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The Indusrial Revolution and it's effects on childhood.

© Lynda Langford

With Christmas nearly upon us, I find myself thinking about how times have changed for children. Most children nowadays, at least those in developed countries, will be indulged by family, and will no doubt have quite a few parcels to open on Christmas morning. We wouldn't want it any other way of course, but it was not so long ago when the children of the working classes had to face up to the harsh realities of life, and the majority were set to work at a very tender age.

From the mid 1700's the population began to expand at a great rate, and the cottage industries which helped to support rural families had to compete with the ever increasing mechanisation of traditional trades, it was the beginning of a new era, namely the Industrial Revolution.

As new industries sprang up, those families or individuals who had little work in the countryside migrated to the growing towns, driven by the need for employment. Although Poor Relief was still available, the workhouse, as always, was to be avoided if at all possible. It is surprising how far people traveled to get work, people left the villages and hamlets, which had been their family home for generations, and had to start new lives in the industrial towns.

Because of the hardship caused by The Great Famine, people from Ireland also came to these towns seeking paid work, and often had to rent one room in a lodging house for the whole family, sometimes sharing the room with another family, taking turns to occupy it whilst the others were working!

The English Midlands is the area I have grown up in, it covers a large area by British standards, stretching over several counties surrounding the city of Birmingham. These areas were home to many trades, coal and lead mining, nail and chain making, weaving for the woollen industry, potteries, iron foundries and numerous other manufacturing operations. The coal mining in particular led to the areas around Dudley and Wolverhampton being called "The Black Country", an area that was full of industry, and by the early 1800's a good portion of the population lived in slum conditions, in "back to back" cheaply built, terraced houses, row upon row of them. Most families were large, and as soon as they were old enough to work that is exactly what children had to do, earn their keep. For those families the concept of "childhood" as we perceive it today, did not exist, the mortality rate of infants and young children was high. I have read many accounts whilst searching through archives, of the deaths of small children from falling into open fires, and accounts of accidents whilst being left unattended. Presumably, mothers were working in the factories or other industry, and these infants were left in the care of siblings or neighbours.