The engine cleaner
ž Queen Victoria died over 100 years ago but we still use the houses they made then and other buildings they put up
ž The Victorian era was the golden age of steam
ž A massive army of workers built the railways which grew from 100 miles of track to 22000 miles
ž The worst job on the railway was the engine cleaner. He had to get inside the firebox and shovel out all the remaining coal and then clean out the ash-pan
Navies
ž Road building in Victorian times was made by navies. 1 quarter of a million of them built the back bone of Victorian Britain: the canals, roads, docs and the railways
ž Navies lived in shanty towns on the job on a ration of a gallon of beer and 2 pounds of meat a day and their job was to dig
ž They had to dig with a shovel, a pick, a wheelbarrow and a couple of wooden planks
ž To get to the top of the hill they were helped by a horse and a couple of ropes. Every day they had to shift 20 tonnes of earth
ž Ann Paul sad that it was said that ”every mile of track claimed a life”
ž After digging, navies had to pack the ballast to get good drains on the track. Each navie had to shift 20 tonnes of ballast every day
ž Digging out tunnels was the worst job of the railways. Hundreds of men worked in candle light 12 hour days with a norm
ž If you were injured it was an unimaginable torture only to be taken to the nearest hospital
Farmer
ž In 1870’s 92 thousand farm workers left the countryside and moved to towns in search of work
ž For the farmers which remained behind, the jobs were left to those who came cheapest, mostly kids.
ž Children would have done many jobs: carrying, meaning jobs, getting water for pigs, wood for fire or running around to scare the crows
ž Most of the kids were skinny and under nourished
ž Many of them were beaten and some of them drugged to ease their pain so they could work for longer hours
ž Children would have done many jobs: carrying, meaning jobs, getting water for pigs, wood for fire or running around to scare the crows
ž Most of the kids were skinny and under nourished
ž Many of them were beaten and some of them drugged to ease their pain so they could work for longer hours
Herring caller
ž A herring caller was a person who watched the sea and when he spotted a flock of gulls flying low over the water he shouted “Herring” and villagers went to catch them.
Rat catcher
ž In overcrowded towns washing and toilet facilities were very poor
ž In one building a rat catcher caught 700 rats
ž The rats could be caught and sold to publicans
ž Rat catchers used to make their own rat poison but the worst job was to catch them alive, by hand
ž They used to catch terrible infections because of the rats
ž Rat catchers attracted the rats by rubbing a mixture of sweet smelling oils on their hands
