Charles Booth's Descriptive Map of London Poverty circa 1889

Charles Booth (1840–1916), born in Liverpool, was a social reformer who contributed to "Inquiry into Life and Labour in London," a three-edition survey (the final edition being 17 volumes) describing the income, social class, conditions of employment, workhouses, causes of pauperism, effects of poverty, and religious, social, and moral influences in Victorian London between the years 1886–1903. Alongside the written reports, a series of maps were also published, detailing the wage levels and conditions of London's inhabitants street by street. This series of four maps is the first edition published in 1889; a further series of 12 maps was published 10 years later.

In 1884, Charles Booth assisted in the allocation of the Lord Mayor of London's Relief Fund by analysing census returns. Following this, a team of investigators, including Booth's cousin Beatrice Webb, took a more detailed look at the levels of poverty, types of occupation, and the effects of poverty on housing, education, and social behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Initially, the information was gathered from first-hand observations of the occupants of the Bromley and Stepney workhouses and school board officials. An example of an observation made in the Stepney Union Casebook, "Widows Having Children Maintained in Schools," is this of Rebecca Dobson (age 40 at the time it was written in May 1889). Rebecca was a needlewoman in the Bromley workhouse, having been widowed in July 1888. Left with nine children, ages 2 to 23, three had previously died. Prior to being widowed a final application was made by Rebecca's husband for medical aid as he could not afford any after paying for their daughter Caroline's funeral. Causes of pauperism are listed as illness and drink. After Rebecca was admitted to the workhouse, two of her children, ages 9 and 10, were admitted to school.
The latter observations were taken from police notebooks on a street-by-street basis, and in total 450 volumes of interviews, questionnaires, and notes were made. Vices in Victorian London included cocaine, cannabis, and opium, alongside deadly poisons such as arsenic and cyanide. The cultivation of opium, mainly in India at this time, was brought to London by the immigrant communities. The illegal drug problem led to the 1868 Pharmacy Act.

"The streets have all the appearances of semi-vicious poverty." Hatless women, uncleaned doorsteps, two or 3 women drunk, shoe-less, and stocking-less children" . Drunk women were generally considered more troublesome than men.

In the years just preceding the survey, net emigration figures were approximately 1.5 million people. This consisted of a large Jewish population from Eastern Europe who were fleeing persecution, but also Irish, French, Belgian, German, and Italian settlers, and people from all over the world seeking to better their lives. Emigration from London was mainly to the USA. The number of single women exceeded that of men, and as it was feared that unmarried women could not survive without a man to take care of them, they were encouraged to travel abroad to help with efforts in the British Empire.

Prostitution was rife. The Contagious Diseases Act of 1864–1889 made prostitutes solely to blame for the spread of venereal diseases. In 1885, the age of consent was raised from 13 to 16, and the running of brothels became punishable by fines and imprisonment. Sex acts between men were made illegal, and homosexuality was not decriminalised until 1967.

The streets are coloured according to the general condition of the inhabitants (as the key).
Black - Lower class. Vicious, semi criminal
Dark Blue - Very poor, casual. Chronic want.
Light Blue - Poor. 18s - 21s. a week for a moderate family.
Purple -Mixed. Some comfortable, others poor.
Pink - Fairly comfortable. Good ordinary earnings.
Red - Well-to-do. Middle class.
Yellow - Upper-middle and upper classes. Wealthy.

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Battersea - Lambeth - Stockwell circa 1889 (Booth014)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Bethnal Green - Mile End - Limehouse - Shadwell circa 1889 (Booth008)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Camberwell - Peckham circa 1889 (Booth015)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Camden Town - Pentonville - Regents Park circa 1889 (Booth002)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Cannonbury -Kingsland - Hoxton circa 1889 (Booth003)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Clerkenwell - Bethnal Green - Spitalfields circa 1889 (Booth007)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Hackney - Hackney Wick - Victoria Park circa 1889 (Booth004)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Kensington - Chelsea - Brompton circa 1889 (Booth009)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Kings Roads - Walham Green - Battersea circa 1889 (Booth013)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty London Docks - Rotherhithe - Millwall circa 1889 (Booth012)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Marylebone - Oxford Street - Lincolns Inn Fields circa 1889 (Booth006)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Mayfair - Westminster - Belgrave Square circa 1889 (Booth010)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Old Kent Road - New Cross - Nunhead circa 1889 (Booth016)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Paddington - Westbourn Green - Bayswater circa 1889 (Booth005)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty Southwark - Walworth - Bermondsey circa 1889 (Booth011)

View Item

Descriptive Map of London Poverty West Hampstead - Belsize Park - St Johns Wood circa 1889 (Booth001)

View Item

Large Descriptive Map of London Poverty North East circa 1889 (Lon040)

View Item

Large Descriptive Map of London Poverty North West circa 1889 (Lon041)

View Item

Large Descriptive Map of London Poverty South East circa 1889 (Lon042)

View Item

Large Descriptive Map of London Poverty South West circa 1889 (Lon043)

View Item