15

How many orphanages did Barnado set up in his lifetime?

Answer 15

Nearly 100 homes.

Question 16

What act was passed to clear slums in Whitechapel and when?

Answer 16

The 1875 Artisans’ Dwelling Act.

Question 17

What attempt was there to improve the housing situation in Whitechapel?

Answer 17

The Peabody Trust (a charity set up) to build the Peabody Estate.

Question 18

Who was the Peabody estate set up by?

Answer 18

Wealthy American banker George Peabody.

Question 19

What was the aim of the Peabody Trust?

Answer 19

To build 11 new blocks of flats that offered affordable rents to tenants.

Question 20

How much did a one-room flat cost in the Peabody Estate? Was this affordable?

Answer 20

Weekly rent started at 3 shillings (15p) for one room and this was affordable as the average labourer earned 22 shillings per week.

Question 21

How did the Peabody Estate improve living conditions?

Answer 21

• Had shared kitchens
• Better ventilation
• Had shared bathrooms

Question 22

What was the employment situation like in Whitechapel?

Answer 22

There was high unemployment due to economic depression.

Question 23

How did women earn money?

Answer 23

As there were few jobs available to women, many turned to prostitution as a means of income.

Question 24

What jobs were available in Whitechapel?

Answer 24

• Factory work in the sweated trades
• Building railways
• Work in the dockyards

Question 25

What are some examples of 'sweated trades'?

Answer 25

* Tailoring * Match making * Bell Foundry (where Big Ben was cast)

Question 26

What were working conditions in the sweated trades like?

Answer 26

Had to work up to 20 hours in dusty, cramped and dark conditions.

Question 27

What are the links between the environment and crime in Whitechapel?

Answer 27

* Low income levels led to people desperately stealing * Lack of work led to alcoholism and violence * High levels of prostitution caused more violence towards women

Question 28

What caused the influx of Irish immigrants in Whitechapel?

Answer 28

Many Irish left for the USA but ended up in London instead.

Question 29

What did most Irish migrants work as?

Answer 29

They were employed at the docks as ‘navvies’ (labouring jobs such as building roads and railways).

Question 30

What was the Irish's reputation?

Answer 30

They were seen as drunk, violent and associated with terrorism. Also, because they were Catholic, they were viewed differently in society.

Question 31

Why did the Irish's reputation worsen?

Answer 31

Some immigrants were Irish nationalists demanding independence from UK were often very violent and some even organised a bomb attack on Clerkenwell Prison. This group was known as the 'Fenians' and many resented them.

Question 32

Why did Whitechapel's native population fluctuate so much?

Answer 32

Most accommodation was temporary, meaning many didn't have an interest in staying there for long.

Question 33

What caused the huge influx of Eastern Europeans in Whitechapel?

Answer 33

In the 1880s, many Russian and Polish Jews fled to Whitechapel, avoiding persecution (pogrom) after Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by a Jew.

Question 34

What three things caused prejudice against Jewish migrants in Whitechapel?

Answer 34

* Jews had different cultures; they spoke Yiddish which made people mistrustful * Jews were successful in sweatshop trades, causing local traders to resent them * Worked on Sundays (as their holy day was Saturday) so they were seen as trying to undercut local businesses

Question 35

By 1888, some parts of Whitechapel had ___ Jewish population.

Answer 35

95%.

Question 36

Why were there such large concentrations of Jewish immigrants in Whitechapel?

Answer 36

Jews chose to segregate themselves from society as they stuck together and did not see the need to assimilate with the English.

Question 37

Why was there increasing political tensions in Whitechapel?

Answer 37

There was an influx of anarchist and socialist immigrants as they were seeking refuge in Britain after their failed revolutions in Europe. However, many locals considered them a threat and feared them.

Question 38

What is anarchism and socialism?

Answer 38

Anarchism is a political theory that opposes organised government and socialism is an economical theory that opposes capitalism.

Question 39

What did the general public think of immigrants?

Answer 39

They were distrustful of them and there were tensions over access to housing and jobs.

Question 40

What problems did the H Division face in Whitechapel?

Answer 40

* Gangs * Prostitution * Alcohol * Protection Rackets * Violent demonstrations * Attacks on Jews * Environment

Question 41

How did gangs make policing difficult in Whitechapel?

Answer 41

Large gangs of professional thieves employed locals to steal, making it difficult for police to get to the root of the crime.

Question 42

Why was prostitution a problem for the H Division?

Answer 42

Although prostitution was viewed as a social problem and not a crime, it made women more vulnerable to assault and violence. Since sex work wasn't a stable income, many women also stole.

Question 43

By 1888, how many prostitutes worked in Whitechapel?

Answer 43

1200.

Question 44

Why was alcohol a big issue for the police?

Answer 44

Alchohol was very cheap and was used as a means of escape from everyday life. Due to this, there were many gin palaces and opium dens in Whitechapel and drunkards were very common. Many alcoholics were violent and turned to crime (theft) to feed the habit.

Question 45

Why did protection rackets make policing harder in Whitechapel?

Answer 45

Gangs such as the Bessarabian Tigers demanded money from businesses to 'protect' them from attack. Refusal led to property damage and violence. As a result, many gangs were feared - so locals rarely reported them to the police.

Question 46

Why did violent demonstrations hinder policing in Whitechapel?

Answer 46

An example of this was the Trafalgar Square riot in 1887. These protests required a large number of police to deal with the violence and disorder.

Question 47

Why were attacks on Jews a problem for the H Division?

Answer 47

Some police officers were anti-Semitic, so they believed Jews were greedy and dishonest. Moreover, the language barrier and the Jews' distrust of the police prevented communication.

Question 48

How did the environment create problems for the H Division?

Answer 48

Dark and narrow alleyways packed with people made chasing and finding criminals very difficult.

Question 49

How many divisions was the Metropolitan Police split into?

Answer 49

20.

Question 50

What division was responsible for policing Whitechapel?

Answer 50

H Division.

Question 51

What was the role of the beat constable?

Answer 51

They had to patrol a set route (their 'beat') to look out for trouble. They could question and arrest suspects.

Question 52

How did H Division beat constables record information they found?

Answer 52

They had to regularly report to their sergeant and everything was recorded in a diary.

Question 53

Who controlled the Met Police?

Answer 53

The Met was under the direct control of the Home Secretary. The HS then appointed a Commissioner to run the Met.

Question 54

What were two common problems with the police recruits?

Answer 54

1. Drinking on the job 2. Absences

Question 55

By 1885, how many police officers were in the Met?

Answer 55

Around 13,300.

Question 56

When was the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) developed?

Answer 56

1878.

Question 57

Where was the CID based?

Answer 57

Scotland Yard in Westminster.

Question 58

How many officers did the CID have?

Answer 58

216.

Question 59

What was the purpose of the CID?

Answer 59

Their main aim was to detect crime. They worked in plain clothes so they could gather information on suspects.

Question 60

Who was appointed as Commissioner in 1886?

Answer 60

Sir Charles Warren.

Question 61

How did Warren want to change the Met Police?

Answer 61

As a former army general, Warren wanted to increase military drills and recruit more ex-soldiers into the force.

Question 62

What two events was Warren criticised for?

Answer 62

1. Known as 'Bloody Sunday' when police and the army used excessive force to manage the 1887 Trafalgar Sqare protest 2. Criticised in 1888 when the Metropolitan Police were unsuccessful in catching murderer, Jack the Ripper

Question 63

What were the public's attitudes towards the police?

Answer 63

The police were generally mistrusted by the working class and seen in favour of the upper class. Eg: Trafalgar Sqaure Riot. Few cooperated with the police and constables were frequently attacked.

Question 64

When did Charles Warren resign?

Answer 64

1888.