Victorian London

Charing Cross Station

~ Ashley Schluter

The original station was built on the site of the Hungerford Market by the South Eastern Railway. Opened on  January 11th 1864. The station was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw, with a single span wrought iron roof arching over the six platforms. A large portion of roof collapsed on 5 December 1905 compromising part of the west wall. A bunch of men were employed in repairing, glazing and painting the section of roof which fell. The roof, girders and debris fell across four passenger trains standing in platforms 3, 4, 5 and 6 and all rail lines were blocked. The part of the western wall which fell crashed through the wall and roof of the neighboring Royal Avenue Theater in Northumberland Avenue which was being reconstructed at the time. Six lives were lost.

The Charing Cross Hotel, designed by Edward Middleton Barry, opened on 15 May 1865 and gave the station a frontage of the French Renaissance style.Following bomb damage in the Second World War, the hotel received extensive repairs in 1951. In general, this consisted of a new set of top floors.


Charing Cross Station is at home in a middle class district.
“Charing” comes from the Old English word cierran meaning to turn. This is a fitting place for the turning point in a story. This is also why Amy Levy used this station in her novel.


In Romance Of A Shop by Amy Levy Charing Cross Station is a turning point for phyllis’s health. As she plans to run away to go get married to Darrell she becomes sicker and can’t manage the journey. Charing cross station, although only briefly mentioned represents a larger picture of health and a turning point in the story.  It’s after this point that we find out just how sick Phyllis is. It’s also at this station that Phyllis herself turns around and returns to Darrell’s house.

 

Work Cited
“Booth Poverty Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” Booth Poverty Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
Levy, Amy.The Romance of a Shop. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2006. Print.
“The Charing Cross Hotel by E. M. Barry (1830-80).” The Charing Cross Hotel by E. M. Barry (1830-80). Web. 7 Dec. 2015.
“Victorian London.” Google Books. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
“Victorian London – Transport – Railways, Above Ground – Stations – Charing Cross.” Victorian London – Transport – Railways, Above Ground – Stations – Charing Cross. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

Notting Hill

~ Ashley Schluter ~ 1 Comment

Notting Hill is a district in west London. Since it was first developed in the 1820s, Notting Hill has had an association with artists and artistic culture. It’s an estate in the parish of Kensington, thickly covered with houses built between 1828 and 1848. Notting Hill is a comparatively cheap district for the area. Area’s within Notting Hill contain: Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill Gate, Portobello Road, Westbourne Grove, and North Kensington. Also home to Pottery Lane which was a popular area for slumming. The mainly owned by the Ladbroke family, and in the 1820s James Weller Ladbroke began to undertake the development of the Ladbroke Estate. Many streets and areas with in Notting Hill hold the Landbroke name. Also home to Ladbroke Square which is a garden.  It is one of the largest private garden squares in London.

A good mix of poor, comfortable, and some well to do in the area. Many of the crimes in the area are theft and highway robbery. Including violent robberies and theft of animals. Nothing really made it seem like that dangerous of an area. The current condition of the area are tacky little houses tightly built on top of each other, many of the original buildings still standing. Now a very popular tourist attraction and a highly sought after living space.

Notting Hill is where Fanny and her husband settle down in Amy Levy’s Romance Of A Shop. The importance of the region is that it is not very much outside of Fanny’s current social status. Although Fanny is happily married she remains without children and in her original social class. Made up of gaudy little houses stacked side by side, Fanny lives in a “hideous little house”, dripping with medicorey. Notting Hill was also a haven for many artistic types, suiting for Fanny, having her photography background.

 

Works cited
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
Levy, Amy. The Romance of a Shop. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2006. Print.
“Slums and Slumming in Late-Victorian London.” Slums and Slumming in Late-Victorian London. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.
“The Proceedings of the Old Bailey.” Results. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
“Victorian London – Districts – Areas – Notting Hill.” Victorian London – Districts – Areas – Notting Hill. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

Selby Royal, Nottinghamshire – Dorian’s Country Home

~ Daniela

Daniela Velez

Prof. Swafford

ENG 493-02

Final Project, Location: Selby Royal

“Are they true? Can they be true? When I first heard them, I laughed. I hear them now, and they make me shudder. What about your country-house and the life that is led there? Dorian, you don’t know what is said about you.”

-Basil Hallward to Dorian Gray in Chapter XI, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Nottinghamshire, Nottingham Castle 1900's
This is not Selby Royal (which is fictional) but Nottingham Castle in Nottinghamshire in the 1900s.

 

Nottinghamshire – being in the country, not in the city- is excluded from the Charles Booth Online Archive. There is not even a mention of Nottinghamshire in the index of subjects, places, people, and institutions mentioned in the survey. This mirrors the location’s importance in the story. While away in the countryside, the wealthy and the privileged elite are physically far away from the public’s scrutiny but they cannot completely escape it.

Nottinghamshire is far out of the area that Victorian Google Maps covers, but it is helpful to see how far away Nottinghamshire is from London.
Nottinghamshire is far out of the area that Victorian Google Maps covers, but it is helpful to see how far away Nottinghamshire is from London.

Although Basil hears rumors of Dorian’s “country-house and the life that is led there,” there is no evidence of the events that occur, besides Dorian’s somewhat tarnished reputation, which he cares little for. Selby Royal is foreshadowed by Basil’s interrogation of Dorian in the chapter preceding his violent murder and the convenient accidental death that takes place at Selby Royal after it. Before readers see or experience Dorian’s country home, it already has a negative connotation. When James Vane is killed this only solidifies Selby Royal as a location where Dorian lives with little regard to the consequences of his actions.

A week later Dorian Gray was sitting in the conservatory at Selby Royal, talking to the pretty Duchess of Monmouth, who with her husband, a jaded-looking man of sixty, was amongst his guests.

-Chapter XVII, The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Accessed through the British History Online Archive, Robert Thoroton’s History of Nottinghamshire documents the parishes and churches in the area. Published in 1796, the source can be considered far removed from the time period in which The Picture of Dorian Gray takes place, but it is still useful in understanding the history the countryside would have been associated with in the minds of Victorian readers. A

majority of the images archived online feature in Thorton’s volumes are images of the numerous churches in Nottinghamshire. As we know from our study of the Victorian Era, religion and piety were of the utmost importance in society, but the images of these churches were captured prior to this time period which began in the early 1800s. As modern readers we can speculate whether or not the religious history of Nottinghamshire had some influence on Wilde’s decision to place Dorian’s fictional country manor there.

Screen Shot 2015-12-01 at 7.10.03 PMA search of the Proceedings of the Old Bailey turns up only one crime that took place in Nottinghamshire, the theft of a horse. This may remind readers of Dorian Gray riding off on his mare to the stables to see the body of James Vane. Nottinghamshire does come up in other cases a total of twenty nine times but the area is usually mentioned in a positive light. For example, one ordinary’s testimony states “That he was born of good Parents, at Leeks in Nottinghamshire.” Therefore, we can conclude that Nottinghamshire would have been associated with a very peaceful and crime free, almost utopian, country parish. I would compare this to the way many residents of New York City view the Hudson Valley area. By setting up this country home as a topic of gossip and controversy, Wilde is undermining his Victorian audience’s perspective of the area. This gives the impression that danger, crime, and sin are not isolated to a location like the East End. In Wilde’s novel, Selby Royal is both the grand estate associated with the wealthy upper classes and a mansion of improprieties and sins that are implied and spoken about, but never directly addressed.

Works Cited

“Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” Booth Poverty Map & Modern  Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.

“The Proceedings of the Old Bailey.” Results: Nottinghamshire. Old Bailey Online, n.d. Web. 01 Dec.2015.

Robert Thoroton, ‘Plate 3: Views of several churches’, in Thoroton’s History of Nottinghamshire: Volume 1, Republished With Large Additions By John Throsby, ed. John Throsby (Nottingham,       1790), p. 3 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/thoroton-notts/vol1/plate-3 [accessed 1 December  2015].

Wilde, Oscar, and Camille Cauti. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics,  2004. Print.

Covent Gardens

Image ~ ~ Ashley Schluter ~ 1 Comment

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End. The district is divided by Long Acre. The south part contains the central square with most of the elegant buildings, theaters and entertainment facilities.

4Covent Garden Market designed by Charles Fowler, was thought to be the central market of London. It was also thought to be the first of its size and kind. “The building consists of three distinct ranges, united at the eastern extremity by a colonnade that supports a spacious terrace, or balustraded gallery, upon which have been erected two conservatories; these are furnished with the most rare and choice productions, native and exotic, of the flower garden, and are further enlivened by a fountain, that, by a mechanical contrivance, is regulated according to the wind. This is the grand front; and faces Great Russell Street. The central range, a large and lofty avenue, is occupied by the dealers in the more expensive fruits and vegetables, and in their several seasons exhibit a grand display of hothouse and other produce of surpassing beauty and most exquisite flavour.” “Victorian London – Markets – Covent Garden. Victorian London – Markets – Covent Garden. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
The northern side consists of shops with small dwellings. The southern side follows suit with the northern. It’s made up of vendors and small dwellings.
covent gardenCrimes committed in the area are mostly theft and larceny. However, there are a few murders documented. At first the market was solely a high class area, but as taverns became to spring up in the area the clientele base dropped.  Later on the area became a popular red light district where prostitution was a popular vice. There are reports of such behavior but little details on punishments or crime reports.
Mostly middle class and well to do in the area, some poor.
covent gardens povertyAfter leaving Sibyl in tears in chapter 7 Dorian leaves her not paying attention to where he was going. He ends up in Covent Garden.
“As the dawn was just breaking, he found himself close to Covent Garden.”
This shows he cares about Sybil, but is it Sybil or the loss of his love story he is missing? Most people realize the vain attitude in Dorian and understand that is the loss of his perfect love story and the dramatic change in Sybil’s acting that Dorian is confused and saddened by. Dorian finds himself confused and dazed by Sybil’s dramatic change while Sybil is confused by Dorian’s reaction. Both parties involved have now dealt with the blurring of the line between art and reality.
Covent Garden was the central market of London, and home to its opera house. For Dorian it’s the place that his vain and story like life meet reality. When offered cherries by a kind market boy Dorian was confused. “He thanked him, wondered why he refused to accept any money for them, and began to eat them listlessly. They had been plucked at midnight, and the coldness of the moon had entered into them.” This further tells of Dorian’s personality as kindness is foreign to him.

covent gardenCovent Garden is surrounded by theaters including Covent Garden Theater Royal opera house and is in close proximity to Lincoln Inn Fields which is located by the Royal Theater on High Holborn.

 
Works Cited
“Booth Poverty Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” Booth Poverty Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
“Covent Garden : Part 1 of 3.” Covent Garden : Part 1 of 3. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
“The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)/Chapter 7.” – Wikisource, the Free Online Library. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
“The Proceedings of the Old Bailey.” Results. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
“Victorian London – Markets – Covent Garden.” Victorian London – Markets – Covent Garden. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Grosvenor Square in A Picture of Dorian Gray

~ Daniela

Daniela Velez

Prof. Swafford

ENG 493-02

Final Project, Location: Grosvenor Square in A Picture of Dorian Gray

Screen Shot 2015-11-16 at 10.01.04 AMGrosvenor Square is the home Dorian Gray while he is going about being a bad boy all around the city of London. He also has a home out in the country, Selby Royal. Grosvenor Square is a very upper class area that is completely upper class/wealthy. The outlying area is also upper middle class/well-to-do.Any trace of a lower class area is barely visible and far away.

Screen Shot 2015-11-16 at 10.05.30 AMAccording to a source I found on the British History’s website, Grosvenor Square was built between 1725 and 1731. It was one of the largest upper class squares in the West end and went through many architectural changes over the next two centuries (which would bring us into the time period of Dorian Gray). It is important to note that, “The high social status of the square was nevertheless one of the constants of the estate” (Sheppard). Therefore, it would make sense why Wilde chose this setting to be the center of Dorian’s life in the city.

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The debauchery and hedonistic lifestyle Gray partakes in stands in stark contrast to what one would expect of a resident of Grosvenor Square but it also adds to his dandy/aesthetic image he maintains despite his tarnished reputation. As stated in the excerpt above, the aesthetic movement was almost embodied by Grosvenor Square. Many of the homes were testaments to excess for the sake of excess.

 

Screen Shot 2015-11-16 at 10.21.02 AMA search of the Old Bailey shows a history of robberies and some crimes around and very few in Grosvenor Square but the map that has these images only go up to 1834. A more narrowed search of the years 1875 to 1913 (the time period we are interested in for our purposes relating to the text since they come before and after the events taking place fictionally) resulted in hits that distinguish Grosvenor Square as defendant’s homes, not the actual place of crimes. There are nine robberies and one case of fraud that actually took place in Grosvenor Square during 1875-1913.

Screen Shot 2015-11-17 at 7.14.38 PMThis makes the murder Gray commits in Grosvenor Square in Chapter Thirteen and the covering up of the crime in Chapter Fourteen, all the more shocking and controversial. It would make Victorian readers question the picture perfect upper class dandy and wonder what evils may lurk in the minds of the upper classes in general. A great moment takes place in Chapter Twelve with the victim and Dorian Gray. Mr. Gray says, “In this fog, my dear Basil? Why, I can’t even recognize Grosvenor Square.” This moment emphasizes the importance of locations and reminds readers to pay attention to what a location implies and how those implications can be undermined.

 

Works Cited

“Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

‘Grosvenor Square: Introduction’, in Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings), ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1980), pp. 112-117 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol40/pt2/pp112-117 [accessed 13 November 2015].

‘Plate 28: Grosvenor Square’, in Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings), ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1980), http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol40/pt2/plate-28 [accessed 16 November 2015].

“The Proceedings of the Old Bailey.” Results. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

“Victorian Google Maps Engine.” Google Maps Engine: Map View. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

The Park (Hyde Park), Final Project

~ Lizzie Gruhl

hydepark2

 

 

 

Hyde Park, one of the must see sites in London. Being one of the only places in London full of lush green as far as the eye can see it was a get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

hyde-park--london-count-girolamo-pieri-nerli

The Park was first meant to be a private hunting ground for Henry VIII. In 1637 the Park was opened to the public by Charles I. During the Victorian Era, the Park was a place of leisure for the “fashionable world”. You could be at leisure in Hyde Park but not for long. According to W.S. Gilbert, one was to be on their toes in the Park where there was action on every corner. He says, “in the inner mind you must be observant, prepared to enjoy either the solitude of the crowd, or to catch the quick glance, the silvery music of momentary merriment, then have a few seconds of rapid, acute dialogue, or perhaps be beckoned into a carriage by a friend with space to spare.” A time in the Park was a social gathering of the most fashionable in London, including Queen Victoria herself. She hated London but loved to be in the Park (R.D.Blumenfeld). Max Schlesinger says” By far more interesting, and indeed unrivalled, is Rotten-row, the long broad road for horsemen, where, on fine summer evenings, all the youth, beauty, celebrity, and wealth of London may be seen on horse-back.” Hyde Park was inhabited by the beautiful people of London and it was readily seen by all who went there.

hydepark poverty map
Hyde Park was surrounded by Upper Class, Upper Middle, and Middle Class

hydepark

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray, the Park is talked about a few times. Lord Henry brings up the Park first in chapter three. Dorian begs the Lord to allow him to go with him as he wants to listen to him talk some more. Lord Henry responds:

“Ah! I have talked quite enough for to-day,” said Lord Henry, smiling. “All I want now is to look at life. You may come and look at it with me, if you care to.”

Readers of the Victorian era would make the connection to the active social area that was Hyde Park. Lord Henry, who had a view of life that fascinated Dorian Gray, wanted to observe the life that would inevitably be happening in the Park.

The Park is mentioned again in chapter four.Dorian is talking to Lord Henry again and mentions how the Lord has inspired Dorian to observe those in the Park, as he did in the chapter before. He also mentions the Park when he is talking about his new found love, an Actress named Sibyl Vane. He describes her as an extraordinary woman, different than those fashionable women who “ride in the park in the morning and chatter at tea-parties in the afternoon”. Lord Henry and Dorian believe that beauty is what one needs to strive for in life. The ever changing beauty of the actress night to night appeals to Dorian more than the fashionable and traditional women who socialize in Hyde Park.

The Park is mentioned another time in chapter five. Sibyl and her brother James are planning to go for walk. Sibyl suggests a walk in Hyde Park but James says “I am too shabby,” he answered, frowning. “Only swell people go to the park.” Hyde Park’s reputation and normal visitors would be known by the reader and this line would ring true to them. The line also lends itself to an overwhelming theme of the importance of beauty in the novel. It is important to multiple characters to look their best and to stay that way, including the park.

In chapter 11 the Park is brought up again. Basil had just been question Dorian about his morals and how much he has changed. He talks about a past liaison of Dorian’s named Lady Gwendolen. Lady Gwendolen was an upstanding citizen until Dorian. Now not ” a single decent woman in London now who would drive with her in the park” (chapter 11). Dorian has apparently influenced this woman so much that she would not be able to be in the upstanding place that is Hyde Park. Basil saying these words and with what we know about Hyde Park, we know that Lady Gwendolen must have changed in a way that made her unfashionable and not suitable for the Park.
Dorian is back in the Park in chapter 18. He has joined a shooting-party with some elites of London. As they were shooting a hare had run in front of them into a bush where Sir Geoffrey Clouston then decided to shoot. When the shot rang out there were two screams, the one of the hare and the other of a man. In the end of the chapter we find out the man is none other then James Vane. James Vane had been stalking Dorian to get revenge for his sister death.When the hare had run past and Geoffrey Clouston readied himself to shoot at it, Dorian tried to get Geoffrey to not shoot at it. He had appreciated the look of the hare and did not want that to be taken away. When Clouston thought that to be ridiculous and shot anyway we are reminded that Dorian’s appreciation for beauty is much different then many others in the story. Vane himself had mentioned earlier in the story that he was too “shabby” to be in the Park. In a way it’s as if the Park has taken an extreme measure to retain it’s beauty when the “shabby” Vane is shot and killed instantly. 
In chapter 19 Lord Henry brings up the Park again when speaking to Dorian. In the end of the chapter Dorian is obviously not himself and Henry invites him to lunch and a visit to the Park the next day. Dorian does not want to go and asks if he must. Henry comes back and says of course he must, because “the Park is quite lovely this time of year” (chapter 19). Instead of saying something perhaps about spending time together or meeting with old friends it’s about seeing the beauty in the park because that is the only reason Henry wants to be there, to take in the natural beauty of the Park. 
The Park meant a lot to Dorian and Lord Henry alike. Mostly because the beauty that was there. Not only was the park naturally full of beautiful sights but only the beautiful people of London were there and both of our beauty obsessed characters knew that. They spent their time there to appreciate as much beauty as they could within England. 

 

Work Cited

Blumenfeld, R.D.B. “Diary: June 27, 1887”. Victorian London. Lee Jackson. Web. 17 December 2015.

http://booth.lse.ac.uk/cgi-bin/do.pl?sub=view_booth_only&b.l=3&b.d.l=3&b.p.x=8532&b.p.y=9481&b.p.w=500&b.p.h=309&b.p.l=4&b.p.p.l=5&b.t.w=128&b.t.h=96&b.v.x=259&b.v.y=150

<http://www.victorianlondon.org/entertainment/hydepark.htm>.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray_(1891)/

Irene Adler on Edgware Road

~ Daniela ~ 1 Comment

Daniela Velez

Prof. Swafford

ENG 493-02

19 October 2015

Mr. & Mrs. Norton on Edgware Road

440px-A_Scandal_in_Bohemia-06

            In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “A Scandal in Bohemia,” detective Sherlock Holmes is bested by none other than Irene Adler, also referred to as ‘The Woman.’ Towards the end of the tale, Mr. Holmes finds himself swept up in Irene’s shotgun wedding to Mr. Godfrey Norton at the Church of Saint Monica, and becomes a key witness to the legality of their vows due to his ‘lucky appearance’ (9).

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Edgware road was difficult to locate on Victorian Google Maps all that my search result turned up was an image of Edgware Road Station, which is obviously on Edgware Road though the actual name of the street itself does not appear. However, the road does appear on the Charles Booth Online Archive. A majority of the area appears to be middle class/ well to do. This adds to the overall theme of the story, which alludes to class distinctions in not only Victorian London, but the modern world at the time – hence, the prestigious King of Bohemia’s affair with Alder that must be kept hidden even though it occurred years earlier.

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A quick but narrowed search (the years 1881-1901 because that is when Sherlock & Dr. Watson’s adventures on Baker Street took place according to the stories)through the Proceedings of the Old Bailey produced a vibrant array of offenses from coining offenses to murder associated with Edgware Road. The Charles Booth Archive image did show some areas of blue which represents (Lower Class/Poor residents) and little areas of yellow (Upper Class). I believe that the variety of crimes and the sheer number of them could indicate a clash of classes due to wealth inequality, but that is only speculation.

Oxford Street: “In Dull Brown”

~ Ashley Schluter
Oxford Street / Oxford circus
Oxford Street / Oxford circus

In the story “In Dull Brown” by Evelyn Sharp, Oxford Street plays a huge role. The story takes place among a few different streets, one of which is Oxford Street. Oxford Street was a shopping district in Victorian London. It was home to over two-hundred guilty theft charges over a span of 50 years.1 Located in the west end of London the street, other than the thefts, was a popular place. The street contains the Oxford/Regent circus which is also a detail in the story. From west to east the road crosses Regent Street, Berners Street and turns into New Oxford Street.
qwert

Oxford Street “…consisted almost uniformly of modest, irregular Georgian houses with shop fronts; only at the very west end close to Park Lane, where there was a scatter of substantial private houses and their outbuildings…”.2 This quote explains a little bit more about the importance of the dull brown dress Jean is originally wearing. The understated dress against the understated background would normally be unnoticed. Also it explains the comment, “That comes of the simple russet gown,” she thought ; “of course he thinks I am a little shop-girl.”

“They had reached the corner of Berners Street, and she came to a standstill”, the streets Jean and Tom are on and cross are important not only because of setting but also because of the historical aspects of their location. Jean mentions Tom walking to business which is relative to the shopping district. This area of London was not poverty stricken, was not industrial, instead it was a district of moderate wealth and fashion forward ideas. Buckingham Palace is accessible through Green Park, which Tom and Jean later meet in after winter passes.

Today, Oxford Street is still a shopping district and is home to some very famous and very expensive retailers such as Dior and Louis Vuitton.

Sharp, Evelyn. “In Dull Brown.” The Yellow Book 8 (January 1896): 181-200. The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University, 2012. Web. [Date of access]. http://1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=YBV8_sharp_dull.html

  1. ‘Oxford Street: Introduction.’ Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings). Ed. F H W Sheppard. London: London County Council, 1980. 171. British History Online. Web. 8 September 2015. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol40/pt2/p171.
  2. 2. 115 guilty verdicts for theft 1800-1819, 292 guilty 1771 – 1819 -old Bailey proceedings, as found through http://www.locatinglondon.org/

London Bridge in “A Lost Masterpiece”

~ Daniela ~ 2 Comments

 

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The bridges of London are crossroads of international commerce and markets but they are also a place for crime especially during the Victorian Era. There was everything from pocket picking to assaults. One case I found in the Old Bailey Proceedings that occurred in the summer of 1894 documents a case in which a bargeman pulled a gun and fired at a group of boys that were noted to have been seen throwing stones at boats from the London Bridge (. Not much else is noted about the individual who was injured and brought charges against the bargeman but modern readers can almost picture such a bustling waterway full of commerce and life but also conflict.

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http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/art/architecture/feist/30.html

 

London Bridge was an especially busy place with a very rich history. In Old and New London¸ writer Walter Thornbury states that London Bridge “was a battle-field and a place of religious worship, a resort of traders and a show-place for traitors’ heads.” During the Tudor reign, it was regularly used to showcase the heads of those convicted of treason. It has a dark history its transformation into one of the main trade centers in London makes it a perfect place to examine in the context of “A Lost Masterpiece.” London was still advancing technologically and socially before the turn of the century when this short story takes place. The movement of time as well as modern movement is important to understand Victorian texts.

The narrator in “A Lost Masterpiece,” states that she “boarded a river steamer bound for London Bridge.” There is a theme of social mobility present in London society at this time which is why so many people came in from the countryside for the opportunities London had. The narrator herself establishes this by stating she had come in from the countryside because she was bored with life there and missed the excitement of London and all the inspiring material it presented for her literary endeavors. Physical mobility is also represented by the steamer the narrator boards at Chelsea and London Bridge. The travel from West to East along the Thames could be a symbol for the migration of individuals from the country to the city. It also represents the movement occurring within London itself, which the narrator observes as she simultaneously acknowledges her role in the scheme of things. She declares, “I was simply an interested spectator of a varied panorama.” As the keen observer, she is capturing images of several different kinds of Londoners as she herself becomes part of this inner city movement. The language she uses to describe her thoughts are also tied to movement, she is “touching a hundred vagrant things with the magic of imagination, making a running comment on the scenes we passed.” By transitioning to using the word ‘we’ instead of the word ‘I’ as she frequently does in the beginning, the narrator has moved from an outsider in London to part of the London dwellers she describes. Additionally, she describes her thoughts as ‘running’, which further reinforces the theme of movement.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Egerton, George. “A Lost Masterpiece.” The Yellow Nineties Online. The Yellow Nineties Online, n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2015.

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.2, 05 September 2015),   July 1894, trial of WILLIAM BAVINGTON (50) (t18940723-626).

Walter Thornbury, ‘London Bridge’, in Old and New London: Volume 2 (London, 1878), pp. 9-17 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol2/pp9-17 [accessed 1 September 2015].

“Victorian Google Maps.” Victorian Google Maps. Google, n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2015.

http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/art/architecture/feist/30.html

Sports in London

~ Jimmy Crowley ~ 1 Comment

Looking into sports in Victorian London shows some incite into how society as a whole was changing. It appeared many sports took place as part of clubs or competitions for various sports such as pigeon shooting were hosted by clubs. Often times, these clubs were almost like private societies, which sometimes only the wealthy could afford to be a part of. “Pigeon-shooting matches at the gun clubs in different parts of London were at one time fertile sources of protest from the humane” (Sims). This shows two aspects of London sports. Both the aspect that to play some had to be members of some sort of club and the aspect of some sports being very violent show an animalistic desire in some members of Victorian society. Private clubs for sports such as golf or shooting give birth to the idea of the modern country club, where members can go to play sports privately without the bothers of those who cannot afford a membership to such a club. Looking at the list of golf clubs and courses, some appear to be open to the public as long as they can afford it. Still, some make note of requirements such as having a “member’s introduction” (Dickens Jr. et. al). The popularity of activities such as hunting, shooting and wrestling also show a more disgruntled attitude during the Victorian age. Still aspects of this seem similar to how they are perceived today. Golf is still seen as a sport for the wealthy who can afford to play it in a private club format. Even wrestling is very similar to how it is today, although professional wrestling of London appears to be much less staged than it is today. Wrestling is described as “much-advertised champions meet on stage and wrestle in various styles-the Graeco-Roman, catch-as-catch-can, etc.-as part of the performance” (Sims). This sounds awfully similar to WWE matches where contestants will have cage-matches or tag team matches, but there is no mention of wrestling being seen more as a form of theatre, which it is today. Some sports show exclusivity, some show a rougher nature of the people and some show both aspects.

 

Works Cited

 

Dickens Jr., Charles. “Victorian London – Entertainment and Recreation – Sport – Golf.” Victorian London – Entertainment and Recreation – Sport – Golf. Dictionary of Victorian London, 1908. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

Sims, George R. “Victorian London – Entertainment and Recreation – Sport – ‘Some London Contests'” Victorian London – Entertainment and Recreation – Sport – ‘Some London Contests’ Dictionary of Victorian London, 1902. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.