10 History Lessons from the Masterpiece TV Series “Victoria”

Victoria is a British drama television series created by Daisy Goodwin and starring Jenna Coleman and Rufus Sewell.

There are many fascinating history lessons contained within the PBS Masterpiece series.

Here are 10 of our favorites.

1. Victoria’s dog “Dash”

Thought to have been Victoria’s closest childhood companion, Dash was a Cavalier King Charles spaniel initially given to her mother, the Duchess of Kent, by Sir John Conroy, the head of the Duchess’s household.

So close were Victoria and Dash that on one occasion when she went sailing on a yacht, Dash couldn’t bear being apart from her and jumped into the sea to swim after her.

Writing in her diary of Dash, she would shower him with words of affection: “dear sweet little Dash” and “dear Dashy”.

Portrait of Princess Victoria of Kent (later Queen Victoria, Empress of India) with her spaniel Dash after George Hayter
Portrait of Princess Victoria of Kent (later Queen Victoria, Empress of India) with her spaniel Dash after George Hayter

When Dash died, a marble effigy over the grave in Windsor Home Park read:

Here lies DASH
The favourite spaniel of Her Majesty Queen Victoria
In his 10th year
His attachment was without selfishness
His playfulness without malice
His fidelity without deceit
READER
If you would be beloved and die regretted
Profit by the example of DASH

2. The Kensington System

Raised largely isolated from other children under what was known as the “Kensington System”, Victoria had few if any childhood friends.

Devised by her mother and  Conroy to render Victoria weak and dependent on their guidance, it comprised an elaborate set of rules and protocols.

Victoria, aged four Painting by Stephen Poyntz Denning, 1823
Victoria, aged four Painting by Stephen Poyntz Denning, 1823

Victoria’s every move was monitored and recorded.

Her mother and Conroy decided who she could and couldn’t see and trips outside the palace grounds were few and far between.

At some point, possibly from when she knew she would be Queen one day, Victoria’s courage grew and she resisted constant threats and intimidation to try to force her into appointing Conroy as her personal secretary and treasurer.

Kensington Palace with statue of Victoria. Credit Shisha-Tom
Kensington Palace with statue of Victoria. Credit Shisha-Tom

3. Sir John Conroy (1786 – 1854)

Serving as comptroller to the Duchess of Kent and her young daughter, Princess Victoria, Conroy was originally an equerry to Victoria’s father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn.

Sir John Ponsonby Conroy, 1st Baronet by Henry William Pickersgill, 1837
Sir John Ponsonby Conroy, 1st Baronet by Henry William Pickersgill, 1837

Thanks to the oppressive Kensington System, Victoria hated Conroy and had her revenge by expelling him from the royal household when she ascended to the throne.

Remaining in the Duchess’s service for a number of years, his attempts to discredit Victoria and plot to have her mother appointed as regent were unsuccessful.

Rumours circulated that the Duchess and Conroy were lovers. According to an account by the Duke of Wellington, the 10-year-old Victoria had reportedly caught Conroy and her mother engaged in “some familiarities”.

By 1842, Conroy retired to his Berkshire estate with a pension but died 12 years later, heavily in debt.

4. Lord Melbourne (1779 – 1848)

Serving as Home secretary and twice as Prime Minister, Lord “M”, as Victoria affectionately called him, is best known for mentoring her for the first three years of her reign.

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer

As a younger man at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he made friends with Romantic poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

Whilst the association may have imbued him with some romantic charm, he later suffered great embarrassment and humiliation when his wife, Lady Caroline Ponsonby, had a public affair with Lord Byron.

Spending four or five hours a day visiting and corresponding with Victoria, tutoring her was the pinnacle of his career.

His influence faded when Victoria married Prince Albert and he died in retirement at Melbourne Hall in the Derbyshire countryside.

The city of Melbourne, Australia, was named in his honour in March 1837.

Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire. Credit Kevin T, flickr
Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire. Credit Kevin T, flickr

5. Rotten Row

A fashionable thoroughfare for upper-class Londoners to be seen horseriding, Rotten Row originally connected Kensington Palace with St James’s Palace.

Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner, London
Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner, London

Created by King William III and completed in 1690, Rotten Row was lit with 300 oil lamps and was the first artificially lit highway in Britain.

As can be seen at least twice in the Masterpiece first episode of Victoria, acquaintances would stop to chat on Rotten Row and the adjacent South Carriage Drive to bid each other good day.

Lord Melbourne is seen stopping on Rotten Row to chat with Lady Emma Portman and later, Sir Robert Peel.

Called “Route du Roi”, French for “King’s Road”, it became known by the nickname “Rotten Row”.

6. Everyone was “on the make”

This episode of Victoria highlighted just how much wheeling and dealing was at the centre of Victorian society at all levels.

While the upper classes sought to manipulate their way to political favors or plot the downfall of a rival, the working class was peddling anything they could to make ends meet.

The Peddler's Wares by Felix Schlesinger
The Peddler’s Wares by Felix Schlesinger

From Queen Victoria’s used gloves to half-used candles, there was some serious rivalry to find “nice little earners” on the side.

Working as a servant in the royal household was a great privilege and considerably better paid than elsewhere.

A domestic servant in a modest household might earn about £12/year, whereas the lowest level in the palace received £15 15s/year.

We think we have it tough today, but at the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign, an entry-level servant received the equivalent of £385/year (~$477/year). That’s £7.40/week ($9.16/week).

No wonder they were all “on the make”.

7. Uncle Cumberland

Every good drama has a villain. And Victoria is no exception.

The dastardly “Uncle Cumberland” aka Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover, makes a fine villain.

As the fifth son of George III, he thought he stood no chance of ever becoming monarch.

But fate works in mysterious ways.

Ernst August von Hannover (1771-1851) by Edmund Koken
Ernst August von Hannover (1771-1851) by Edmund Koken

None of his four elder brothers produced a legitimate heir who lived beyond infancy.

And so when his elder brother William IV died in 1837, he became king … of Hanover.

Hanover was part of the old Holy Roman Empire and honored “Salic Law”, barring women from succession.

Not so in the United Kingdom, where Victoria succeeded as next in line.

This must have rattled Uncle Cumberland quite a bit and so he plotted to have Victoria replaced by the co-regency of her mother and himself.

Completing the villainous look was a huge scar across his left eye that he received in 1793 from a sabre blow to the head.

Played down in most of his portraits, the damage to his eye is somewhat visible in the painting below from when he was 22 years old.

Ernest Augustus in an 1823 miniature based on an 1802 portrait by William Beechey
Ernest Augustus in an 1823 miniature based on an 1802 portrait by William Beechey

8. Victoria was no more than 5ft tall

A diminutive queen reigning over a mighty global empire must have seemed at odds to the taller males in the royal household.

To put things into perspective, even Napoleon Bonaparte, who was considered very short thanks to British propaganda (but was actually 5 ft 6″), would have stood a whole head taller than Victoria.

Masterpiece’s drama plays on Victoria’s height—from Lord Melbourne’s line “every inch a queen” to her feet dangling six inches from the floor as she sits on the old throne at Buckingham House.

Victoria may have been small in stature, but she was a giant in terms of the courage and willpower she showed to overcome such an oppressive childhood.

Queen Victoria by Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Queen Victoria by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

9. Buckingham House

Originally a townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703, Buckingham Palace was once known as Buckingham House.

Acquired by King George III in 1761 as a residence for Queen Charlotte (when it was called “The Queen’s House”), Buckingham House was enlarged in the 19th century by the famous architect John Nash, who had been responsible for much of Regency London’s beautiful layout.

A view of the East Front of Buckingham House, before it was rebuilt as Buckingham Palace, 1819
A view of the East Front of Buckingham House, before it was rebuilt as Buckingham Palace, 1819

Becoming the principal royal residence in 1837, Queen Victoria was the first monarch to reside at Buckingham Palace.

Although the state rooms glowed with gilt and brightly colored semi-precious stones, the fireplaces were so ineffective that the palace was usually cold and drafty.

Today’s Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms and the largest private garden in London.

A view of the Crimson Drawing Room at Buckingham House
A view of the Crimson Drawing Room at Buckingham House

10. Candles and Gaslighting

Besides the staff making a “nice little earner” on half-used candles, we learned in the first Masterpiece episode of Victoria that shortly after her moving into the palace, gas lighting was installed.

Candle chandelier
Candle chandelier

In 1792, William Murdoch, a Scottish engineer and inventor,  was the first to exploit the flammability of gas for the practical application of lighting.

By 1807, London’s Pall Mall was lit by gaslighting to celebrate the birthday of the Prince of Wales who later became King George IV.

A Peep at the Gas-lights in Pall Mall by Thomas Rowlandson, 1809
A Peep at the Gas-lights in Pall Mall by Thomas Rowlandson, 1809

Believed to help reduce crime, gas street lighting became widespread during the 1840s.

Along with new technology came new jobs as 380 lamplighters were employed by 1842 in London alone.

At the same time, Buckingham Palace and the new Houses of Parliament also went over to gas lighting.

Good ventilation was important for gas lighting because it consumed a lot of oxygen and since Buckingham Palace had such bad ventilation, there were serious concerns about gas build-up on lower floors.

Have you watched Season 2 yet?

A Ghost Story of Christmas

It was the winter of 1843.

Long after the sober folks had gone to bed, Charles Dickens paced the streets of London.

Unaware of time and place, he would walk fifteen or twenty miles many a night, his head filled with thoughts about his latest project.

It was nearly finished.

Victorian London, Drury Lane. Credit spitalfields.com
Victorian London, Drury Lane. Credit spitalfields.com

A Christmas Carol was born of an idea that the best way to bring about awareness for the plight of the poor was through story.

Dickens had considered writing pamphlets and essays, but these were not the ways to reach people’s hearts.

People loved stories.

A few weeks earlier, his friend the Baroness Burdett-Coutts had considered donating to the system of religiously-inspired schools known as the “Ragged Schools”.

She had asked Dickens if he would visit the school at Saffron Hill in London and relay his impressions.

Cruikshank represents a ragged school at the Saffron Hill slum in London, which Charles Dickens visited on behalf of philanthropist Angela Burdett Coutts in 1843. This visit undoubtedly shaped his conception of Ignorance and Want — and the importance of elementary education as an antidote to poverty — in A Christmas Carol). (Philip V. Allingham)
Cruikshank represents a ragged school at the Saffron Hill slum in London, which Charles Dickens visited on behalf of philanthropist Angela Burdett Coutts in 1843. This visit undoubtedly shaped his conception of Ignorance and Want — and the importance of elementary education as an antidote to poverty — in A Christmas Carol). (Philip V. Allingham)
I have seldom seen in all the strange and dreadful things I have seen in London and elsewhere, anything so shocking as the dire neglect of soul and body exhibited in these children (Mackenzie, Dickens, pp. 143-44).Charles Dickens
Dickens at the Blacking Warehouse. Charles Dickens is here shown as a boy of twelve years of age, working in a factory
Charles Dickens at the Blacking Warehouse as a boy of twelve years of age.

Dickens was shocked with what he saw.

It was his personal experience that imbued him with a sense of duty to help the poor.

Growing up, his father, John Dickens, was imprisoned in Marshalsea debtors prison, while Charles was forced to leave school and work in a blacking factory.

Before the Bankruptcy Act of 1869, debtors in England were routinely imprisoned at the pleasure of their creditors.

Memories of this period would haunt Dickens for the rest of his life.

Although he loved his father, he saw in him a cold-hearted miser, inspiring the dual characters of Ebenezer Scrooge.

The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice…Charles Dickens
Marshalsea Debtors Prison
Marshalsea Debtors Prison

Victorian London was experiencing an economic boom, but one that left the poor behind.

Poverty and Wealth by William Powell Frith, 1888
Poverty and Wealth by William Powell Frith, 1888

Moving to London in search of opportunity from the harsh agrarian life in the country, many became disappointed, disillusioned, and destitute.

The industrial revolution brought huge wealth to a tiny percentage of the population, with the majority scraping a living in damp, noisy factories, and cramped, filthy slums.

A Poor-House by Gustave Doré, c. 1860
A Poor-House by Gustave Doré
Dwellings of the poor in Bethnal Green, water supply 1863. Credit Wellcome Images
Dwellings of the poor in Bethnal Green. Credit Wellcome Images

Dickens and the Baroness felt that education was the solution. At least it gave hope even to the poorest of families that their children might one day break the mould of poverty and join the rising middle class.

With the Saffron Hill Ragged School still playing on his mind, in October of 1843 Dickens visited a workingmen’s educational institute in the industrial city of Manchester, England.

It was here that Dickens had his “eureka moment”.

Instead of writing a journalistic piece on the plight of the poor, he would write a ghost story—A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. With Illustrations by John Leech. Chapman & Hall, London, 1843. First edition. Title page.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. With Illustrations by John Leech. Chapman & Hall, London, 1843. First edition. Title page.

Through story, Dickens asked for people to recognize the plight of those whom the Industrial Revolution had displaced and driven into poverty, and the obligation of society to provide for them humanely.

Critical praise poured in.

A tale to make the reader laugh and cry – to open his hands, and open his heart to charity even toward the uncharitable … a dainty dish to set before a King.the London literary magazine, Athenaeum
a national benefit and to every man or woman who reads it, a personal kindness.William Makepeace Thackeray in Fraser's Magazine
brings the old Christmas of bygone centuries and remote manor houses, into the living rooms of the poor of todayThe New York Times

Scottish writer Margaret Oliphant described it as “a new gospel”.

The impact was astounding.

In the spring of 1844, there was a sudden burst of charitable giving in Britain.

Scottish philosopher and writer, Thomas Carlyle, staged two Christmas dinners after reading the book.

After attending a reading on Christmas Eve in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1867, a Mr Fairbanks closed his factory on Christmas Day and sent every employee a turkey.

British stage actor Sir Squire Bancroft raised £20,000 for the poor by reading A Christmas Carol out loud in public.

With today’s information revolution displacing many livelihoods, the story is as relevant as it was for Charles Dickens.

In advocating the humanitarian focus of the Christmas holiday, Dickens influenced many aspects that are celebrated in Western culture today—family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit.

At this time of feasting, let us reflect on A Christmas Carol and the social movement it inspired.

Fatigued Minstrels by Augustus Edwin Mulready, 1883
Fatigued Minstrels by Augustus Edwin Mulready
There a group of handsome girls, all hooded and fur-booted, and all chattering at once
There a group of handsome girls, all hooded and fur-booted, and all chattering at once
Soup for the poor by Albert Anker
Soup for the poor by Albert Anker
Illustration from A Christmas Carol
Illustration from A Christmas Carol
The Forlorn (Poor Children) by Octave Tassaert - 1855
The Forlorn (Poor Children) by Octave Tassaert
The Christmas Hamper by Robert Braithwaite Martineau
The Christmas Hamper by Robert Braithwaite Martineau
Halfpenny dinners for poor children in East London. Credit Wellcome Images
Halfpenny dinners for poor children in East London. Credit Wellcome Images
Chester Square, Belgravia, London by John Edwin Oldfield
Chester Square, Belgravia, London by John Edwin Oldfield
London Slums
London Slums
Hush! by James Tissot
Hush! by James Tissot
Applicants to Admission to a Casual Ward by Sir Luke Fildes
Applicants to Admission to a Casual Ward by Sir Luke Fildes
The Way by James Tissot
The Way by James Tissot
Some Poor People by Henry la Thangue
Some Poor People by Henry la Thangue
Christmas by Felix Ehrlich, (German, 1866 - 1931)
Christmas by Felix Ehrlich, (German, 1866 – 1931)
Christmas Eve by George H.Yewell
Christmas Eve by George H.Yewell
Happy Christmas by Viggo Johansen
Happy Christmas by Viggo Johansen
The Poor Schoolboy by Antonio Mancini
The Poor Schoolboy by Antonio Mancini

10 Amazing Facts About Cholera and The Great Stink of London

Sometimes, kicking up a great stink about an important issue is the only way to get something done about it.

In 1858, it was “Old Father Thames”, London’s very own River God, who was raising a stink. His river was literally choking on raw sewage. A toxic cocktail of human excreta, slaughterhouse waste, and industrial chemicals poured freely into the River Thames, turning it into an open sewer.

Old Father Thames from the book London: A Pilgrimage. With illustrations by Gustave Dore, 1872
Old Father Thames from the book London: A Pilgrimage. With illustrations by Gustave Dore, 1872
A Drop of Thames Water, by Punch, 1850
“A Drop of Thames Water” by Punch, 1850

For decades, Londoners had been dying of waterborne disease because the sewage contaminated the water supply.

By the summer of 1858, the smell from the river was so bad, they called it “The Great Stink”.

Just one drop of Thames river water, laden with all manner of pathogens, was all it took to suffer an agonizing death, sometimes in a matter of hours.

Here are 10 amazing facts about Cholera and the Great Stink of London.

1. By the summer of 1858, The Great Stink had become intolerable

Queen Victoria with a clothes peg on her nose
Queen Victoria with a clothes peg on her nose

London was experiencing a heatwave. Temperatures in the sun were 118°F. It was as hot as the Arizona desert. As the water level dropped, layer upon layer of fecal matter—six feet deep in places—had washed up on the muddy shores and was fermenting in the heat.

The situation was so dire that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had to cancel a pleasure cruise on the Thames because of the smell.

And the stink bothered the politicians in the newly rebuilt Parliament buildings. They couldn’t bare to breathe without a handkerchief over their noses. They even had the curtains soaked in chloride of lime (industrial-strength bleach) to try to alleviate the smell.

The press labeled it The Great Stink and led with articles complaining about the abominable stench.

Gentility of speech is at an end—it stinks, and whoso once inhales the stink can never forget it and can count himself lucky if he lives to remember it. —City Press
A pestiferous and typhus breeding abomination … the amount of poisonous gasses which is thrown off is proportionate to the increase of the sewage which is passed into the stream —The Standard
We can colonise the remotest ends of the earth; we can conquer India; we can pay the interest of the most enormous debt ever contracted; we can spread our name, and our fame, and our fructifying wealth to every part of the world; but we cannot clean the River Thames —Illustrated London News

Funny how something gets done when the problem is on our own doorstep. With the Houses of Parliament virtually on top of the Thames cesspool, it’s no wonder that new laws were enacted in just 18 days to provide the funding for a massive new sewer scheme.

2. 40,000 people died of Cholera in London alone

Father Thames Introducing His Offspring to the Fair City of London by John Leech, 1858
Father Thames Introducing His Offspring to the Fair City of London by John Leech, 1858

During the first half of the 19th century, the death rate in Britain’s cities was higher than at any time since the Black Death.

Between 1831 and 1866, approximately 40,000 people died from cholera in London alone.

London’s first major cholera outbreak struck in 1831 when the disease claimed 6,536 lives. A second epidemic killed 14,136 between 1848–49. The third outbreak from 1853–54 took 10,738 lives. The final epidemic killed 5,596 in 1866 and was restricted to the East End of London—an area not yet connected to the new sewer system.

During the 1830s, infant mortality rate was around 50%, with parents expecting to lose half their children before they were 5 years old.

3. Victorians had no known cure for Cholera and didn’t understand how it spread

A cholera patient experimenting with remedies. Credit Wellcome Images
A cholera patient experimenting with remedies. Credit Wellcome Images

Of all the theories of how cholera was transmitted—including bad weather, foul smells, electromagnetism and divine vengeance—it was the misguided idea that disease spreads through the air via bad smells that held the most sway.

Called the “miasma theory”, it had been accepted since ancient times in Europe, India, and China, and was firmly believed by 19th-century luminaries such as Florence Nightingale.

Even after it was proven in 1891 that cholera was a product of contaminated water, Florence Nightingale remained a firm believer in miasma theory until her death.

Doctors were basically clueless about cholera but tried various remedies known to have worked for other diseases.  Ranging from the merciful prescribing of opiates to extremes such as bleeding or burning the skin, such remedies were largely worthless.

Claims for cholera remedies existed in folklore. In the 1854–1855 outbreak in Naples homeopathic Camphor was used. Tomato syrup was a popular home remedy in North America, as mentioned in T. J. Ritter’s “Mother’s Remedies” book, and Elecampane—from the sunflower family of plants—was recommended in the United Kingdom.

4. The flushing toilet was a major contributor to the Great Stink

In 1846, Parliament passed The Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Act, also known as The Cholera Bill. Its purpose was to encourage property owners to clean their dwellings and connect them to sewers.

Increasingly popular among the middle classes was the flush toilet, which helped keep homes clean and fresh.

All sounds good, doesn’t it? But the Cholera Bill was fatally flawed. It relied on the “miasma theory” which held that diseases such as cholera were caused by noxious fumes emanating from rotting organic matter. So the belief was that getting rid of the smell was helping to rid the city of Cholera, except that it wasn’t—it was making matters worse.

Victorian Flush Toilets
Victorian Flush Toilets

As we now know, cholera is waterborne, so flushing toilets among London’s middle classes only added to the volumes of sewage reaching the River Thames.

And because of the fear that the miasma from the sewers would cause the spread of disease, they were regularly flushed through, a policy that resulted in even more sewage being discharged into the Thames.

Rather than creating a sweeter smelling city, it caused the Great Stink.

5. Despite warnings by experts, nothing was done until the Great Stink

Michael Faraday delivering a lecture at the Royal Institution
Michael Faraday delivering a lecture at the Royal Institution

Two eminent figures from the scientific community had gone to great lengths to explain the dangers of such high levels of pollution in the River Thames but were largely ignored.

Michael Faraday, best known for his groundbreaking work on electromagnetism, was one of the most influential scientists in history. Shocked at the state of the River Thames, he wrote a letter to The Times newspaper in July 1855 describing a simple experiment that everyone could understand. He dropped pieces of white paper into the river to “test the degree of opacity”.

Near the bridges the feculence rolled up in clouds so dense that they were visible at the surface … the whole river was for the time a real sewer —Michael Faraday

But it was Sir John Snow, a London-based physician who is credited with correctly identifying the waterborne nature of cholera transmission.

Nine years before the Great Stink, he published a paper, On the Mode of Communication of Cholera, but little attention was paid to it.

Following the third cholera outbreak in 1854, Snow published an update with observations based on studies of a water pump in Soho. He documented the effects of removing the pump’s handle as resulting in a fall in the death rate because people were denied access to contaminated water.

Sadly, John Snow would not live to see a cleaner Thames River and his waterborne theory wasn’t fully accepted until 1866—8 years after his death.

6. Joseph Bazalgette “probably saved more lives, than any single Victorian official”

Joseph Bazalgette, civil engineer
Joseph Bazalgette, civil engineer

A knight in shining armor, or more specifically, a white lab coat, civil engineer Sir Joseph William Bazalgette came charging at full speed to put his experience in the massive railway industry to use on a new sewer network for London.

Bazalgette was knighted for his efforts in 1875—and not without good reason.

Praise for Sir Joseph Bazalgette:

Bazalgette probably did more good, and saved more lives, than any single Victorian official —John Doxat, historian and author 
Bazalgette’s two great titles to fame are that he beautified London and drained it —The Illustrated London News
Bazalgette’s work will ever remain as monuments to his skill and professional ability —Sir John Coode, president of the Institute of Civil Engineers
When the New Zealander comes to London a thousand years hence … the magnificent solidity and the faultless symmetry of the great granite blocks which form the wall of the Thames-embankment will still remain …  and the great sewer that runs beneath Londoners … has added some 20 years to their chance of life—The Times of London
With John Nash and Christopher Wren, Bazalgette enters the pantheon of London heroes —Peter Ackroyd CBE, historian

7. Bazalgette constructs 82 miles (132km) of main sewers, 1100 miles of street sewers, four pumping stations, two treatment works, and three embankments

Bazalgette as the 'Sewer Snake', Punch, 1883
Bazalgette as the ‘Sewer Snake’, Punch, 1883

It’s difficult to do justice to the sheer scale of Bazalgette’s undertaking.

Over the next 16 years, Bazalgette constructs 82 miles (132km) of main intercepting sewers, 1100 miles of street sewers, four pumping stations, two treatment works, and three embankments—the Victoria, Chelsea, and Albert Embankments.

Four hundred draftsmen worked on the detailed plans and sectional views for the first phase of the building process.

When planning the sewer network, Bazalgette showed almost soothsayer-like foresight. He calculated the diameter required for the pipes, then doubled it to account for the “unforeseen”. If he’d stuck with his original calculations, the London sewer would have overflowed in the 1960s, but it still does the job today.

Well, we’re only going to do this once and there’s always the unforeseen —Joseph Bazalgette

The new sewers succeeded in virtually eliminating the disease by removing the contamination. Bazalgette’s sewers also decreased the incidence of typhus and typhoid epidemics.

The system was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales in 1865, although the whole project was not actually completed for another ten years.

8. It took 318 million bricks and 880,000 cubic yards of concrete

Portland cement in its modern form is used throughout the world as the standard ingredient of concrete, mortar, and stucco.

Its specification can be largely attributed to the quality control system introduced by Joseph Bazalgette when working with cement manufacturers to produce the right mix for his new sewer system.

The main drainage of the Metropolis - sectional view of sewerage tunnels from Wick Lane, near Old Ford, Bow, looking westward. Credit Wellcome Images
The main drainage of the Metropolis – sectional view of sewerage tunnels from Wick Lane, near Old Ford, Bow, looking westward. Credit Wellcome Images

Running alongside the banks of the Thames and building up walls on the foreshore, Bazalgette ran the sewer pipes inside and filled around them with concrete.

the most expensive and wonderful work of modern times —The Observer, 1861
Section of the Thames Embankment, 1867
Section of the Thames Embankment, 1867

9. Pumping stations became protected buildings of historical significance

Built in a Romanesque style, the Crossness Pumping Station is a superb example of the intricate and decorative cast ironwork of the Victorian period.

Lauded by the English Heritage trust organization as historically important, this and Bazalgette’s other pumping stations were used to lift sewage from low-lying areas to higher ground so that it could then fall under the pull of gravity over long distances out to sea, or to remote processing plants, as is the common practice today.

The power came from four massive beam engines, named Victoria, Prince Consort, Albert Edward and Alexandra, which were manufactured by James Watt and Co.

Opened in 1865 by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), the ceremony at Crossness was attended by other members of royalty, MPs, the Lord Mayor of London and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and was followed by a dinner for 500 within the station.

Crossness Pumping Station
Crossness Pumping Station

10. Bazalgette’s embankments had as much impact on beautifying London as Sir Christopher Wren’s rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1666

The embankments claimed over 52 acres of land from the Thames, with the Victoria Embankment relieving congestion on roads between Westminster and the City of London.

Today, London is one of the greenest capitals in the world, partly because of “The Great Stink”. Under the miasma theory that disease was carried in the air, rather than the water, it was believed that parks would act as “lungs” for towns and cities.

The Embankment project was seen as being nationally important and, with the Queen unable to attend because of illness, the Victoria Embankment was opened by the Prince of Wales in July 1870. The Albert Embankment had been completed in November 1869, while the Chelsea Embankment was opened in July 1874.

The Embankment by John O'Connor, 1874
The Embankment by John O’Connor, 1874
The Thames by James Tissot, 1876
The Thames by James Tissot, 1876
The Thames Embankment, c. 1895
The Thames Embankment, c. 1895
Click to see the Thames Embankment as it looks in the present

References
Wikipedia.com
Concepts and Methods in Infectious Disease Surveillance edited by Nkuchia M. M’ikanatha, John Iskander
The Lesser Writings of Samuel Hahnemann
Pamela K. Gilbert, “On Cholera in Nineteenth-Century England”

10 Views of Victorian London — Then and Now

Like many older cities around the world, London has changed with the times.

But unlike many cities, a great deal of old London remains for us to explore.

Let’s take a tour of London as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have known it in his fictional characterizations of Sherlock Holmes.

Under most of the old images is a link that will open a Google Street View “live” 360° window in place within the article, allowing you to pan and zoom to see things from different angles or perspectives.

1. Clapham Common

 The clock tower and the Plough Inn at Clapham Common, London, 1895.
The clock tower and the Plough Inn at Clapham Common, London, 1895.

The image above shows the clock tower and Plough Inn at Clapham Common.

The clock tower has stayed the same, helping us fix our location on Google Maps, but the row of buildings on the right has undergone development. The inn now has a mock Tudor frontage and is owned by a pub chain under a different name. It’s also gained a reputation for being haunted.

In the 1970s, an apparition is said to have appeared in one of the bedrooms being occupied by a barman, who resigned immediately after the experience. Referred to as Sarah, the ghostly figure has been described as having “raven hair running over her shoulders.”

Perhaps Sarah was trying to tell the owners not to make too many changes.

2. Fleet Street & Ludgate Hill

Fleet Street in London looking east towards St Paul's Cathedral. Photograph by James Valentine, c.1895.
Fleet Street in London looking east towards St Paul’s Cathedral. Photograph by James Valentine, c.1895.
Fleet St looking towards St Paul’s Cathedral. Credit Secret Pilgrim, Flickr

By comparing the above two images looking down Fleet Street towards Ludgate Hill and St Paul’s Cathedral, we see that there was a bridge in 1895 that is no longer there today. It was a railway bridge for the London, Chatham and Dover railway.

Closed in 1923, it was eventually demolished in 1990. In the below drawing from 1872, we can see a steam train crossing the bridge when the street was much narrower and caused severe traffic congestion.

If you’re in this part of London, look for a blue plaque at the bottom of Ludgate Hill, marking the spot where the first London newspaper—the “Daily Courant”—was published in 1702.

Ludgate Hill - A block in the street, by Gustave Doré (1872).
Ludgate Hill – A block in the street, by Gustave Doré (1872).

3. Piccadilly Circus

One of the attractions of Piccadilly Circus today is the neon signage and video display. There’s not much neon in the 1895 image but most of the grand old buildings surrounding this famous meeting place still exist. The circus—from Latin for “circle”—was originally built to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly.

Big red double decker buses have replaced the Victorian horse-drawn carriages … and did you notice the carriages in 1895 are going anticlockwise around Piccadilly Circus—the opposite of today’s traffic convention in the UK?

Piccadilly Circus, London 1895
Piccadilly Circus, London 1895

4. Hyde Park Corner

Hyde Park Corner, London, 1895.
Hyde Park Corner, London, 1895.

Just as at Piccadilly Circus, we see the Victorian horse-drawn “omnibusess” at Hyde Park Corner in 1895.

The omnibus was one of the most common means of getting around London (and other cities in Europe and the United States) in the late 19th century.

It was a very cozy arrangement indeed, with two wooden benches facing each other, the passengers’ knees almost touching the person sitting opposite.

An omnibus ride to Piccadilly Circus – Mr. Gladstone travelling with ordinary passengers by Alfred Morgan, 1885
An omnibus ride to Piccadilly Circus – Mr. Gladstone travelling with ordinary passengers by Alfred Morgan, 1885

There were also double-decker omnibuses, with the top deck open to the elements and the benches back-to-back.

London Omnibus photo. Credit Tony Duell

5. Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square, from National Gallery, London, c1890.
Trafalgar Square, from National Gallery, London.

Some locations in London are iconic and known the world over—Trafalgar Square being one of them. It’s good to see that very little has changed since 1890. Some things should stay the same.

6. The Royal Exchange

Britain’s first specialist commercial building, the Royal Exchange dates back to 1571, when it was opened by Queen Elizabeth I.

The Great Fire of London destroyed the first building in 1666, the present one being built in the 1840s and occupied by Lloyd’s insurance for nearly 150 years.

Today it’s filled with luxury shops, restaurants, cafes, and offices.

Royal Exchange, London, c.1890.
Royal Exchange, London, c.1890

7. Holborn & Snow Hill

Here, the present starts to look radically different from the past.

The 1890s image below is the corner of Holborn and Snow Hill, where in 1883, Henry Wellcome, founder of Burroughs Wellcome and Co. (now GlaxoSmithkline, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies) opened its headquarters.

The impressive late Victorian building was constructed of red brick, with granite pillars around the entrance.

The interior was designed by Christopher Dresser—considered to be Britain’s first industrial designer.

Burroughs Wellcome & Co. Headquarters, Holborn Viaduct, London
Burroughs Wellcome & Co. Headquarters, Holborn Viaduct, London

On the night of May 11, 1941, the building was completely destroyed in a German bombing raid.

Burroughs & Wellcome Building on Snow Hill after bomb damage, cyclist passing, road-sweeper at work.
Burroughs & Wellcome Building on Snow Hill after bomb damage, cyclist passing, road-sweeper at work.

In the 1960s, the site became a bland modernist high-rise office block.

But construction is underway on new student accommodation for the London School of Economics.

Original Victorian
Mid-Century Modernism.
Credit: Images George Rex
Planned LSE student accommodation
Credit: Stiff+Trevillion

8. Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner

Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner, London.
Rotten Row and Hyde Park Corner, London.

What a great name: “rotten row”. Wondering what the story is behind it? It’s a fascinating one.

Rotten Row is a track running along Hyde Park’s south side, from Hyde Park Corner to the Serpentine Road. At the time of the 1890s photograph, it was a fashionable place for upper-class Victorian Londoners to ride their horses.

The story goes that at the end of the 17th century, highwaymen were quite common in Hyde Park, and King William III wanted to create a safer way to commute between his new court at Kensington Palace, and the old one at St. James’s Palace.

So in 1690, a broad avenue was built through Hyde Park, lit with 300 oil lamps. It was Britain’s first artificially lit highway. Called “Route du Roi”—French for King’s Road—Londoners nicknamed it “Rotten Row”, and the name stuck.

9. Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge, London, c.1895.
Tower Bridge, London, c.1895.
Tower Bridge, London 2015.
Tower Bridge, London 2015.

Tower bridge is another iconic symbol of London, built between 1886 and 1894. The 1895 image above shows the new bridge shortly after completion.

The bridge has remained the same but notice what’s going on behind. London’s skyline is becoming a hotch-potch of oddly-shaped buildings with correspondingly odd nicknames.

To the right of the bridge in our present-day view, there’s the “Gherkin” opened in 2004, and visible under the bridge, there’s an odd-looking building nicknamed the “Walkie-Talkie” tower because of its shape. Completed in 2014, it is London’s fifth-tallest building, but unlike most skyscrapers that get narrower the higher up you go, this one actually gets wider.

10. Victoria Embankment

We’re going to finish our exciting tour of Victorian London with a view of the Victoria Embankment. There are some big changes here!

Victoria Embankment, London, c1895.
Victoria Embankment, London, c1895.

Cleopatra’s Needle to the left of center in both images gives us our bearings.

Within Google Maps, we’re standing on the Golden Jubilee Bridge—one of a pair of cable-stayed pedestrian bridges running either side of the Victorian-era Hungerford Bridge. We’re looking downstream towards the Waterloo Bridge. Note the charming paddle steamer—very different from today’s riverboats.

As we look downstream in the 1895 image, we’re actually looking at the original Waterloo Bridge, opened in 1817, and so named to commemorate the allied victory at the Battle of Waterloo. This bridge had nine arches compared to today’s bridge which only has five. Famous paintings of the nine-span bridge were created by Claude Monet and John Constable. But the painting that shows the bridge most clearly is by Emile Claus (below).

Waterloo Bridge in the Sun by Emile Claus, 1916.
Waterloo Bridge in the Sun by Emile Claus, 1916.

Sources
Wikipedia.org
mysteriousbritain.co.uk
wellcomelibrary.org