Local relevant sources

• Census returns can give important insight. Every ten years since 1801, the government undertakes a count of all people and households. There was a census in 1881. It tells us the names, ages, sex, occupation, and place of birth of every person.
• Council records might report living conditions, or have a focus on sanitation.
• Charles’s Booth was a philanthropist. In 1886 he embarked on a major survey of London life, with a focus on poverty. He hired researchers to help him in a systematic way, and drew up a series of maps to illustrate his research. He concluded that 35% in the East End of London were living in abject poverty.
• Workhouse records give an insight into poverty.
• Coroners’ reports tell us how people died, so give us an insight into levels of illness and violent death.
• Local police records can be useful for telling us about crimes committed and arrests made, although they can be misleading, as they depend on the police officer involved having made an arrest or a report.
• Photographs could be taken by the police themselves, or by journalists. Cameras were heavy, expensive and difficult to operate, so photography by the general public was rare.
• London newspapers reported London crimes and police investigations, although they could be very anti-police and were prone to sensationalise the topic.
• Freedom licenses are the official release papers for prisoners, and are valuable records of convictions and punishments, which are not covered by police station records.
• Housing and employment records tell us about overcrowding, and give us an insight into the kinds of jobs that people did.