[Thanks to Jan Marsh for permitting us to share with readers of Victorian Web her valuable clarification of how people defined “child” throughout the nineteenth century. Her comments originally appeared on Patrick Leary’s discussion list, Victoria —  George P. Landow]

In discussing child labor, we may have an issue with the definition of 'child' here. Most Victorian teenagers went to work. Very few youngsters from working families remained at school beyond the age of 13. Boys then became apprentices [if lucky] or messengers or casual labour etc; girls typically became servants or in some places factory workers

The boys recruited from the industrial school/orphanage to work at Queen Square will have been rising 14 and it will have been regarded as a good opportunity for them to acquire training and [v modest] wages.

Most working class children did not attend school at all until the 1870 Education Act. The 1880 Education act made school compulsory for five years, so it was possible to leave at age 10 (proficiency tests applied) The 1893 Education act raised the leaving age to 11, and in 1899 to 12.. The young workers at Merton Abbey were also apprentice-age 14, as in most other employments. Similarly the girls recruited by May Morris as trainee embroiders in late 1880s. As Catherine White shows in a forthcoming article based on first-hand recollections, May enquired at the local board school for suitable trainees, who were otherwise destined for domestic service. The starting wage was four shillings for a 44-hour week.


Last modified 8 June 2018