The Population Growth of London 1801 - 1881

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The Population Growth of London

1801 – 1881

At the turn of the 19th century, London was populated by close to a million people. London was becoming a World City and its economy was rapidly changing in structure and character. It provided financial services on a national and international level, and provided a market for local, national and international goods, therefore becoming a centre of innovation where all things exciting and new arrived in London first.  The growth of the economy provided vast employment opportunities attracting thousands of migrants and immigrants to the Capital. By the end of the century, the population of London had quadrupled to almost four million.

        This rapid rise in population is illustrated in fig.1. We can see that the curve is steeper after the 1830s – 40s period. This is because of the development of the railways, underground and tramways, resulting in the acceleration of population growth in the suburbs of London.

Fig. 1

       

While London reaped the benefits of this explosive growth and the domination of world trade, it paid the price of untold squalor and filth. London suffered massive social problems – the divide between the rich and the poor was too great. Many migrants and immigrants who travelled to London to start a new life were disillusioned by the glowing reputation of the Capital, and found often found themselves in terrible poverty once they arrived in the city. In his novel, Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens described these disillusions. Young Oliver Twist set off for London after hearing people praising the joys of London, that the streets of London were “paved with gold”. Of course, when he finally arrived, he found that the streets were paved with anything and everything but gold. The situation was so bad it formed part of the reason why some of the population started to move out into the outer areas of London.

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By the middle of the century, the prosperity of inner London led to a rapid increase in land prices. Many people started to move out into the suburbs. At the same time, the suburbs regrouped along existing class structures, unlike in London where the homes of the wealthy coexisted along the homes of the very poor. The Upper and Middle classes moved to fashionable areas such as the West End of London, while the less well off classes congregated in the East End, where some parts were of incredible poverty and filth. The growth and the movement of the population ...

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