How the Mid-Victorians Worked, Ate, and Died

Read this article about the state of public health in the Mid-Victorian era in England. Consider its arguments against what we know of people's lifestyles during those times. What accounts for any differences in the accounts?

References and Notes

  1. Clayton, P; Rowbotham, J. An unsuitable and degraded diet? Part 1: Public health lessons from the mid-Victorian working class diet. J. Roy. Soc. Med 2008, 101, 282–289. [Google Scholar]
  2. Clayton, P; Rowbotham, J. An unsuitable and degraded diet? Part 2. Realities of the mid-Victorian diet. J. Roy. Soc. Med 2008, 101, 350–357.
  3. Clayton, P; Rowbotham, J. An unsuitable and degraded diet? Part 3. Victorian consumption patterns and their health benefits. J. Roy. Soc. Med 2008, 101, 454–462. [Google Scholar]
  4. Hunt, T. Building Jerusalem. The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City; Weidenfeld and Nicholson: London, UK, 2004; Part 1.
  5. Wohl, AS. The Eternal Slum: Housing and Social Policy in Victorian London; Transaction Books: London, UK, 2001. [Google Scholar]
  6. Hunt, T. Building Jerusalem. The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City; Weidenfeld and Nicholson: London, UK, 2004; Chapter 7.
  7. Wohl, AS. Endangered Lives Public Health in Victorian Britain; Dent and Sons: London, UK, 1983.
  8. McKeown, T. Reasons for the Decline in Mortality in England and Wales in the Nineteenth Century. Pop. Stud 1962, 16, 94–122.
  9. The Golden Age. Essays in British Social and Economic History 1850–1870; Inkster, I; Hill, J; Griffin, C; Rowbotham, J (Eds.) Ashgate: Aldershot, UK, 2000.
  10. Overton, M. Agricultural Revolution in England: The Transformation of the Agrarian Economy 1500–1850; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1996.
  11. Overton, M. Agricultural Revolution in England: The Transformation of the Agrarian Economy 1500–1850; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1996; pp. 2–10.
  12. Daunton, M. Wealth and Welfare: An Economic and Social History of Britain 1851–1951; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2007.
  13. Bressey, C. Down But Not Out; The Politics of the East End Poor and Those Who Investigated Their Lives. J. Urban Hist 2008, 34, 688–694.
  14. Burnett, J. A Social History of Housing 1815–1985; Routledge: London, UK, 1986; Part II, Chapters 6 and 7.
  15. Carlyle, T. Chartism; James Fraser: London, UK, 1840.
  16. Mrs, Gaskell. North and South; Smith, Elder and Co.: London, UK, 1855.
  17. Daunton, M. Wealth and Welfare: An Economic and Social History of Britain 1851–1951; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2007; pp. 5–9.
  18. Pickering, P; Tyrell, A. The People's Bread The History of the Anti-Corn Law League; Leicester University Press: London, UK, 2000.
  19. Crafts, N; Harley, C. Output growth and the British industrial revolution: a restatement of the Crafts-Harley view. Econ. Hist. Rev 2008, 45, 704–730.
  20. Auerbach, J; Hoffenberg, P. Britain, the Empire, and the World at the Great Exhibition of 1851; Ashgate: Aldershot, UK, 2008.
  21. Kellett, J. The Impact of Railways on Victorian Cities; Routledge and Kegan Paul: London, UK, 1969.
  22. Burnett, J. Plenty and Want A Social History of Food in England from 1815 to the Present Day; Routledge: London, UK, 1989; Part II. [Google Scholar]
  23. Mayhew, H. London Labour and the London Poor; 1861; 4 volumes; Penguin: Harmondsworth, UK, 1985; p. 1. Chapters 1–7.
  24. The Health of Adult Britain 1841–1994; Volume 2, Charlton, J; Murphy, M (Eds.) National Statistics: London, UK, 2004.
  25. Burnett, J. Plenty and Want A Social History of Food in England from 1815 to the Present Day; Routledge: London, UK, 1989; Chapter 10.
  26. The Origins and Development of Food Policies in Europe; Leicester Burnett, J; Oddy, D (Eds.) University Press: London, UK, 1994.
  27. Coleman, T. The Railway Navvies; Pelican: London, UK, 1968.
  28. Rowntree, BS. Poverty. A Study of Town Life; Centennial Edition, Policy Press: London, UK, 2001.
  29. Garrow, J. Editorial. BMJ 1994, 308, 934.
  30. Floud, R; Wachter, K; Gregory, A. Height, Health and History: Nutritional Status in the United Kingdom, 1750–1980; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1993.
  31. Colquhoun, A; Lyon, P; Alexander, E. Feeding minds and bodies: the Edwardian context of school meals. J. Nutrit. Health Sci 2001, 31, 117–125.
  32. McKeown, T. The Modern Rise of Population; Edward Arnold: London, UK, 1976.
  33. McNay, K; Humphries, J; Klasen, S. Death and Gender in Victorian England and Wales: Comparisons with Contemporary Developing Countries. In Cambridge Working Papers in Economics; University of Cambridge: Cambridge, UK, 1998.
  34. Joyce, M. The Right to Live: health, democracy and inequality.
  35. Harris, B. Gender, health and welfare in England and Wales since industrialisation. Res. Econ. Hist 2008, 26, 157–204.
  36. Roberts, E. A Woman's Place; Blackwell: Oxford, UK, 1984.
  37. Ross, E. Love and Toil Motherhood in Outcast London 1870–1918; Oxford University Press: London, UK, 2002.
  38. Colgrove, J. The McKeown Thesis: A Historical Controversy and Its Enduring Influence. Am. J. Public Health 2002, 92, 725–729. [Google Scholar]
  39. Steadman Jones, G. Outcast London A study in the relationship between classes in Victorian Society; Penguin: London, UK, 1984.
  40. 8thReport of the Medical Officer of the Privy Council, 1865, Parliamentary Papers, XXXIII, 1866.
  41. Mayhew, H. London Labour and the London Poor; 1861; Volume 4, Penguin: Harmondsworth, UK, 1985; p. 1.
  42. Kirton, J. Buy Your Own Cherries; Jarrold and Sons: Norwich, UK, 1862.
  43. Plain Cookery Recipes; Nelson: London, UK, 1875.
  44. Halvorsen, BL; Holte, K; Myhrstad, MC; Barikmo, I; Hvattum, E; Remberg, SF; Wold, AB; Haffner, K; Baugerød, H; Andersen, LF; Moskaug, Ø; Jacobs, DR, Jr; Blomhoff, RA. Systematic screening of total antioxidants in dietary plants. J. Nutr 2002, 132, 461–471.
  45. Walton, JK. Fish and Chips and the British Working Class, 1870–1940; Leicester University Press: London, UK, 1992.
  46. Wigglesworth, E. The Brewers and Licensed Victuallers Guide; Green and Co.: Leeds, UK, 1849.
  47. Newsholme, A; Scott, M. Domestic Economy; Swann Sonnenschein: London, UK, 1892.
  48. Wood, H. Danesbury House; Scottish Temperance League; Edinburgh, UK, 1860; pp. 112–156.
  49. Harrison, B. Drink and the Victorians: The Temperance Question in England, 1815–1872, 2nd Ed ed; Keele University Press: Edinburgh, UK, 1994.
  50. Berridge, V. Current and future alcohol policy: the relevance of history, CCBH; History and Policy: London, UK, February 2006.
  51. Hilton, M. Smoking in British popular culture 1800–2000; Manchester University Press: Manchester, UK, 2000.
  52. Brixius, K; Willms, S; Napp, A; Tossios, P; Ladage, D; Bloch, W; Mehlhorn, U; Schwinger, RH. Crataegus special extract WS 1442 induces an endothelium-dependent, NO-mediated vasorelaxation via eNOS-phosphorylation at serine 1177. Cardiovasc. Drug. Therapy 2006, 20, 177–184.
  53. Asgary, S; Naderi, GH; Sadeghi, M; Kelishadi, R; Amiri, M. Antihypertensive effect of Iranian Crataegus curvisepala Lind.: a randomized, double-blind study. Drug. Exp. Clin. Res 2004, 30, 221–225.
  54. Kim, SH; Kang, KW; Kim, KW; Kim, ND. Procyanidins in crataegus extract evoke endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation in rat aorta. Life Sci 2000, 67, 121–131.
  55. Veveris, M; Koch, E; Chatterjee, SS. Crataegus special extract WS 1442 improves cardiac function and reduces infarct size in a rat model of prolonged coronary ischemia and reperfusion. Life Sci 2004, 74, 1945–1955.
  56. Walker, AF; Marakis, G; Simpson, E; Hope, JL; Robinson, PA; Hassanein, M; Simpson, HC. Hypotensive effects of hawthorn for patients with diabetes taking prescription drugs: a randomised controlled trial. Br. J. Gen. Pract 2006, 56, 437–443.
  57. Xie, ML; Mao, CP; Gu, ZL; Chen, KJ; Zhou, WX; Guo, CY. Effects of xiaoyu tablet on endothelin-1, nitric oxide, and apoptotic cells of atherosclerotic vessel wall in rabbits. Acta Pharmacol. Sin 2002, 23, 597–600. [Google Scholar]
  58. Eguale, T; Tilahun, G; Debella, A; Feleke, A; Makonnen, E. In vitro and in vivo anthelmintic activity of crude extracts of Coriandrum sativum against Haemonchus contortus. J. Ethnopharmacol 2007, 110, 428–433.
  59. McCance, RA; Widdowson, EM. The Composition of Foods, 6th Ed ed; Food Standards Agency: London, UK, 2006.
  60. O'Keefe, JH, Jr; Cordain, L. Cardiovascular disease resulting from a diet and lifestyle at odds with our Paleolithic genome: how to become a 21st-century hunter-gatherer. Mayo. Clin. Proc 2004, 79, 101–108.
  61. Harrison, B. Drink and the Victorians: The Temperance Question in England, 1815–1872, 2nd Ed ed; Keele University Press: Edinburgh, UK, 1994.
  62. Berridge, V. Current and future alcohol policy: the relevance of history, CCBH; History and Policy: London, UK, February 2006.
  63. Swift, R. 'Behaving Badly: Irish Migrants and Crime in the Victorian City'. In Criminal Conversations: Victorian Crimes, Social Panic and Moral Outrage; Rowbotham, J, Stevenson, K, Eds.; Ohio University Press: Edinburgh, UK, 2005.
  64. Williams, R. The pervading influence of alcoholic liver disease in hepatology. Alcohol Alcoholism 2008, 43, 393–397.
  65. Smith, EB. The People's Health; Croom Helm: London, UK, 1979.
  66. Woods, R. The Demography of Victorian England and Wales; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2000.
  67. Burns, A. Observations on some of the most frequent and important diseases of the heart; on aneurism of the thoracic aorta; on preternatural pulsation in the epigastric region; and on the unusual origin and distribution of some of the large arteries of the human body; Bryce: Edinburgh, UK, 1809.
  68. Heberden, W. Some Account of a Disorder of the Breast. Presented to the Royal College of Physicians, London, 1768, and published in Medical Transactions; Royal College of Physicians: London, UK, 1772; pp. 59–67.
  69. Morgagni, GB. De sedibus et causis morborum per anatomen indagatis libri quinque; Remondini: Venice, Italy, 1761.
  70. Virchow, R. Die Cellularepathologie in ihrer begrundung auf physiologische and pathologische Gewebelehre; Hischwald: Berlin, Prussia, Germany, 1858.
  71. Hyde Salter, H. On the treatment of asthma by belladonna. The Lancet 1869, 152–153.
  72. Paget, J. On the average duration of life in patients with scirrhous cancer of the breast. Lancet 1856, 1, 62–63.
  73. USDA2. Food and Nutrient Intakes by Individuals in the United States, by Sex and Age, 1994–1996. In Nationwide Food Surveys Report; US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: Washington DC, US; No. 96-2, 1998.
  74. USDA1. The Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and the Diet and Health Knowledge Survey; US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Food Survey Research Group: Washington DC, US; pp. 1994–1996. CD-Rom data.
  75. Gregory, J; Collins, D; Davies, P; Hughes, J; Clarke, P. National Diet and Nutrition Survey; HMSO: London, UK, 2000. [Google Scholar]
  76. The cost of disease-related malnutrition in the UK: considerations for the use of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) in adults; Elia, M; Stratton, R; Russell, C; Green, C; Pan, F (Eds.) British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition: Redditch, UK, 2005.
  77. Bardia, A; Tleyjeh, IM; Cerhan, JR; Sood, AK; Limburg, PJ; Erwin, PJ; Montori, VM. Efficacy of antioxidant supplementation in reducing primary cancer incidence and mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. Mayo Clin. Proc 2008, 83, 23–34.
  78. Dennett, DC. Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2005; p. 178. [Google Scholar]
  79. Clayton, P. Pharmageddon: The Limits to Pharmacutical Medicine – and What Lies Beyond; Royal Society of Medicine Press: London, UK, June 2009.
  80. Carbonaro, M; Mattera, M; Nicoli, S; Bergamo, P; Cappelloni, M. Modulation of antioxidant compounds in organic vs conventional fruit (peach, Prunus persica L., and pear, Pyrus communis L.). J. Agr. Food Chem 2002, 50, 5458–5462.
  81. Dani, C; Oliboni, LS; Vanderlinde, R; Bonatto, D; Salvador, M; Henriques, JA. Phenolic content and antioxidant activities of white and purple juices manufactured with organically- or conventionally-produced grapes. Food Chem. Toxicol 2007, 45, 2574–2580.
  82. Pérez-López, AJ; López-Nicolas, JM; Núñez-Delicado, E; Del Amor, FM; Carbonell-Barrachina, AA. Effects of agricultural practices on color, carotenoids composition, and minerals contents of sweet peppers, cv. Almuden. J. Agric. Food Chem 2007, 55, 8158–8164.
  83. Gill, C. Personal communication, 2008.
  84. Lester, GE; Manthey, JA; Buslig, BS. Organic vs conventionally grown Rio Red whole grapefruit and juice: comparison of production inputs, market quality, consumer acceptance, and human health-bioactive compounds. J. Agric. Food Chem 2007, 55, 4474–4480.
  85. Halvorsen, BL; Holte, K; Myhrstad, MC; Barikmo, I; Hvattum, E; Remberg, SF; Wold, AB; Haffner, K; Baugerød, H; Andersen, LF; Moskaug, Ø; Jacobs, DR, Jr; Blomhoff, R. A systematic screening of total antioxidants in dietary plants. J. Nutr 2002, 132, 461–471. [Google Scholar]
  86. Ornish, D; Magbanua, MJ; Weidner, G; Weinberg, V; Kemp, C; Green, C; Mattie, MD; Marlin, R; Simko, J; Shinohara, K; Haqq, CM; Carroll, PR. Changes in prostate gene expression in men undergoing an intensive nutrition and lifestyle intervention. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2008, 105, 8369–8374.
  87. Traka, M; Gaspar, AV; Melchini, A; Bacon, JR; Needs, PW; Frost, V; Chantry, A; Jones, AME; Ortori, CA; Barrett, DA; Ball, RY; Mills, RD; Mithen, RF. Broccoli Consumption Interacts with GSTM1 to Perturb Oncogenic Signalling Pathways in the Prostate. PLoS ONE 2008, 3, e2568.
  88. Ames, BN; Elson-Schwab, I; Silver, EA. High-dose vitamin therapy stimulates variant enzymes with decreased coenzyme binding affinity (increased K(m)): relevance to genetic disease and polymorphisms. Am. J. Clin. Nutr 2002, 75, 616–658.

    Image of eight workmen standing with shovels in at the Murston brickfields

    Figure 1. 'Moulders' at the Murston brickfields. The 'moulders' shaped clay into bricks, each man making close on 1,000 every hour for an 8½ hour day and a 58 hour week. One brickie is on record as having made 986,091 bricks between April and September.



    Figure 2. Causes of Death in England and Wales: 1880 and 1997. Reprinted from Charlton [24], vol. 2, p. 9.