Market Court at Kensington.

1865

This stark and compelling photograph from 1865 shows a group of residents gathered in Market Court, Kensington — an inner courtyard surrounded by overcrowded tenement housing. The image captures the reality of working-class life in Victorian London, a world often hidden behind the grandeur of the Empire and the elegance of the West End.

At the time, Kensington was a district of striking contrasts. While the wealthy enjoyed the comforts of new townhouses and gardens, others lived in cramped conditions like these, with shared water pumps, open sewage, and minimal privacy. This image likely served as part of the growing social reform movement, which used photography to expose urban poverty and push for better housing.

1865 also marked the founding of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and came just five years before the first public health act — signs that public conscience was beginning to stir.

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