Due to a lack of proper ventilation, coal dust was very thick in the air. Considering that Victorian Children would work from 12 to 18 hours a day it is easy to see how respiratory problems could arise. There was constant noise, and rat infestation was very common in the mines.
Did Victorian street children work long hours?
This was not something new to the Victorian period as children had always been been expected to work for hundreds of years. ... Children worked very long hours with little breaks and no fresh air . They often worked in very dangerous conditions resulting in injuries or even death.
What age did Victorian children work at?
Iron and coal mines (where children, again, both boys and girls, began work at age 5 , and generally died before they were 25), gas works, shipyards, construction, match factories, nail factories, and the business of chimney sweeping, for example (which Blake would use as an emblem of the destruction of the innocent), ...
What were Victorian children's jobs?
The three most common types of work for children was in the mills, as chimney sweeps , or working in the coal mines. Each of these occupations were unsafe and brought with them many occupational hazards.
How many hours did Victorians work?
This meant that people worked for as long as they could. There was a sharp division between work for men and women, and women were paid less than men. People, sometimes after a long walk to work, often worked up to 18 hours a day .
How much did a child chimney sweep get paid?
From 1773, master chimney sweeps regularly kept anywhere from 2 to 20 children, depending on how many they could use for their business. For each child, the master sweep was paid 3-4 pounds by the government when the apprenticeship agreement was signed.
What were Victorian children's punishments?
Boys were usually caned on their backsides and girls were either beaten on their bare legs or across their hands . A pupil could receive a caning for a whole range of different reasons, including: rudeness, leaving a room without permission, laziness, not telling the truth and playing truant (missing school).
What jobs did Victorian children do in workhouses?
What jobs did children do? Children worked on farms , in homes as servants, and in factories. Children provided a variety of skills and would do jobs that were as varied as needing to be small and work as a scavenger in a cotton mill to having to push heavy coal trucks along tunnels in coal mines.
What was life like for a child in a Victorian workhouse?
However, most children in a workhouse were orphans . Everyone slept in large dormitories. It was common for girls to sleep four to a bed. Every day for three hours, children were expected to have lessons in reading, writing, arithmetic and Christian religion.
What did a rich Victorian child wear?
Children tended to wear miniature versions of adult clothes. Boys wore dresses until they were about five years old. Once of school age they wore suits or short trousers and jackets with a cap. ... Girls wore dresses with a pinafore over the top but did not wear crinolines or bustles until they were older.
What jobs did poor Victorians do?
Poor people could work in mines, in mills and factories, or in workhouses . Whole families would sometimes have to work so they'd all have enough money to buy food. Children in poor families would have jobs that were best done by people who weren't very tall.
What did poor Victorians eat?
For many poor people across Britain, white bread made from bolted wheat flour was the staple component of the diet. When they could afford it, people would supplement this with vegetables, fruit and animal-derived foods such as meat, fish, milk, cheese and eggs – a Mediterranean-style diet.
How many days a week did Victorians work?
Factory owners were reluctant to leave their machinery idle, and in the 19th century, it was common for working hours to be between 14-16 hours a day, 6 days a week .
What are the dangers of being a chimney sweep?
- Respiratory Hazards. Soot and smoke inhalation can cause respiratory distress, illnesses, and infection can be a result of soot inhalation.
- Skin Irritation. Physical contact with creosote can cause rash, other skin issues, and infection.
- Eye Damage.
Is it illegal to deny a chimney sweep in Germany?
Yes, it's actually illegal to refuse entry to a chimney sweep if he or she wants to come into your home . ... All Germans pay for this service, regardless if they have a chimney or not. This is an old law from the Middle Ages that was bolstered by the Third Reich.
What was life like for a chimney sweep?
The living conditions of the chimney sweeps offered them no relief. They were usually barely fed and slept in basements , covering themselves with the filthy soot sacks they worked with. The boys rarely bathed and were frequently sickly.
