Technology And EngineeringMany great technology and engineering feats were carried out during the Victorian era. None more so than the London sewage system, designed by Joseph Bazalgette in 1858. The project involved building 82 miles of sewer system linked with over 1,000 miles of street sewers, leading to many problems being encountered before the sewers were completed. Bazalgette also designed the Thames Embankment which housed sewers, water pipes and the London Underground. It was in this period that London's water supply was expanded and improved, and a gas network for lighting and heating was introduced in the 1880's.
Although initially developed in the early years of the 19th century, gas lighting became widespread during the Victorian era in industry, homes, public buildings and the streets. The invention of the incandescent gas mantle in the 1890's greatly improved light output and earned its survival as late as the 1960's. Hundreds of gasworks were constructed in cities and towns across the country in 1882. Incandescent electric lights were introduced to London streets, although it took many years before they were installed everywhere.
The Victorian era, saw a growing interest in Science and Natural History, mainly due to the increasing professionalism of university science. The study of national history was most powerfully advanced by Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution first published in his book 'On the Origins of Species' in 1859.
Poverty
As discussed in our previous article, the 19th century in Britain saw a huge increase in population, accompanied by rapid urbanization stimulated by the Industrial Revolution. Work was hard to come by and housing was both scarce and expensive. Due to an over-populated labour force, both skilled and unskilled, wages were barely above the bread-line. The population of London grew at an unimaginable rate. Many fine old large Victorian houses were turned into flats and tenements. Due to massive overcrowding and poor maintenance many areas quickly became slums.
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In Part 3 of The Victorians, we shall be looking at child labour, prostitution and debtors prisons.
