A window into a harsh life

Lives of Victorian poor go online at National Archives

Records detailing the lives of the Victorian poor, including those in workhouses, have been published online.

The National Archives project involves letters and reports passed between poor law authorities in England and Wales.

Project director Dr Paul Carter said the records were "unrivalled" as an important source for examining the lives of the Victorian poor.

The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 centralised the way poverty was managed and relieved, and set up workhouses.

"Able-bodied paupers" were offered a place in the workhouse as a last resort.

Conditions were intentionally harsh because workhouses were designed as a deterrent. Dr Carter said the newly published records showed people often felt they would "rather starve than go to the workhouse".

History often emphasises the elite, because there were more records of their lives in the past. However, the last two hundred years or so have seen a wealth of information on the lower classes, although it hasn't always been easily available. Now anyone can research the conditions the Victorian poor lived in and even find their own ancestors if they wish. It's a boon to both history and genealogy.

Shoe crisis averted...whew!

Listening to: Three Days Grace 'Never Too Late' (embedding disabled)
Reading: Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories, edited by Douglas G Greene

No, the shoes weren't mine. But if they had not been found, I would have been getting up at 6 am and probably would have been late for work. Don't ask, I'd only have to kill you.

So I came home, took a shower, and had spa Lisa time, especially working some lotion into my feet. They feel much better. It was quite a long day, and I spent a good part of it in the car, mostly sitting waiting for my passengers to come back out of various buildings. Fortunately I mostly found parking in the shade and there was a breeze. But after about three hours I was starting to feel like a dog abandoned in a car.

It's also been an odd day. This afternoon I looked at the clock, thought it said 2:30 pm, and so I signed off my computer, turned off my desk lights, and headed out the door. I was halfway out the building when I passed a clock that said 1:30. I thought, oh, that one's wrong. Then I passed another. At this point I realised I did indeed have an hour more to work and turned back to the library, preparing to call my errant clock into maintenance. Then I got back to my desk and lo, the clock was right. I just had momentarily lost the capability of telling time. But it was a beautiful, gorgeous day outside, the type you hate to spend inside, and apparently someone was thinking very strong thoughts that I should leave work early. :) But I stuck it out and then went through a series of events that led to the shoe crisis.

I'm glad to be home. I'm going to sleep now.