A SATURDAY NIGHT IN VICTORIAN LONDON

As the capital of the largest Empire in global history, London was a place of importance. Victorian London was also the biggest, most amazing city in the world. While Britain was undergoing the Industrial Revolution, London was both reaping the benefits and suffering the costs. In 1800, the population of London was around one million. That number then swelled to over four million by 1880.

While fashionable areas like Oxford Street and Regent Street were growing in the west of London, new docks supporting the city’s place as the world’s trade centre were being built on the east side of London. Maybe the largest influence on the growth of London was the coming of the railways in the 1830s, which moved thousands of people and hastened the enlargement of the city.

Saturday evening was a night where Victorian Londoners could unwind, drink, or enjoy themselves by visiting the market, the theatre, or their local pub. On Saturday nights, Victorian London was filled with many interesting people. Because Saturday nights were so well-liked, night watchmen stood in round timber or stone structures, called watch houses to view the local activities, or they patrolled the streets between 9 pm until sunrise. During that time, the night watchman called out each hour, kept a lookout for crime, and ensured the safety of pedestrians and drunks. (The watchmen would not be superseded by officers known warmly as ‘Bobbies’ years later.)

In the streets, horses and pedestrians mingled. Traffic in London was intense, as much of the city was shaped long before Victoria came to the throne. The streets were narrow and paved with cobblestones.

Another place where you could find noise, colour and entertainment was the music hall. These were not as reputable as theatres. They were full of noise and smoke. Spectators would drink and laugh while the performers attempted to entertain. It was common for performers who failed to entertain to be bombarded with rotten vegetables, or even dead animals. Some music halls actually had to put up cages around the stage to protect the entertainers. There would also be someone employed to stand on the edge of the stage with a large hook to drag poor performers off the stage. Noisy, rowdy, and gaudy they may be. But they offered a break to the otherwise bleakness of Victorian poverty.

At night, most principal London streets were lit with gas lamps. A lot of side streets were not lit at all, and link bearers were employed to guide people to their destinations. The bearers held candles or oil lamps but still struggled against the darkness. It didn’t matter which way you turned, London Victorian times were flooded with noise. Industry, street musicians, traffic and the cries of sellers echoed throughout the centre of London. From early morning till late at night, whether just the organ-grinders or the full brass bands. Music seemed to surround one night and day.

Street Organs seem to have been the curse of the Victorians’ existence. In part, this was because of the noise they created; by the 1860s there were over one thousand organ-grinders in London.

Then, there were the musicians and bands; the violinist who imitated animals, cellists, bell ringers, street bands, according to one of Mayhew’s informants there were over two hundred and fifty bands on the streets, not including the black minstrel bands. There were English bands, bagpipers and German bands. There were also hurdy-gurdy men, harpists and clarinet players. Helping the organ-grinder you might have spotted a monkey or a dancing dog and one could go on almost forever. If it was an instrument that could be played, it was likely to be found on the streets of Victorian London on a Saturday night.