Descriptive Map of London Poverty London Docks - Rotherhithe - Millwall circa 1889

Charles Booth's Descriptive map of London Poverty first published circa 1889
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.

Life expectancy in Victorian London was low. Middle-classes could expect to reach their 40’s, but for labourers and lower classes it was still only in the mid 20’s. The insanitary conditions and overcrowding meant that disease was rife. The first Cholera epidemic in London killed 7,000 in 1832. In 1871 50,000 people died from small pox in Britain and Ireland. Infant mortality rate was high - reaching a peak of 163 per 1,000 live births in 1899. It was not a legal requirement to register a birth until 1874, and women were often continually pregnant until menopause because each child would be lucky to survive past their fifth birthday. Chloroform was discovered to have anaesthetic properties and was used during labour. A total disregard for personal hygiene and the squalor of 19th century London meant that waterborne diseases were rife. Diarrhoea killed thousands of children every year. The Burial Acts of 1852 & 1853 addressed the problem of the overcrowding of bodies in urban churchyards by introducing more public cemeteries, and the first cremation in the UK was in 1885.

When this map was published:

The Thames Tunnel, while a feat of engineering, was plagued with problems during its construction. The increasing necessity to further connect the north and south sides of the River Thames led to the building of the tunnel by Marc Isambard Brunel and his son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in 1825. It was the first known tunnel to be constructed under a navigable river, and construction took nearly twenty years. It was extremely hazardous, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel nearly drowned himself during one of the many floods in the tunnel. Six men died, and he was lucky to survive. Financial problems led to the construction of the tunnel being abandoned for seven years until enough funds were raised for its completion in 1834. Finally opened in 1843, originally for horse-drawn carriages, it became a railway tunnel in 1869.