London: volume 2
Knight, Charles.
1851
XLIX.-Spitalfields.
XLIX.-Spitalfields.
Were we to speak of the it would doubtless be deemed an odd innovation on the established range and scope of philosophy. Yet, though odd, it is not worthless: the busy scenes presented in our streets, the diversity of purpose to which the lower stories of our houses are appropriated, the changes in form and fashion observable in house-architecture, the varied adaptation to the extended wants and tastes of the inmates,--have all been prominent objects for study, on the part of the painter, the poet, the statesman, the topographer. But is there nothing to be gleaned from a more elevated point of sight? Is the region of attics and garrets, roofs and chimneys, a barren ? Let us see. | |
We will suppose the reader to be accompanying us in a short trip on the Eastern Counties Railway, which, commencing in , cuts through a densely-populated mass of buildings before getting into the open country, and | |
386 | which, from the necessity for leaving space for the street-traffic beneath, is elevated to the level of the roofs. During the very few minutes consumed in the passage through this district, an active glance around shows us a remarkable similarity in the upper parts of the houses. House after house presents, at the upper stories, ranges of windows totally unlike those of common dwelling-houses, and more nearly resembling those of a factory or a range of workshops. Many streets are seen, some parallel with the railway, and others intersecting it, in which every house without exception possesses these wide, lattice-like windows; more frequently at the upper than the lower part of the house. The rapidity of our movement prevents any distinct cognizance of the purpose to which these wide-windowed rooms are devoted; yet it is not difficult to detect here and there indications of the frame-work of a loom, and of woven substances of different colours. The windows tell their own tale; they throw light upon the labours of the , who, almost without exception, inhabit the houses here spoken of. In some cases, particularly northward of the railway, the upper stories only are lighted by these wide windows; but in glancing southward the eye meets with many clusters of houses, every story of which exhibits the indication of a weaver's home. |
But the of the houses; what of them? Many and many a roof exhibits a piece of apparatus which on steady inspection is seen to be a kind of bird-trap; or else another specimen of mechanism, which, resembling a pigeon-house in appearance, seems to be used as a large cage. Other districts in London are sparingly decked out in a similar way; but so thick are the instances in Spitalfields, that they form of the characteristics of the spot ;--a characteristic expressed in other words by saying that the weavers of Spitalfields and are the most famous bird-catchers in or near London. These men supply the greater part of the singing-birds, such as linnets, woodlarks, gold-finches, greenfinches, and chaffinches, found in London: sometimes spreading their nets in the fields northward of the metropolis; and at other times finding a market for their birds in the eastern part of London. The erections on the roofs of the houses have reference to these bird-fancying, bird-catching propensities of the weavers. | |
On leaving the railway, and the bird's-eye-view which it has afforded us, and traversing the mass of streets which it intersects, the sight presented is not a cheering and pleasing : it tells too largely of misery and wretchedness; of human beings cooped up in narrow streets; and it presents but a slender number of churches and chapels, of squares and open places, of institutions and public buildings, all of which, in various ways and in different degrees, would exercise a humanizing effect. | |
It is not easy to express the general idea respecting Spitalfields as a district. There is a parish of that name, or rather having the name of Christchurch, Spitalfields: but this parish contains a small portion only of the silk-weavers; and it is probable that most persons apply the term Spitalfields to the whole district where the weavers reside. In this enlarged acceptation we will lay down something like a boundary in the following manner:--Begin at Church, and proceed along the till it is intersected by the ; follow the course of the Canal to the Mile-end Road; proceed westward | |
387 | from thence through Whitechapel to ; from through to ; and thence northward to the point whence the tour was commenced. This boundary encloses an irregularly-shaped district, in which nearly the whole of the weavers reside; and as these weavers are universally Known as weavers, the entire district is frequently called Spitalfields, although including large portions of , , Whitechapel, and Mile-end New Town. |
By far the larger portion of this extensive district was open fields until comparatively modern times. was really a green, and Spitalfields, like Goodman's-fields and , were really covered with grassy sward in the last century. But towards the south-west corner of the district in the nook bounded on sides by , , and Whitechapel, are many antiquated buildings, and associations connected with others still more ancient. Some of these have especial reference to the name and the early history of Spitalfields; and to these we must devote a brief notice. | |
is separated into at the part where the gate formerly stood; the southern section having the appellation appended to its name, and to the northern. The continuation of the latter street is called , and at the junction of the is a small street leading eastward into . Let the reader visit this quiet, unobtrusive, irregularly-shaped and look around him. He will see none but sober-looking brick houses; yet .s there much material for thought. He is in the heart of the silk-district of London, the centre from whence that employment springs by which the weavers are supported. A large proportion of the houses in this square are inhabited by silk-manufacturers, who purchase raw and thrown silk from the merchants, and employ throwsters and weavers to bring it into those forms so familiar to all; the humble operatives living for the most part eastward of this spot. By carrying the thoughts back to the middle of the last century, we may view this Square as , nearly surrounded by houses as at present. A farther retrospect of another century presents to our view as an open plot of ground, with a pulpit standing in the north-east corner, and a house near it for the accommodation of the Lord Mayor and Corporation during the preaching of the Spital sermons. A still more remote view exhibits this open area as part of the burial-ground immediately adjacent to the Spital or Priory from which the district takes its name. | |
Passing from towards the north, we enter upon the mass of streets which occupy the space between it and the Railway; and among these , and portions of the adjacent streets, together with the northern side of , point out pretty nearly the spot where the Spital once stood. The erection of this house of charity--for such it appears to have been in many respects--is dated more than centuries back. Stow tells us in his -- Although the institution thus appears to have partaken of a monastic character, yet there are indications, scattered through | |
388 | the writings of our early chroniclers, that provision was made for poor travellers, and persons in sickness or distress. The names of the successive priors have been preserved, as have likewise those of many eminent persons who were buried within its precincts. From time to time wealthy and benevolent citizens presented sums of money to the priory, either in aid of its general funds, or for some special purpose. But the time at length arrived when this-like most other establishments of the kind in England-suffered from the ruthless hand of Henry VIII. In the year the Spital was dissolved; and at its surrender evidence was shown of the good offices to which the revenues had partially, at least, been appropriated: for By the time that Stow wrote, the ground on which the Spital had stood, and which had been given to Stephen Vaughan by Henry VIII., was occupied by When or by whom the priory itself was pulled down does not clearly appear. Bagford, in a letter to Hearne, in Leland's speaks of the priory as being then standing, and--as being strongly built of timber, with a turret at corner. At various periods in the early part of the last century portions of the priory ruins were discovered in or near the houses adjacent to the northern side of , of which houses was occupied by the celebrated Bolingbroke. |
itself, which is so named by a most ingenious misapplication of terms, is nearly coincident with a plot of ground once belonging to the Spital, and devoted to open-air preaching. A pulpit existed there nearly centuries ago, and, according to Mr. Ellis, ( ) stood at the north-east corner of , nearly facing the spot now occupied by Sir George Wheler's Chapel. From this pulpit were originally preached the celebrated sermons known as the , forming out of which were wont to be preached at Easter time, at Paul's Cross, on Good Friday, on the subject of the Crucifixion; on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Easter week, at the Spital pulpit, on the Resurrection; and , a kind of summary of the others, at Paul's Cross, on the Sunday after Easter. Near the south side of the pulpit was a house for the accommodation of the Lord Mayor, the Aldermen, their ladies, and persons of distinction from the court end of the town. A curious display of outward adorning took place on these occasions: for it seems that the city magistrates wore violet robes on the Good Friday, scarlet robes on the Monday and Tuesday, violet again on the Wednesday, and, lastly, scarlet on the following Sunday. The boys of , from the time of its formation, were accustomed to attend the Spital sermons; and did so annually until the pulpit was destroyed in the time of the civil wars. We meet with occasional announcements of distinguished persons having attended to hear these sermons, among whom were, on , the Archbishop of Canterbury and the great Lord Bacon. On such occasions these distinguished persons became the guests of the Lord Mayor for the rest of the day, and were--as we are expressly informed, and may readily believe-- For the subsequent history of | |
389 | the Spital sermons a few words will suffice: from the Restoration to the year they were preached at , and since that time at , . |
The destruction of the Spital pulpit seems to have been soon followed by the erection of houses around the open spot in which it had been placed; and many of these houses, by the cruel and most impolitic persecution of the Protestants by Louis XIV., became after a time the abode of the master silk-manufacturers, driven from home and country by that proscription. Of this persecution and its effects we shall have more to say in a subsequent page: let us then shift the scene, and move a little to the south of . , , , and some others in the immediate vicinity, occupy the site of an old artillery-ground, once known as , where the tasells or teazles used in the cloth manufacture were cultivated. It was afterwards let by the Priory, to whom it belonged, to the cross-bow makers, for exercise in the art of shooting. Through the medium of Henry VIII. the last prior granted a lease of the ground for to the Artillery Company. The was in Stow's time used by the gunners of the Tower, who repaired thither every Thursday to exercise their great artillery against a mound of earth which served as a butt. A century afterwards Pepys narrates:-- The word used here, may be explained by stating that the Artillery Company removed. from Spitalfields to Finsbury in or about the year : so that for many years there were the and the Artillery Grounds. The former, however, ceased to exist in our maps in the early part of the last century, although the street called still remains to point out the locality. | |
It may now not unreasonably be asked, where and what is Spital-fields? We must go farther eastward to arrive at what once was the field of the Spital. A street called , on the western side of , is nearly coincident in position with the eastern wall of the old , and this wall separated the ground from Spitalfields, which stretched out far eastward. Great indeed is the change which this portion of the district has undergone. Rows of small houses, inhabited by weavers and other humble persons, and pent up far too closely for the maintenance of health, now cover the greater part of the green spot once known as Spitalfields. Thanks to the improving spirit of the times, there will ere long be a Victoria Park, to let in a healthy breeze upon the busy world of the east end. This projected park, although somewhat eastward of the district in which the weavers' reside, will be an important improvement to this part of London, and is under the management of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, who obtained an Act, empowering them to purchase, with the proceeds of the sale of York House, a large area of ground near (now occupied principally by fields), for the purpose of converting it into a park. The plot of ground, which is of irregular shape, is a little larger than , and is bounded on the south by Sir George Canal (sometimes called the Lea Union Canal); on the west by the | |
390 | , which here bends southward towards the river; on the cast by Old Ford Lane, leading from Old Ford to Hackney Wick; and on the north by an irregular line of fields. It is intended to build elegant houses at different parts of the boundary to the park, in some degree resembling those of the ; while the interior area will be laid out in shrubberies, grass plats, walks, drives, &c. According to the plans, which we have seen (given in the for ), there will be no ornamental water in the Victoria Park, although in other respects no pains will be spared to render the spot picturesque, healthy, and satisfactory to all. |
In the we find the at the north-east extremity of London, not only fields properly so termed, but quite free from houses on all sides, excepting the few buildings on the site of the Spital. Of the state of this field in Elizabeth's reign Stow writes, A century later, as indicated in the we find the spot still under the name of , but greatly altered in externals. It is represented as a square field, with the on the west, and a boundary of houses nearly surrounding it. There is a small pamphlet in the called which throws a light on , at least, of the purposes to which this field was at that period appropriated. The pamphlet is a kind of satirical account, in verse, of a day's proceedings at Spitalfields about the year . It appears that the populace, having become somewhat chary in their belief in astrologers, conjurors, and mountebanks, were more loth than before to part with their money to such worthies; and the latter, before it was too late, determined A sagacious resolve, but not a successful . The pedlers deck out their stalls with the crier opens the fair, and William Lilly appears, announcing his astrological wares, among which was But no customers appeared, and Lilly made way for Nicholas Culpeper, contemptuously termed the who, He entreated the spectators to buy, urging them to But in vain; he departed, and made way for Bowker, and who announced certain secrets relating to the zodiac, &c.; with what success the last lines inform us:--
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If we pass over the interval of another generation or , we find the or the small streets which had by that time Sprung up around them, the abode of a new race--a new knot of persons--who have ever since formed the most characteristic dwellers in the vicinity. Louis XIV. little thought that he was laying the groundwork for the establishment of the silk-manufacture in England when he drove his Protestant subjects from France at the point of the bayonet: there is something like a moral retribution in the result, which furnishes a lesson not wholly unprofitable. In order to understand the effect of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in giving a spur to manufacture in England, and laying a foundation for the present system of operations in Spitalfields, it will be necessary to glance at the previous state of things in relation to the silk-trade. | |
It seems to have been about the century that a large quantity of silk goods (then a rarity in Europe) made their appearance in England. The novelty and splendour of the article seem to have excited general interest among our nobility; but the only means we have of knowing that the manufacture was commenced within a century afterwards in this country, is afforded by an Act of Parliament passed in the year , in which certain restrictions were passed upon the merchants, shopkeepers, and artificers, as to the mode in which they should carry on their avocations, but with exceptions in favour of From this time forward there appears to have been females designated employed in leaving small silk wares, such as ribbons, &c.; and for the protection of this class a law was passed in prohibiting, for the period of years, the importation of foreign articles similar to those which were made by the silk-women of London. We have not been able to ascertain whether these silk-women inhabited any particular part of London; but it is quite certain that the districts now known as Spitalfields and were at that time entirely in the country, and almost free from houses. | |
In a further protection was given to home manufacture by the prohibition of imported articles; among which are enumerated At various times these restrictions were removed, a step which invariably led to the distress of the English silk-women: from which we may infer that the home manufacture, either in cheapness or quality, or both, was inferior to the foreign. There is evidence that down to the year , and even later, the silk goods manufactured in England were small wares: for by an act of , while it is made unlawful to import any persons are permitted to import silk in other forms, whether manufactured or not. It was, indeed, more than a century after this that the manufacture of (lustrings, satins, velvets, &c.) commenced in England. James I., after having in vain attempted to introduce silk-worms into this country, was more successful in advancing the manufacture: for, by affording some encouragement to Mr. Burlamach, a merchant of London, he induced some silk-throwsters, silk-dyers, and broad weavers to come to this country. A beginning being thus made in the manufacture of raw silk into broad silk fabrics, the workmen increased so rapidly, that, by the year , the silk-throwsters of London formed a body of sufficient importance to be incorporated. | |
392 | |
Several Acts of Parliament were past during the reign of Charles I., having reference to the silk manufacture. in related to certain nefarious practices in the dyeing of silk, with precautions for its amendment; another, in , laid down rules as to the dye materials which should be employed; a enacted that the Weavers' Company ( of the oldest of the City Companies, established when the woollen manufacture formed the staple of English industry) were empowered to admit into their body a certain number of broad-silk weavers, provided the latter were By the year the Company of silk-throwsters in London are said to have employed about men, women, and children; [n.392.1] and an enactment was at the same time made, that no should set up in that trade without serving an apprenticeship of years, and becoming free of the Throwsters' Company. | |
We now arrive at that period when the silk manufacture in England received its most marked change. The sad and dismal tale of the persecution of the Huguenots in France we are not called upon to narrate here: suffice it to say, that the Edict of Nantes, made by Henry IV., in , in favour of the French Protestants, was revoked by Louis XIV. in , and that the revocation was followed by the expatriation of vast numbers of that ill-judging monarch's best subjects, the number being variously estimated at from to a million. Of these a considerable portion came to England, and those who made London their place of refuge are spoken of by Stow with equal good feeling and good sense. (Stepney, to which Spitalfields then belonged,) It appears that in the year no fewer than of the refugees were sheltered and relieved in London alone, of whom there were about families of the nobility, lawyers, divines, physicians, and merchants, and the rest artizans and husbandmen. was collected for them in year; and years afterwards Charles II. ordered that all such Protestant refugees should be allowed to come to any port of England with their goods and chattels free of duty; that they should receive letters of denization without charge; that an act should be passed for their naturalization; that they should have liberty to pursue their several avocations; and that they should have equal privileges with British natives. | |
The silk manufacture at Spitalfields, having received an extraordinary impulse from this occurrence, began to acquire considerable importance. The refugees introduced the weaving of the various silk fabrics then known by the names of | |
393 | lustrings, alamodes, brocades, satins, black and coloured mantuas, black paduasoys, ducapes, watered tabbies, and black velvets; but no sooner had the strangers made a firm footing in England, than, like their predecessors, they cried out for protection, and under the name of the Royal Lustring Company obtained an Act, prohibiting the importation of foreign lustrings and alamodes. The was however defeated--not by Acts of Parliament or foreign competition-but by a change of fashion, which drove lustrings and alamodes out of the markets. In the silk manufacture underwent an important change through the labours of Sir Thomas Lombe, who introduced from Italy the process of organzining (or preparing for the weaver) raw silk by machinery, and who received from Parliament a reward of for his ingenuity. |
We cannot follow the history of the silk manufacture throughout England: it will be sufficient to say that in Spitalfields it advanced with great rapidity. The Weavers' Company of London, in a petition which they presented to the in , stated, that, owing to the encouragement afforded by the Crown and by divers Acts of Parliament, the silk manufacture at that time was times greater in amount than in the year ; that all sorts of black and coloured silks, gold and silver stuffs, and ribbons, were made here as good as those of French fabric; and that black silk for hoods and scarfs, which years before was all imported, was now made here to the annual value of more than [n.393.1] When Lombe's machine became used in England, it was confidently expected that the manufacture might be carried on wholly in this country, receiving from abroad nothing but the raw silk: it was found, however, that the importation of Italian organzined silk was indispensably necessary for the in the weaving process. To understand this, it will be necessary to glance at a few details relating to the manufacture. Most silk goods, like those of cotton, have obviously threads crossing each other at right angles and interlacing; and the same may be said of velvets and of woollen cloths, although the subsequent production of a or nearly conceals the threads. Those threads which extend lengthwise of the woven fabric are called the or , while the cross-threads are termed the or . Employing the terms and , we may now state that in weaving silk these are made of different kinds of threads, the warp being formed of threads termed , and the shoot by other threads called . The raw silk is imported from Italy, India, China, and a few other countries, in the form of skeins, and must pass through the hands of the before the weaver is employed upon it. The throwster, by means of a machine, twists the silk into a slight kind of thread known as and these singles are combined to form tram or organzine. Tram is formed of or threads of silk lightly twisted together; but organzine is the result of a larger series of operations, which may be thus enumerated :the raw silk is unwound from the skeins, and rewound upon bobbins; the silk so wound is sorted into different qualities; each individual thread is then spun, twisted or or more of these spun threads are brought together upon fresh bobbins; and finally these combined threads are twisted to form organzine. The whole of these operations are included in the general term and are entirely | |
394 | distinct from the weaving: nearly all the Spitalfields population engaged in the silk manufacture are ; the throwsters being spread over various parts of the country, and working in large factories known as silk-mills. The reader will understand, therefore, that when the weavers are stated to have preferred Italian organzine, even after the introduction of Lombe's machine, the preference relates to some particular quality in the Italian production, which fitted it to form the warp or of silk goods, the shoot or being sufficiently well made in England. This preference is said to exist even at the present day, notwithstanding the advance of English ingenuity; and Mr. Porter suggests, as a probable explanation of the alleged inferiority of English thrown silk,
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During the reigns of Anne, George I., and George II., the Spitalfields' weavers appear to have increased in number, and to have been employed in various qualities of silk goods, principally those known as but nevertheless, whether through any superiority in foreign manufacture, or through the influence of fashion, French silks continued to find their way into England, either by smuggling or by open trade, according to the state of the import laws. The English weavers then began to clamour for on the foreign articles; but as the legislature did not seem disposed to grant the request, the weavers became more importunate, and went to the on , with to demand the of foreign silks. With this, of course, the legislature could not comply; but acts were passed, lowering the import duty on raw silk, and prohibiting the importation of silk ribbons, stockings, and gloves. The next year more demands were made, and to some extent granted, to prevent threatened outrage. | |
The celebrated had their origin in disputes between the masters and men in regard to wages. The yielding of the legislature to the demands of the men had so emboldened them, that they took summary measures to compel an advance of wages from their employers, destroying the looms and the houses of those masters who refused to comply with the demands. To settle these disputes, an act was passed in , empowering the aldermen of London and the magistrates of Middlesex to regulate, at the quarter sessions, the wages of journeymen silk-weavers, penalties being inflicted upon such masters as gave, and upon such journeymen as received or demanded, either more or less than should be thus settled by authority, and prohibiting any silk-weaver from having more than apprentices at time. In this act was made to include | |
395 | those weavers who worked upon silk mixed with other materials; and in the female weavers were brought under this regulation. These enactments constituted the which continued in Force till . In the present day, when the principles which regulate trade and.commercial dealings are so much better understood than in the last century, the impolicy of such acts is very manifest. They were passed to get rid of an evil, but they originated an evil of a different kind: they were intended to protect both masters and men from unjust exactions on either part; but they imposed such restrictions on the mode of conducting the trade as drove many branches of the silk manufacture altogether from Spitalfields. A petition, which was presented to the on , had so much effect in bringing about the repeal of the Spitalfields Acts, that we will extract from it a few passages showing the operation of these enactments. The aldermen and magistrates, up to that time, had the power of The petitioners stated that In consequence of an order from the magistrates that silk made by machinery should be paid for at the same rate as that made by hand, few improvements could be introduced; and Mr. Huskisson and Mr. Ricardo warmly supported the prayer of the petition for the repeal of the obnoxious acts, which accordingly took place in the following year. This circumstance, taken in conjunction with the introduction of the Jacquard loom,[n.395.1] (by which figured silks can be made with much more facility than under the old method,) has placed the manufacture on a more healthy footing. |
The mode of conducting the transactions between employer and employed in the silk manufacture deserves a passing notice, as giving rise to many of the peculiarities observable in the Spitalfields population. We have said that silk-throwing is effected in mills conducted on the factory system; but silk-weaving in Spitalfields partakes of a different character. The manufacturer who procures his thrown and either from the throwster or from the silk importers, selects the silk necessary to execute any particular order. The weaver goes to the house or shop of his employer and receives a certain quantity of the material, the being generally wound on bobbins, and the in the form of what is called a (derived from the French word , and so called from the silk being taken off the warping-mill in loops or links): this cane or warp varies from to yards in length. The weaver takes the material home to his own dwelling and weaves it at his own looms, or sometimes at looms supplied by the manufacturer. He is paid a certain rate per ell for his labour; but, as the weavers are not remarkable for provident habits, even | |
396 | in the best of times, they are accustomed to money on account while the work is in progress, and to receive the remainder when the woven material and overplus material are returned to the manufacturer. |
The customary arrangement of a weaver's family, in regard to work, are thus described by Dr. Kay, in a Report to the Poor Law Commissioners, in :-- In the Evidence taken before a Committee of the on the Silk-trade in -, it was stated that the population of the districts in which the Spitalfields weavers resided, comprising Spitalfields, Mile End New Town, and , could not be less at that time than , of whom were entirely dependent on the silk manufacture, and the remaining moiety more or less dependent indirectly. The number of looms seems to vary from about to ; and of these or are often unemployed in times of depression. As there are on an average, children included, about thrice as many workpeople as there are looms, it results that or weavers are sometimes out of employ at period.. | |
The vast body of weavers spoken of in the last paragraph are to be found principally in the district marked out in an earlier page; and the poverty of this district has been increased by the location of a large number of dock-porters, labourers, and others in a humble station of life. This latter circumstance has given great complication to the arrangements of certain well-meant but injudiciously bestowed charities in the district. On account of the fluctuations in fashion, of impolitic enactments, and of unthrifty habits on the part of the weavers, they have been much subject to distress, and large funds have been almost yearly subscribed for their relief. These funds, although intended for the weavers, have not always been confined to them, so that as Dr. Kay has remarked, Such a plan would, if persisted in, obviously create paupers instead of removing them. The recommendations of Dr. Kay, as to the most legitimate mode of relief in case of future distress, we shall not enter upon here. | |
It seems probable, as far as the means exist of determining it, that the weavers | |
397 | are principally English, and of English origin. To the manufacturers or masters, however, the same remark does not apply, for the names of the different parts of the weaving apparatus, and those of the partners in many of the firms now existing, point to the French origin of the manufacture in that district, however subsequent events may have produced an amalgamation. The Guillebauds and the Desormeaux, the Chabots and the Turquands, the Mercerons and the Chauvets, can doubtless trace their connexion with the harassed and persecuted refugees of . |
We have said that a characteristic employment or amusement of the Spitalfields weavers is the catching of birds. This is carried on principally in the months of March and October, and by the means of a kind of apparatus totally unknown in most other parts of the country. They train in a most peculiar manner, and conduct the whole, of their operations in a very original way. There is an odd sort of emulation among them as to which of their birds will sing or the longest. If we have, on the hand, to record unthrifty habits and odd propensities on the part of the weavers, let us not forget to do them justice in other matters. A Mathematical Society has long existed in Spitalfields, the members of which include many of the weavers. In passing through , adjoining , we see on the western side of the way a humble building, bearing much the appearance of a weaver's house, and having the words written up in front. Lowly and inelegant the building may be; but there is a pleasure in seeing Science rearing her head in such a locality, even if the temple be a humble . It must also be mentioned, to the credit of the weavers, that they are very ready to exhibit and explain their operations to strangers. Mr. Porter speaks of and he gives the following picture of a Jacquard-weaver's family which he happened to visit:--
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It is evident that Mr. Porter has here sketched a family placed under very favourable circumstances, in which the work was of a good kind, and plentiful enough to employ all. It would be pleasing to think that such were the average state of things; but this pleasure is denied. The homes, the amount of employment, and the general circumstances of the weavers are, now at least, of a far lower grade, as will be seen from the following brief sketch, which illustrates what we believe to be the average condition of the humbler but numerous class of weavers in a season of low wages and bare employment. In passing through the districts inhabited by the weavers, with an endeavour to view the processes of the manufacture, our inquiries were too often met by the sad reply- but at house, situated near the northern side of the Railway, we mounted a dark staircase to the upper floor or room, occupied by an elderly weaver and his wife. The room formed the entire upper story, and | |
399 | was approached, not by a door, but by a trap in the floor, opening a communication with the stairs beneath. At each end of the rooms front and back, were windows, of that peculiar form so characteristic of the district, and which are made very wide in order to admit light to all parts of the looms placed adjacent to them. At each window was a loom, the husband being at work at , and the wife at the other. Near the looms were a sort of spinning-wheel, at which the or threads are wound upon the quills for using in the shuttles. In the middle of the room was a stump-bedstead, covered with its humble, but clean, quilt; and near it--some on the floor, some on shelves, and some hanging on the walls of the room-were various miscellaneous articles of domestic. furniture (for the room served as parlour, kitchen, bed-room, workshop, and all). A few pictures, a few plants, and or singing-birds, formed the poetical furniture of the room. The man was weaving a piece of black satin, and the woman a piece of blue; and, in reply to inquiries on the subject, we learned that they were to be paid for their labour at the rates of sixpence and fourpence halfpenny per yard respectively, which, at close work, would yield about or a-week each. The man was short in stature (as most of the Spitalfields' weavers are), grey-headed, depressed in spirits, but intelligent and communicative. When, after descending from this room, we looked around at the mass of weavers' houses in the vicinity, we could not but feel that most of them bore a saddening similarity to that which we had entered. |
A ramble through and Mile-end New Town, in which the weavers principally reside, presents us with many curious features illustrative either of the peculiarities or of the poverty of the district. We must leave Spitalfields, strictly so called, altogether to the west, in order to witness the scenes to which we allude. We will suppose, for instance, that the visitor enters from , and proceeds through to . Here he will find some of the usual arrangements of a vegetable market, but potatoes, sold by wholesale, form the staple commodity. He thence proceeds eastward to Spitalfields Church, of the built in the reign of Queen Anne; and along to . If he proceed northward up the latter, he will arrive, , at the vast premises of Truman, Hanbury and Buxton's brewery, and then at the Eastern Counties Railroad, which crosses the street at a considerable elevation; if he extends his steps eastward, he will at once enter upon the districts inhabited by the weavers. On passing through most of the streets in this district a visitor from other parts of the town is conscious of a noiselessness, a dearth of bustle and activity. The clack of the looms is heard here and there, but not to a noisy degree. It is evident at a glance that in many of the streets all the houses were built expressly for weavers; and in walking through them we noticed the short and not very healthy appearance of the inhabitants. It was rather painful than pleasurable to remark the large number of
&c. whose announcements are posted about the streets; for it is well known to those who have studied these subjects that the poor generally pay ruinous interest for any aid which, as generally managed, they receive from societies of this kind. Here and there we met with bills announcing that coals were to be had at a certain place during the cold weather; and at some of the bakers' shops were announcements that in allusion to tickets given by a Benevolent Association. In street we met with a barber's shop, at which, in addition to the operations usually conducted at such places, persons could have and in another street a flaming placard announced that at a certain public-house the advertiser would attend every evening, to match his bird against any linnet or goldfinch in the world, for Here we espied a school, at which children were there a chandler's shop, in which shuttles, reeds, quills, and the smaller parts of weaving apparatus were exposed for sale in the window in company with split-pease, bundles Eof wood, and red-herrings. At another place was a bill, emanating from the parish authorities, warning the inhabitants that they were liable to a penalty if their dwellings were kept dirty and unwholesome. In little shop, was sold at and in another--which we regretted more than anything else-astrological predictions, interpretations of dreams, and nativities, were to be purchased, as also extracts from for the last years. In very many of the houses the windows numbered more sheets of paper than panes of glass; and no inconsiderable number of houses were shut up altogether.-We would willingly present a brighter picture, but ours is a Dutch copy from the life. | |
Footnotes: [n.392.1] A gentleman, recently a partner in an eminent silk firm, informs us that this must be a gross exaggeration. [n.393.1] Mr. G. R. Porter's Treatise on the Silk Manufacture. [n.395.1] We may here remark that at the present time, according to a statement in the Penny Magazine, vol. x. p. 478, the better class of Spitalfields weavers are engaged in fabricating a piece of silk, by the aid of the Jacquard loom, which will eclipse, not only everything that has yet been done in this country, but even the finest production of the Lyonnese weavers, among whom the art has attained great excellence. The design is an elaborate allegorical picture, all the minute details of which will be produced by weaving. [] Encyc. Metrop., Bird-Catching. |
