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19th Century London
By Jane Johnson
Admiral Nelson's triumph at the
Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 enabled Britain to
attain naval supremacy in Europe, which led to
the confidence and prosperity which characterised
the nation and, in particular, 19th
century London. The triumphal Nelson's column,
surrounded by Landseer's massive lions and set in
Trafalgar Square in 1839, epitomised this mood.
Other great building work, which shaped the
London we know today, had started at Buckingham
House in 1826. George IV had changed his plans to have his
parents' London home merely reconstructed, and
decided to transform it into a Royal Palace. The
architect, John Nash, took so long to finish the
building that, upon the King's death in 1830, he
was quickly replaced. Edward Blore completed the
Palace and later added the present east-wing for Queen Victoria (the facade was altered in 1913).
The prosperity of the City ofLondon led to a rapid increase in land prices.
The City's population started to move to the
suburbs. In turn, the suburbs regrouped along
existing class structures. The Upper and Middle
Classes moved to areas such as Hampstead and the
West End, while the poorer classes congregated in
the East End in overcrowded and sometimes squalid
conditions.
Industry, at one time based in
homes or small workshops, now required massive
machinery to function and was moved to the
suburbs and beyond. One important trade, printing
and, in particular, the newspaper presses,
retained its foothold in Fleet Street, which
became a social centre with 37 taverns. London
became a massive office with clerks and
book-keepers. Charles Dickens, whose graphic
accounts of the poverty of 19th
century London stirred the national conscience,
worked for a time as a Parliamentary reporter,
sharing the hardships of long hours and commuting
suffered by clerical workers.
The construction of large-scale
public railways, linking London to many of the
major cities, transformed London's social and
business life. The underground network and
tramways followed. The growth of shipping and, in
particular, the construction of the famous
clippers enabled tea to be transported from China
to the Thames. The transport links were crucial
in the extending of colonial domination and
international trade.
Industrial progress was
sometimes double-edged. The invention of the
modern water closet resulted in the piping of raw
sewage into the Thames, which at the time was the
source of London's water supply. In 1833, 10,000
Londoners died in a cholera epidemic, which led
to a law banning burials within the city
boundaries.
18th century
legislators, faced with widespread poverty and
crime, had responded by creating more and more
capital felonies. Sir Robert Peel, as Tory Home
Secretary, decided on a more enlightened
approach, creating the Metropolitan Police Force
in 1829. He was then able to push forward many
law reforms. Later, as President of the Board of
Trade, he was instrumental in removing
unnecessary tariffs and moved towards free trade,
which further increased prosperity. William
Gladstone, who presided over four Ministries in
the latter half of the century, was also a
Liberal, a democrat, reformer and an advocate of
free trade. Benjamin Disraeli, a Tory Prime
Minister, and a favourite of Queen Victoria, also
sought political reform and to increase
enfranchisement of the working classes. The great
reformers of the 19th century were
faced with unprecedented social problems thrown
up by the changes which followed the Industrial
Revolution.
Victorian Londoners indulged in
the view that their city was the heart of the
Empire. In 1851, Prince Albert celebrated this
sense of Imperial grandeur by holding the Great
Exhibition under a massive glass pleasure dome in
Hyde Park. As a trade advertisement to the rest
of the world, it was a success, but fell short of
Albert's loftier aim of promoting international
harmony. Prince Albert endeavored to further
promote the arts and sciences by building various
museums, concert halls and educational facilities
on land he had purchased in South Kensington.
However, the building of the Royal Albert Hall
was, unfortunately, not begun until seven years
after his death in 1861. The Victoria and Albert
Museum of Fine and Applied Arts took another
thirty-two years. The cathedral-like Natural
History Museum was also erected nearby and opened
in 1881. Albert himself is further remembered in
the city through his grandiose memorial on the
edge of Kensington Gardens.
In 1897, Queen Victoria
celebrated her Silver Jubilee with a massive
pageant in the streets of London, in which many
representatives from far corners of the Empire
participated. She personally pressed the
electrical button initiating the telegraphed
message to India and beyond: "Thank my
beloved people. God bless them".
Next: Modern Times in
London
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