Mudlarks and Hurriers - Victorian Children at Work

Mudlarks and Hurriers:

Victorian Children at Work

By Kate Wilkinson-Brindle
Illustrated by Amy Robinson

Introduction and Timeline

The Victorian period was when Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom. The
lives of children during this time were very different from children’s lives today.

1837 1847 1891
Queen Victoria New laws banned Education became
began her reign. children from free for children aged
working more than between 5 and 13.
10 hours a day.

1842 1864 1901
New laws stopped A new law banned Queen Victoria died.
young children from young children from
working in mines. being chimney sweeps.

The Gap Between the Poor and the Rich

In the early Victorian age, most children from poor homes had to work to help
their families. They often worked for long hours without food or water. Sadly,
many children were treated very badly.

The children from wealthy families
had easier lives. They had plenty of
food, warm clothes and toys to play
with. Children from rich backgrounds
were usually brought up by a nanny
or a governess.
Compare the children inthe two
pictures. What do you think their
lives were like?

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Children at Work cchhiillddrreenn aatt wwoorrkk iinn aa mmiillll

City children worked as servants, as chimney
sweeps and even in mills and factories. Some
people preferred children to work for them instead
of adult workers because they didn’t have to pay
them as much. Being small was also useful for
many of the jobs.

Children were made to crawl underneath dangerous
machinery or climb into narrow chimneys and tunnels.
In the countryside, many children worked hard on
farms. Children as young as six years old worked

planting seeds, picking crops and herding animals.

Mudlarks and Hurriers

Some of the jobs that children did in Victorian times
sound strange to us now. Mudlarks were children
who searched through the mud next to a river.
Mudlarks collected coal, old ropes and bits of metal
from the mud to sell. It was a filthy job, and the
mudlarks would often hurt their bare feet on sharp
objects hiding in the sludge.

A hurrier was another awful job often
given to children. Hurriers pulled
heavy carts full of coal along dark,
narrow tunnels down in the mines. It
was back-breaking work, and it could
cause serious injuries to the
children’s growing spines.

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Entertainment

Although most poor Victorians had tough lives and little
money, they sometimes found time to enjoy themselves.
Victorian children would make themselves little dolls out of
clothes pegs, and some would even stuff some rags into a sack to
make a football.

Now and again, poor families would have enough money to visit
the local theatre. They would watch music hall entertainment,
which was a variety of singing, dancing and comedy. In 1871,
a law was made that gave paid bank holidays to all working
people. This law meant that poorer families had the time
and money to go to the seaside for a day out.

A Time of Great Change

At the start of the Victorian Era, most poor children were doing
awful jobs and being treated terribly. Many children couldn’t read or write as
they didn’t go to school. However, some adults began to fight for children to
be protected.

In 1851, about one third of English children had no education.
In 1880, all children between 5 and 10 years old had to attend school.
In 1891, education was made free for all children aged 5 to 13 years old.
By 1900, most children went to school for 7 or 8 years.

Thankfully, the lives of poor Victorian children started to improve.

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