In 1864 Ellen Boyt, 26, of Christchurch, Hampshire married John Ward of Islington, London, a blacksmith. He, Ellen and her illegitimate daughter Charlotte set up house in Islington.
Ellen had been a single parent in Christchurch, living with Charlotte and her impoverished family. She managed to eke out a living as a watch chain maker, the most common occupation for a young woman in that part of the world. She and Charlotte however decided to join the diaspora of regional working class women who moved to London in search of a better life.
With no other skills apart from domestic ones, and not being able to read or write, Ellen became a needlewoman. By 1871 she and John had two children of their own, Alice aged 5 and Ellen, aged 10 months. Charlotte, now aged 14, still lived with them, although employed as a domestic servant.
But John was no longer a blacksmith. He was blind, living on charity and an allowance from the parish. The address given in the 1871 census for the family states, "5 (otherwise No.2) Caroline Court, Islington."
"Courts" at this time were where the impoverished lived. They had their roots in the courtyard construction and communal way of living of medieval London. But by the time Ellen, John and their family came to live in this style of housing, courts were narrow, dead end streets of small terrace houses where many people shared each dwelling. Lacking piped water, the houses in Caroline Court would have been reliant upon a communal well and pump on the street. These became increasingly polluted over time, promoting the spread of waterborne diseases. That the Ward family lived in one of these houses attests to their straitened circumstances. In spite of severe overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, it was not until 1936 that Caroline Court and the adjacent Hope Place were finally designated as a slum clearance area and demolished.
In 1881, John ceased to be dependent upon the parish. His occupation was now "seller of music in street". As such, he would sing (or shout) ballads down the street until a crowd was drawn. He would not expect to be paid for his voice, but instead would sell copies of his songs for a halfpenny a sheet. He and Ellen, together with their six children were now living at 1 Paradise Court, Islington. By 1891 John had become a "street musician" with five of his children living at home with him, including Ellen, a glass bottle stop maker and Rhoda, a trim bead worker. Still resident in Paradise Court, they now lived at number 4.
John, a fiddler in his occupation as street musician, had stiff competition as such, as the streets of London had for many a year hosted an unco-ordinated, discordant symphony of sounds made by street vendors, beggars and various types of musicians and singers. Horses' hooves clattered over cobblestones, cab drivers shouted to each other as they passed, whole brass bands played on the street, drunken patrons tumbled out of pub doors, yelling all the while. Paper boys shouted out the news and costermongers advertised their wares at the tops of their voices. Not to mention dustmen going about their work and the children who danced and sang along with the organ grinders or laughed at Punch and Judy shows. London's streets played host to a never-ending din and cacophony of noises, day and night. It was no wonder John did not earn sufficient money to pay rent on a more desirable residence; just getting his tunes heard on the street would have been no mean feat. There were also many other street musicians about: Hector Berlioz, the French Romantic composer after visiting London in the mid-nineteenth century wrote that "no city in the world" was so consumed by music. He noted barrel-organists, barrel-pianists, bagpipers and drummers who filled the streets. And once one of these musicians stood on a corner and started up a tune, girls who may be walking past and children sitting in the gutter "begin to foot it merrily."* Some men would also join in, usually two together, while an appreciative crowd watched the dancing.
Ellen's tale is one of desperate poverty and a hard life lived in difficult circumstances. Yet, she and John appear to have lived a happy and for the times, long life together. Raising a large family with scant money, they appear to have given them a stable home. Part of a community, they remained living in the same suburb for many a year. Even when John lost his sight and ability to work as a blacksmith they accepted their plight and adjusted to their lot, their children growing to adulthood and eventually raising families of their own.
The writer is a descendant of Ellen and Charlotte Boyt.
*Charles Booth, in his survey of the East End
Reference: London: The Biography Peter Ackroyd Anchor Books 2000
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Mekons, the Edwardian Era & Today
In the spirit that fuelled the beginning of the punk era in the mid 1970s, long running post-punk band Mekons produced an album in 2011 entitled Ancient & Modern 1911 - 2011 drawing on their take on current times. They contend that history is repeating itself and compare what is happening in the world now to the Edwardian era, that 'golden afternoon' before World War I, when things changed forever.
Beginning in England in 1976 as a punk band, Mekons became one of the most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. It still has most of its original line-up today. The late Lester Bangs described its members as "the most revolutionary group in the history of rock 'n' roll" and their style has evolved over the years to incorporate country music, folk, alternative rock and cow punk. Galvanised by political events, such as the British miners strike in 1984, they are still not hesitant in commenting on contemporary times and events.
Inspired by similarities between the political landscape of the Edwardian era with that of today, the Mekons see a contemporary complacency that was all too present in English society during the period before the first World War. The ruling class was not in touch with the lives led by the majority of people in Britain; there was a significant gap between the affluent and the poor and a smugness in the upper class about its position. Imperialism reigned and those in power were blind to the needs of the common people, preferring to indulge in house parties, taking tea and maintaining a genteel façade at all times.
The title song Ancient & Modern is an elegant track reflecting this view and conjures up images of men in pith helmets at the helm of an empire which to them, was civilised and successful. Much like the Victorian era, however, there was a grimy underside to the wealth and propriety displayed by those in positions of power; the underclasses toiled incessantly to support and maintain a way of life that was becoming increasingly unsustainable due to its demands and pressures. The poor were becoming restless and resentful of their position on the bottom rung of society and by 1914, workers were holding strikes in an attempt to obtain rights for working long hours at arduous jobs which paid little.
All this flew in the face of the monied classes who lived in a cosy world where they played cricket on the village green, punted down the river in striped blazers and boaters, rode off with the hounds and had wives and mistresses while engaging in community singing and lavish picnics. Undercurrents in the form of mysticism, secret societies, radical modern art, Freud, dangerous poetry, anarchists, bombings, British concentration camps and suffragettes were gathering and eventually overpowered the old, complacent order of things.
Was all that really just over a hundred years ago? Maybe we should take a look at the world today and address the imbalances present in our own society before our own Sarajevo pistol crack jolts us out of our comfortable recliners and changes our way of living forever.
Geeshi, a rather mournful track, encapsulates the regret and difficulty those basking in the 'golden afternoon' sun were experiencing in adjusting to the great changes being wrought behind the scenes: Raise a glass of wine and try to still time, it says, in an attempt to halt unwanted changes.
But the rumblings of change were just out of view and kept that way, by a lot of the Edwardians. Night and day there was trouble that the eye could almost see/In the valleys that lay open/In the papers now recovered sing Mekons in their track Warm Summer Sun. So comfortable and apparently secure were the lives of the wealthy and privileged, they did not want to believe anything could possibly up-end them.
But up-ended they were. While the ruling classes weren't looking, reality took control and the old order of things died off at an alarmingly quick rate. Irrevocable change, and not just in the form of World War I, was forced upon them.
Parallels can be drawn with the worldwide situation prevailing today; human rights abuses still occur, along with economic inequality, regressive policies are being put into place by leaders not listening to the voices of their communities. There's a lot to learn from the Edwardians and Mekons have homed in on a period of history which should be resonating with those in positions of power today. Their fittingly elegant sounding album should be compulsory listening.
Many today would do well to heed the lyrics of Honey Bear: The further your story is from the truth, the more you need propaganda as politicians use the media prolifically to propound their view of what the populace needs. The same rhetoric that bred resentment just over a hundred years ago is being broadcast today and history will only repeat if those in power do not take heed of what went before.
The Edwardian era was synonymous with glamour, indulgence and extravagance. It officially came to an end at the beginning of World War I although its vestiges limped on until about 1920. The new millennium, with its monetary and intellectual wealth is busy tackling new trends in technology, inequality in terms of wealth and gender together with a growing awareness of damage to the world's ecology, but change is happening only slowly. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
Beginning in England in 1976 as a punk band, Mekons became one of the most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. It still has most of its original line-up today. The late Lester Bangs described its members as "the most revolutionary group in the history of rock 'n' roll" and their style has evolved over the years to incorporate country music, folk, alternative rock and cow punk. Galvanised by political events, such as the British miners strike in 1984, they are still not hesitant in commenting on contemporary times and events.
Inspired by similarities between the political landscape of the Edwardian era with that of today, the Mekons see a contemporary complacency that was all too present in English society during the period before the first World War. The ruling class was not in touch with the lives led by the majority of people in Britain; there was a significant gap between the affluent and the poor and a smugness in the upper class about its position. Imperialism reigned and those in power were blind to the needs of the common people, preferring to indulge in house parties, taking tea and maintaining a genteel façade at all times.
The title song Ancient & Modern is an elegant track reflecting this view and conjures up images of men in pith helmets at the helm of an empire which to them, was civilised and successful. Much like the Victorian era, however, there was a grimy underside to the wealth and propriety displayed by those in positions of power; the underclasses toiled incessantly to support and maintain a way of life that was becoming increasingly unsustainable due to its demands and pressures. The poor were becoming restless and resentful of their position on the bottom rung of society and by 1914, workers were holding strikes in an attempt to obtain rights for working long hours at arduous jobs which paid little.
All this flew in the face of the monied classes who lived in a cosy world where they played cricket on the village green, punted down the river in striped blazers and boaters, rode off with the hounds and had wives and mistresses while engaging in community singing and lavish picnics. Undercurrents in the form of mysticism, secret societies, radical modern art, Freud, dangerous poetry, anarchists, bombings, British concentration camps and suffragettes were gathering and eventually overpowered the old, complacent order of things.
Was all that really just over a hundred years ago? Maybe we should take a look at the world today and address the imbalances present in our own society before our own Sarajevo pistol crack jolts us out of our comfortable recliners and changes our way of living forever.
Geeshi, a rather mournful track, encapsulates the regret and difficulty those basking in the 'golden afternoon' sun were experiencing in adjusting to the great changes being wrought behind the scenes: Raise a glass of wine and try to still time, it says, in an attempt to halt unwanted changes.
But the rumblings of change were just out of view and kept that way, by a lot of the Edwardians. Night and day there was trouble that the eye could almost see/In the valleys that lay open/In the papers now recovered sing Mekons in their track Warm Summer Sun. So comfortable and apparently secure were the lives of the wealthy and privileged, they did not want to believe anything could possibly up-end them.
But up-ended they were. While the ruling classes weren't looking, reality took control and the old order of things died off at an alarmingly quick rate. Irrevocable change, and not just in the form of World War I, was forced upon them.
Parallels can be drawn with the worldwide situation prevailing today; human rights abuses still occur, along with economic inequality, regressive policies are being put into place by leaders not listening to the voices of their communities. There's a lot to learn from the Edwardians and Mekons have homed in on a period of history which should be resonating with those in positions of power today. Their fittingly elegant sounding album should be compulsory listening.
Many today would do well to heed the lyrics of Honey Bear: The further your story is from the truth, the more you need propaganda as politicians use the media prolifically to propound their view of what the populace needs. The same rhetoric that bred resentment just over a hundred years ago is being broadcast today and history will only repeat if those in power do not take heed of what went before.
The Edwardian era was synonymous with glamour, indulgence and extravagance. It officially came to an end at the beginning of World War I although its vestiges limped on until about 1920. The new millennium, with its monetary and intellectual wealth is busy tackling new trends in technology, inequality in terms of wealth and gender together with a growing awareness of damage to the world's ecology, but change is happening only slowly. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
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