History

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The 18th century was a period of rapid growth for London,

reflecting an increasing national population, the early stirrings
of the Industrial Revolution, and London's role at the centre of
the evolving British Empire.
In 1707, an Act of Union was passed merging the Parliament of
Scotland and the Parliament of England, thus establishing The
Kingdom of Great Britain.
London entered the 20th century at the height of its
influence as the capital of one of the largest empires in history,
but the new century was to bring many challenges.
London's population continued to grow rapidly in the early
decades of the century, and public transport was greatly
expanded. A large tram network was constructed by the
London County Council, through the LCC Tramways.

People produced the bulk of their own food, clothing,

furniture and tools. Most manufacturing was done in
homes or small, rural shops, using hand tools or simple
machines. A number of factors contributed to Britains
role as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. For
one, it had great deposits of coal and iron ore, which
proved essential for industrialization. Additionally,
Britain was a politically stable society, as well as the
worlds leading colonial power, which meant its colonies
could serve as a source for raw materials, as well as a
marketplace for manufactured goods.

Industrialization marked a shift

to
powered,
special-purpose
machinery, factories and mass
production. The iron and textile
industries,
along
with
the
development of the steam
engine, played central roles in
the Industrial Revolution, which
also saw improved systems of
transportation,
communication
and
banking.
While
industrialization brought about
an increased volume and variety
of manufactured goods and an
improved standard of living.

London's changing role as a

world city in the twentieth
century is reflected in the
changing nature of employment
in the capital. In 1900 it was the
largest and wealthiest city the
world had ever known, confident
in its role as the governing,
trading and commercial heart of
the British Empire. It was also
Britain's biggest industrial city,
with a wide range of
manufacturing trades and a
growing consumer market.

 The
textile
industry,
in
particular, was transformed
by industrialization. Before
mechanization and factories,
textiles were made mainly in
peoples homes (giving rise
to the term cottage industry),
with
merchants
often
providing the raw materials
and basic equipment, and
then picking up the finished
product. In the 1700s, a
series of innovations led to
ever-increasing productivity,
while requiring less human
energy.

People's expectations of work

have changed. Staying with
the same employer for many
years is much less common,
and despite reductions in the
working week surveys show
that most Londoners in fact
work longer hours now than
they would have done fifty
years ago. Most people earn
more but feel they have to
work harder.

 In
the
mid-nineteenth
century, Henry Mayhew
wrote several volumes on
the London labour, and
compiled long lists of those
who made a living from
crime. Many of whom he
listed as criminals were in
fact poor people who lived
by stealing lead from roofs,
food from shops, lumps of
coal, and clothes drying on
hedges. There were others
who were more skilled at
their trade, expert at their
jobs.

With the development

and
better
job
opportunities the no.
of people who earned
their living by stealing
declined .

 As London grew, crime flourished. We are told

that 20,000 criminals were living in London in the
1870s. We know a great deal about criminal
activities in this period, for crime became an
object of widespread concern. The police were
worried about law and order, philanthropists were
anxious about public morality, and industrialists
wanted a hard-working and orderly labour force.

 The Industrial Revolution brought about a

greater volume and variety of factory-produced
goods and raised the standard of living for
many people, particularly for the middle and
upper classes. However, life for the poor and
working classes continued to be filled with
challenges. Additionally, urban, industrialized
areas were unable to keep pace with the flow of
arriving workers from the countryside, resulting
in inadequate, overcrowded housing and
polluted, unsanitary living conditions in which
disease was rampant.

 During the 18th century

towns in England grew larger.
Nevertheless most towns still
had populations of less than
10,000. However in the late
18th century new industrial
towns in the Midlands and
the
North
of
England
mushroomed. Meanwhile the
population of London grew to
nearly 1 million by the end of
the century.

In the starting of the 20th

century working class homes
had two rooms downstairs.
The front room and the back
room. The front room was
kept for best and children
were not allowed to play
there. In the front room the
family
kept
their
best
furniture and ornaments.
The back room was the
kitchen and it was where the
family spent most of their
time. Most families cooked
on a coal-fired stove called a
range, which also heated the
room.

At the end of the seventeenth century most Londoners

travelled to work and to their shops and markets on foot. By
the beginning of the twentieth century there were still large
numbers of pedestrians but the expansion of the metropolis
meant that thousands commuted daily from the suburbs by
The
transportation
industry
omnibus,
tram, railway
and even steamboat.
also underwent significant
transformation during the
Industrial Revolution. Before
the advent of the steam
engine, raw materials and
finished goods were hauled
and distributed via horsedrawn wagons, and by boats
along canals and rivers. In
the early 1800s, American
Robert Fulton (1765-1815)

 The
1890s
witnessed
experiments with new forms of
traction, most notably using
electricity and petrol driven
motors. London United Tramways
opened its first electric tramway
in the London area in July 1901.
There was an investment boom
in motorised buses four years
later, and while this boom was
followed by the inevitable slump,
within a decade these buses had
all but replaced their horse
drawn competitors.

Passenger transport in London

changed dramatically in the
early years of the twentieth
century with the arrival of new
technology. The first electric
trams were introduced in 1901
and by 1915 the last horse
tram had been withdrawn.
Buses were fully mechanised
in an even shorter period,
between 1904 and 1914, once
reliable petrol engines had
been developed and mass
production
of
standard
vehicles got under way.

 In 1836, as "Railway Mania"

began to seize the country,
the first section of the London
to Greenwich Railway. The first
underground railway in the
world, running between
Farringdon and Paddington
followed a generation later in
1863. The suburbs and
commuter links grew. At the
same time suburban residents
took advantage of off-peak
travel for leisure and shopping
in the new department stores.

New technology also changed

the railways. Improved
tunnelling methods, reliable
safety lifts and non-polluting
electric power were the three
essentials for deep level Tube
operation. The first line opened
in 1890. By 1907 a network of
new electric Tubes had been
completed under central
London, the Victorian steam
underground lines had been
electrified and a start had
been made on electrifying
overground suburban railways.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century London

was the largest city in Europe. As the centre of
government of a massive empire, London continued
to grow at a phenomenal rate: in geographical size,
in the numbers of souls it contained, and in its
economic prosperity. But for all its wealth and
brightly lit palaces, there remained districts of
extreme poverty and squalor. Governed by the
London County Council, the city entered the
twentieth century facing new challenges, including
the dangers posed by motorised traffic and the
direct action committed by the Suffragettes.

 In 1780 London was rocked by theGordon Riots, an

uprising
byProtestantsagainstRoman
Catholicemancipation led by LordGeorge Gordon. Severe
damage was caused to Catholic churches and homes,
and 285 rioters were killed. In the year 1787, freed slaves
from London, America, and many of Britain's colonies
foundedFreetownin modern-day Sierra Leone.

The 18th century saw the

breakaway of the
American colonies and
many other unfortunate
events in London, but also
great change and
Enlightenment. This all led
into the beginning of
modern times, the 19th
century. During the 19th
century, the number of
crimes punishable by
death rose to about 200.

 Up until
1750,London
Bridgewas the only
crossing over
theThames, but in
that yearWestminster
Bridge was opened
and, for the first time
in history, London
Bridge, in a sense,
had a rival.

Some, such as treason

or murder, were serious
crimes. The death
sentence could be
passed for picking
pockets, stealing bread
or cutting down a tree.
Minor crime was
punished by being sent
to prisons, sometimes
transported abroad for
theft, whipped in public.

The 20th century will be remembered

for the impact of its technological
developments. Progress was already
under way with new technology
emerging in factories and offices.
These developments helped
transform clerical and manual work.
The automation of these tasks
reduced the amount of labour and
time needed and made the results
more accurate.

 The first mail coach runs from

Bristol to London in 1784. It is
so successful that by the
autumn of the following year
Palmer has launched services
to sixteen other towns
including Liverpool,
Manchester, Leeds, Norwich,
Dover, Portsmouth, Hereford,
Swansea and Holyhead.
Edinburgh is added in 1786.
By 1797 there are forty-two
routes in operation.

Telephones were a 19thcentury invention but by the

early 20th century only a few
business were connected to
telephone systems. Britain's
main telephone system was
run by the Post Office. In May
1912, Britain's first automatic
telephone exchange opened
in Epsom, Surrey. It had a
capacity for only 500 lines,
but for the first time
subscribers were able to dial
numbers and make their own
calls