Dark tales of Victorian Plymouth 1850-1899

'Dark tales of Victorian Plymouth 1850-1899' is a follow-on book to 'Grim and Gruesome Plymouth, 1860-1959.' In this volume I shall cover fifty years of unpleasant events across the 'Three Towns' - forty of those years were covered in my previous book, but in which I had to omit so many stories, so that I could give further coverage of events in the one hundred years that the title suggested. Victorian Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport, often referred to as the 'Three Towns, ' were much smaller by comparison than today; though the overcrowding of housing was on a much larger scale - even more so than in densely populated London and Liverpool. The luxury of a garden was the pleasure known only to a very few. Toilet facilities were an outdoor closet, shared by all inhabitants of one property or possibly a number of properties in the older and more overcrowded areas. The Victorian age was also one of great poverty, ill health, crime and disease. Cholera spread by people living in such close proximity to one another was a major problem. Plymouth suffered three outbreaks. In 1850 Life expectancy was much shorter than today, mainly due to the fact that death in childhood was still very common, due to poor living standards and the lack of sanitation which spread diseases. Many people of course lived as long a life as we do today. In 1875 the government passed the Public Health Act which forced towns to build effective sewer, supply clean water and appoint medical officers. The 'Three Towns' had for many years been home to thousands of Royal Navy sailors, Royal Marines and Army soldiers, mostly living in barracks or onboard ship. These young men, many without homes to go to in the evening or whilst on leave, were entertained by a multitude of public houses and brothels. Plymouth, was home to many unfortunate and fallen women; those who had no other way of supporting themselves, than by selling their bodies. It was often the sorry case that these women only ate and had a bed for the night after having street-walked. For some it fed their children and for others it paid for their liquor. There were of course prostitutes who made a very good living from their occupation. Thanks to the British Newspaper Archives and the British Library, who are gradually making copies of all available newspapers going back to the 1700's, searchable by the public through their online archive facility. Events and stories that have been long forgotten or hidden away are now available to explored. Join me in a journey through fifty years of dastardly, dark and unfortunate events in Plymouth and surrounding areas.

Author: Helen Charlesworth

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: May 05, 2020

Number of Pages: 166 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: NA

ISBN-13: 9798643557050