Using the Booth Poverty Map, I figured out that Chancery Lane was a Middle Class area. This probably has to do with the buildings that were in the area. On the Lane there were several banks, a Law Institute, and  Records Office. However, not too far away there was a poor area, which the website described as people who lived off of 18-21 shillings a week. Using the Old Bailey, I discovered that many highway robberies occurred on Chancery Lane, most likely due to the fact that it was a “well-to-do” area that was close a slightly poorer area. When searching through the categories, I also noticed that there were more Violent Thefts than regular Thefts. Again, this has to do with the class difference in the area that made the middle class a big target. I also found on the page for the Maughan Library that Chancery Lane was the heart of legal London, which explains the buildings that were on it as well as the population that lived there. People who worked in the legal system could afford to be closer to their jobs as we learned in a previous class. With it being the heart of legal London, that also explains the environment. This ties into how Chancery Lane was mentioned in “A Lost Masterpiece”.

In the story “A Lost Masterpiece”, Chancery Lane is only mentioned once.

“A woman, a little woman, was hurrying along in a most remarkable way. It annoyed me, for I could not help wondering why she was in such a desperate hurry.”

This gave me the image of a very busy woman hurrying along, perhaps on her way to a court or office. This definitely is in place with the the middle class population of the area. They don’t have time to wander around, because they aren’t comfortable like the upper class nor are they struggling like the lower class.

Works Cited

Banerjee, Jacqueline. “The Maughan Library, King’s College London (formerly the Public Record Office) by Sir James Pennethorne.” The Maughan Library, King’s College London (formerly the Public Record Office) by Sir James Pennethorne. The Victorian Web, 15 June 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

Booth, Charles. “Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). London School of Economics & Political Science, n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

Egerton, George [Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright]. “A Lost Masterpiece.” The Yellow Book 1 (Apr. 1894): 189-96.The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University, 2010. Web. 08 September 2015. http://www.1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=YBV1_egerton_masterpiece.html

“Roger Johnson, Violent Theft Highway Robbery, 4th December 1730.” The Proceedings of the Old Bailey. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.