An impoverished family

circa 1890

This haunting image shows a group of working-class children and their mother standing in a narrow London alley during the late Victorian era. The expressions are solemn, their clothes worn and patched, and the setting—bare brick walls and scattered debris—speaks volumes about the harsh conditions faced by many families during industrialization.

In 1890, poverty and overcrowding were widespread in inner London, with families often crammed into single-room dwellings. Child labor, poor sanitation, and disease were everyday struggles, especially in districts like Whitechapel and Southwark.

And yet, within this moment of hardship, there's resilience—look closer and you’ll see a strength in their posture, a quiet dignity in their gaze.

📍 Location: City of London
📅 Estimated Date: Circa 1890

Do you have photos that tell a story like this one?
🖼️ Upload your old family or street photos to OldPik.com and help preserve the forgotten faces and places of our past.

🔖 Tags: Victorian poverty, East End London, historic family photo UK, 19th-century working class, OldPik archives, child labor England

Contributed by OldPik on August 22, 2024

Image

An impoverished family
You must be logged in to comment on the photos.
Log in

No comment yet, be the first to comment...

Nearby photos

Photo of Alice Liddell taken by Lewis Carroll

Building the Metropolitan Railway.

c. 1852 OldPik

Zoological Gardens in Regents Park

c. 1845 OldPik

Earliest known photograph of Victoria, here with her eldest daughter, Victoria

The Nelson Column, Trafalgar Square