Living Conditions
At Home
The docks were located in the East End, consequently most of the dock workers lived there. Although the 19th century London was the wealthiest city in the world, the members of the working class and especially those who were living in the East End had to suffer from extremely bad living conditions. The people there were even said to be the poorest in the country. In addition, it was one of the most intesively inhabited regions of London. As a result, many of the inhabitants had to live with their families or together with strangers in a single room, just in order to avoid living on the street. This room was used for cooking, eating and sleeping. Some of them had a bed to sleep in, but of course this had to be shared with others as well.
Needless to say that they did not have any money for healthcare and since they were living in overcrowded houses serious illnesses, like cholera, could spread rapidly.
The windows of their dwelling were often broken and covered with rags to keep the cold air during wintertime outside. Sanitation was barely existent and (often dirty) water had to be fetched from shared standpipes somewhere in the street.
People who did not get enough work or who simply could not work, had to live in the streets and they were seeking shelter in wooden boxes or house entrances.
The only escape the people had was the warmth of a pub. Alcohol was cheap and therefore they could get plenty of it, even with their small wages.
Charles Dickens, 1857 in a weekly journal called "Household Words":
Many select such a dwelling-place because they are already debased below the point of enmity to filth; poorer labourers live there, because they cannot afford to go further, and there become debased. The Dock Company is surely, to a very great extent, answerable for the condition of the town they are creating.
The docks were located in the East End, consequently most of the dock workers lived there. Although the 19th century London was the wealthiest city in the world, the members of the working class and especially those who were living in the East End had to suffer from extremely bad living conditions. The people there were even said to be the poorest in the country. In addition, it was one of the most intesively inhabited regions of London. As a result, many of the inhabitants had to live with their families or together with strangers in a single room, just in order to avoid living on the street. This room was used for cooking, eating and sleeping. Some of them had a bed to sleep in, but of course this had to be shared with others as well.
Needless to say that they did not have any money for healthcare and since they were living in overcrowded houses serious illnesses, like cholera, could spread rapidly.
The windows of their dwelling were often broken and covered with rags to keep the cold air during wintertime outside. Sanitation was barely existent and (often dirty) water had to be fetched from shared standpipes somewhere in the street.
People who did not get enough work or who simply could not work, had to live in the streets and they were seeking shelter in wooden boxes or house entrances.
The only escape the people had was the warmth of a pub. Alcohol was cheap and therefore they could get plenty of it, even with their small wages.
Charles Dickens, 1857 in a weekly journal called "Household Words":
Many select such a dwelling-place because they are already debased below the point of enmity to filth; poorer labourers live there, because they cannot afford to go further, and there become debased. The Dock Company is surely, to a very great extent, answerable for the condition of the town they are creating.
At Work
Being a dock worker was a tough job on many levels. They worked long hours on poor wages and often it was hard to get work at all. But for some it was the only chance to make an honest living because at the docks it was possible to get work for otherwise unemployable people. Unsurprisingly, the group of workers contained many refugees, old soldiers, broken-down gentlemen and ex-convicts among others.
The dockers consisted of different classes: There were about 20 per cent permanent workers, which means that they had work every day, they got paid on a regular basis and they had a slightly better reputation than the rest. And then there were "casuals", who had to wait at the dock gates early in the morning, hoping they would be picked. But this group was divided as well. The workers had to show tickets they got during their labour, which classified them as "prefered labourer" or "extra labourer". The former were given preference, when it came to hiring on a day-to-day basis and it was of high value. If the ticket holder wanted to keep it, he had to show up at the docks for possible work every day. The latter were only hired during peak times, but still they were prefered over workers without a ticket at all.
The work itself was highly exhausting. Since steam was not allowed to operate the cranes at the docks, they were operated by muscle power. Six to eight men had to lift the weight of the load by a treading a treadmill. This way they were able to lift the weight of one ton up to 8m, forty times an hour. The work became slightly easier with the invention of the hydraulic crane in the middle of the 19th century..
Being a dock worker was a tough job on many levels. They worked long hours on poor wages and often it was hard to get work at all. But for some it was the only chance to make an honest living because at the docks it was possible to get work for otherwise unemployable people. Unsurprisingly, the group of workers contained many refugees, old soldiers, broken-down gentlemen and ex-convicts among others.
The dockers consisted of different classes: There were about 20 per cent permanent workers, which means that they had work every day, they got paid on a regular basis and they had a slightly better reputation than the rest. And then there were "casuals", who had to wait at the dock gates early in the morning, hoping they would be picked. But this group was divided as well. The workers had to show tickets they got during their labour, which classified them as "prefered labourer" or "extra labourer". The former were given preference, when it came to hiring on a day-to-day basis and it was of high value. If the ticket holder wanted to keep it, he had to show up at the docks for possible work every day. The latter were only hired during peak times, but still they were prefered over workers without a ticket at all.
The work itself was highly exhausting. Since steam was not allowed to operate the cranes at the docks, they were operated by muscle power. Six to eight men had to lift the weight of the load by a treading a treadmill. This way they were able to lift the weight of one ton up to 8m, forty times an hour. The work became slightly easier with the invention of the hydraulic crane in the middle of the 19th century..
Reputation
With the building of the big cargo docks riverside labour became the most disreputable work somebody could do, partly because it took place in the East End. The working river was a world of its own with an own language and its own laws.
Many members of the Upper Class tended to believe that the squalid living conditions of the workers in the East End, if they noticed them at all, were the result of laziness, sin and vice of the lower classes. This assumption was supported by the slang of the docks which contained a lot of ordinary words and swearing.
With the building of the big cargo docks riverside labour became the most disreputable work somebody could do, partly because it took place in the East End. The working river was a world of its own with an own language and its own laws.
Many members of the Upper Class tended to believe that the squalid living conditions of the workers in the East End, if they noticed them at all, were the result of laziness, sin and vice of the lower classes. This assumption was supported by the slang of the docks which contained a lot of ordinary words and swearing.