Streetlife in Late Victorian London: The Constable and the Crowd

276 Pages·2013·2.1 MB·English

by  Peter Andersson

Streetlife in Late Victorian London
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Streetlife in Late
Victorian London
The Constable and the Crowd
Peter K. Andersson
Department of History, Lund University, Sweden
© Peter K. Andersson 2013
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may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2013 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments viii
1 Introduction 1
London! 1
The City as We (Think We) Know It 3
A History of Behaviour 7
The Man on the Beat and the Man in the Street 9
The Purpose and Procedure of This Study 12
2 Victorian London and Its Streets 20
Contemporary Definitions and Views of London 20
The Development of London in the Nineteenth Century 23
The Streets of London 25
Some Notes on the Development of Stranger Interaction 28
3 Straddling the Public and Parochial Realms 32
The Man on the Beat 33
Territoriality and the Private in the Public 54
Nodes of the Neighbourhood 69
Conclusions 81
4 Moving, Shoving and Standing Still 85
The Policeman in Traffic 89
The Route vs the Playing Field 96
The Makings of a Pedestrian 107
The Pickpocket and the Imitation of Normality 115
Cabmen and Other Drivers 119
Conclusions 128
5 Managing Appearances 131
Policing Appearances and Police Appearances 133
Clothes as Classification 139
Civilian Uniformity and Civilian Policing 142
Finery, Swelldom and Masherdom 148
Types and Their Relation to Practised Affinities 155
Conclusions 164
6 Managing Manners 166
The Policeman as a Model of Behaviour 168
The Legal Definition of Misbehaviour 172
Nuisances 175
v
vi Contents
Attracting and Avoiding Attention 180
Courtesies and Insults 196
Who Makes the Rules, Anyway? 204
Conclusions 207
7 Conclusions 209
The Policeman’s Role Conflict 210
Conflicting Norms of Behaviour 212
The Playing Field 214
Performed Intimacy and Crowd Affinity 215
The Constable and the Crowd 218
Notes 221
Bibliography 249
Index 263
List of Illustrations
4.1 Policeman regulating traffic in Regent Street, 1890s 94
4.2 Policeman regulating traffic in Trafalgar Square, 1890s 95
4.3 Gustave Doré, ‘A City Thoroughfare’ 97
4.4 The Poultry, from Mansion House, 1890s 110
4.5 Edgware Road, 1900 111
4.6 Upper Gloucester Place, early 1900s 112
4.7 Borough High Street 114
4.8 Borough High Street 114
5.1 Outside Temple Bar, Fleet Street 147
5.2 Borough High Street 147
5.3 ‘A Few London Types’, Once A Week, 30 Jan. 1875 158
5.4 ‘Types in the Strand’, Judy, or the London Serio-Comic Journal,
Aug. 1898 159
5.5 ‘Types of the Thoroughfares. No. 8 – Whitechapel’, Fun,
19 March 1870 160
6.1 Stills from the film Petticoat Lane 1903 190
6.2 Wilmotts Buildings off Borough High Street, 1900. And
music-hall comedian Little Tich on a music sheet cover, 1891 191
6.3 Borough High Street, 1904 192
6.4 Gardeners Buildings, Market Court, near Kensington High
Street, 1865 195
vii
Acknowledgments
There are hundreds of books on Victorian London. There are, however, only
very few on the logic of everyday behaviour in history. Choosing a subject
as well researched as Victorian London and then looking at it from a hith-
erto rather neglected angle serves to demonstrate, perhaps, how historical
investigation constantly needs to switch focus, and that the array of focal
points is potentially endless.
The creation of this book has been made possible by a number of friends
and colleagues. First and foremost, my supervisor, Professor Lars Edgren,
whose encouraging and inspiring talks have been a constant source of
inspiration, and my assistant supervisor, Håkan Forsell, who has likewise
provided me with support and ideas. Thank you also to the people at the
Centre for Metropolitan History in London, where I spent some time as a
guest researcher, receiving generous support from Professor Richard Dennis
of UCL, as well as from Carlos Lopez Galvis and Vivian Bickford-Smith.
I thank Miles Taylor of the Institute of Historical Research and Matthew
Davies, Head of the Metropolitan History Centre, for making my stint in
London possible. I also received ample assistance during my research in
London from the staff at the National Archives in Kew and the London
Metropolitan Archives.
I would also like to thank a few colleagues who have read the manuscript
at different stages of its writing and contributed with helpful criticism and
inspiration. Karin Sennefelt of Uppsala University conducted a thorough
reading that helped me to improve and clarify the arguments and outline.
Thank you, Karin! Professor Eva Helen Ulvros also read the manuscript in its
entirety at a late stage in the process and provided me with valuable com-
ments. I am also grateful to Jaya Reddy for professionally going through
my manuscript and correcting my language mistakes. Professor Kristian
Gerner, apart from being supportive and taking an interest in my research
from the beginning, was also instrumental in getting my book published
internationally. Other colleagues that deserve a mention include Harald
Gustafsson, Anna Wallette, Anna Nilsson, Mark Davies, Andreas Olsson,
Louise Bergström and Erik Bodensten. I am also grateful to the help I have
received from Palgrave Macmillan with improving my manuscript, not least,
of course, from the anonymous readers who have provided me with gener-
ous comments, but also my helpful editor, Clare Mence.
The research upon which this book is based was conducted at the Swedish
National Graduate School of History, which has also been helpful in the
publication of the book. For making this possible and for providing ample
support, I would like to thank Klas-Göran Karlsson and Hanne Sanders, and
viii
Acknowledgments ix
especially Charlotte Tornbjer, who has always been available for assistance.
I should also mention the intimate environment of historians and PhD
students at the Department of History in Lund, which provided the comfort
and consideration necessary for successful research. This especially concerns
the so called Playhouse, made up of my fellow PhD students David Larsson
Heidenblad, Isak Hammar, Johan Stenfeldt, Emma Hilborn, Fredrik Egefur
and Kajsa Brilkman, whose support and friendship contributed to the crea-
tivity of the research.
Lastly, I would like to direct a few words to my family. First, Charlotte, the
foundation for my life and well-being. This book owes much to your love
and support, but my love for you also makes me realise that there are things
in life other than history. You, mainly. But I wouldn’t even have begun to
study history if it had not been for the encouragement of my family. My
parents, Kim and Christer, have always unselfishly supported me in doing
what interests me and going where my instinct leads me, and my brother
Henrik is probably the main reason for my interest in intellectual endeav-
ours and my belief in rationality and debate. In the end, there is no one else
more suited for me to dedicate this book to than you!