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Funny you should post this. I was reading a book last night 'The Good Old Days' by Gilda O'Neill. There is a description there of Brick Lane where many of my ancestors lived at various times:
"It is now night, and we are in the neighbourhood of Brick Lane. Let us look at the public houses hereabouts, and observe what is going on within and without their walls. They are frequented by the depraved, dissolute and the drunken. The male habituees are very bad, but the female are even worse. Drunkard after drunkard staggers in at the doorway, and is freely supplied with drink. Outside the scenes are revolting in the extreme. Men in a ferocious stage of intoxication, quarrel, fight and kick, and frenzied women fall upon each other, tearing out hair, scratching and spitting and even inflicting wounds with their teeth. Verily this is a land flowing with beer and blood. The public houses account for the long list of night charges the magistrate has to deal with on Monday morning. Whereas on ordinary mornings the number is around 20, on Mondays it is 60 to 80. They are all of one discription in as much as the offences arise from drink'
At first I was shocked, but then started thinking a bit deeper. You have to examine the sources for these. This one was a Q.C. Montagu Williams, on a night out in the East End.
In other words usually these were posh or middle class interlopers, moral crusaders, actively seeking out the worse and the shocking to arouse their moral indignation...sometimes through religious zeal, sometimes through a genuine desire towards philanthrophy or sometimes just plain voyeurism. Is it really a balanced picture?
Look how many people were actually arrested 60-80 a weekend, hardly representative of a community that was I think around half a million strong perhaps more at that time?
Part of me suspects these were the equivalent of the tabloid journalists of today writing about 'chav culture' 'binge drinking' to both outrage and at same time titillate their readership.. 'a cheap holiday in other peoples misery' if you like to quote a more modern source. Of course Montague was confronted by the horrific he went looking for it! What was he expecting in an East End pub, prayers, scones and bell ringing?..Is the behaviour above all that different from most British high streets on a Saturday night today?..how many of us would wish to be judged on the behaviour of those few? I know life wasn't easy in the East End by any means, but I do think the picture was possibly not as 100% black as sometimes painted.Last edited by Richard; 20-03-08, 15:49.
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Oh of course Val, I certainly don't have blinkers on about how tough life was in the the East End at this time, at all, the appaling infant mortality rates hammers that home all by itself, and I've found ancestors in the Lunatic Asylum, workhouse and sadly more than one suicide.
But ridiculous as this will now sound, still part of me thinks it wasn't that bad.
My East End side of family were by and large fairly sober sorts, many tee tootallers, some church goers some not, but by and large honest and decent enough, most never been in trouble with the law one uncle that did caused such a family scandal he emigrated!.....In my experience East Enders had very very strong morals, certainly in comparison to some of my agricultural ancestors would today be viewed as thoroughly immoral!
It's a bit unfair the sources rarely reflect this but instaead home on in on the seedier side, after all the most famous East enders are probably Jack the Ripper and Ronnie and Reggie, which says it all.
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We put as many wiki links into the stories as we can - including this site twice, the latest time in the current edition!!!Caroline
Caroline's Family History Pages
Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
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The new tie in with the magazine on the boards is intended to do just that by featuring specifc areas of the wiki. It is hard to tell whether members have used it or not.Caroline
Caroline's Family History Pages
Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
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