The statistics from this time period are based on tax records with a structure that consisted of several different levels and it was possible for an individual to be taxed in one or more during the same year. Based on these statistics, the middle class is defined as those earning over £150 annually. These individuals would most likely own their own home and be able to employ some domestic help.

The census taken in 1871 shows occupations¹ in England broken down as a percent of the total population:

Unfortunately, the manner in which the numbers were compiled, it is impossible to determine how many people earned what, the levels of the hierarchy and which classes or groups in the community were doing best out of the mid-Victorian boom in gross national income. What could be seen however, is that the rich were getting richer and the poor, poorer.

Middle Class Occupations

So how did the middle class earn a living?

Most worked at producing/distributing manufactured goods and raw materials which need arose as a result of the growth of industrialization during the period as well as one's desire for a higher standard of living. Most work in or close to the larger cities while the rural population continued to decline.

Charles Booth attempted to calculate the growth of middle class occupations from 1851 to 1871. The result is shown below.

The occupational classifications above are extremely broad as due to the way in which the statistics were compiled it was impossible to distinguish from a Bond Street furrier or a street vendor.

Another ambiguity was in the determination of the number of domestics. As mentioned previously, those earning over £150 were able to afford some domestic help. Unfortunately there was no way of determining the number each of these households employed. The best estimates were as follows:

Salaries for the middle class ranged anywhere from £125 to £1000 annually. Junior clerks and apprentices wages ranged from £20 - £25 year and progressed upward to approximately £70 - £80. At best, they fared just slightly better than a skilled craftsman. The spread between the "upper class" and the "upper middle class" was broad with the upper class coming in at approximately £5000 annually as compared to the lower middle class at approximately £90.

Lower Class Incomes

In the lower class family, both the husband and wife worked and if old enough, so did the children. It was the only way they could survive. And more often than not, they worked 14-16 hour days. Wages remained somewhat stagnant in the 1850s-1860s, however, towards the end of the century began to rise slowly. The one constant, however, is that the gap between skilled labor and unskilled remained relatively unchanged.

The table² below provides an example of a variety of occupational groups, the average weekly wage and the approximate number of men employed in each job classification for the year 1867.

Working Hours and Conditions

As the period went on, Parliament began showing increasing concern for the health, morals and literary of its workforce but was cautious in its approach when it came to enforcing minimum standards as well as setting maximum work hours.

The first industry to lead the movement for less hours was the textile industry whose 20 year campaign succeeded in getting weekly hours reduced to 60 in 1850 with Parliament reducing it to 56-1/2 (10 hour workdays exclusive of meals and breaks Mondays - Fridays and 6 hours on Saturday) in 1874. The half-hours on Saturday was originally granted to the textile industry alone, however, it was later extended to all.

Relief was first offered to office workers with the passage of the Bank Holiday Acts of 1871 and 1875 which declared the following days as holidays: Boxing Day, Easter Monday, Whitmonday and the first Monday in August. This also was later extended to include all however this was not always the case. The smaller laundries and workshops continued to employ women working all hours and under deplorable conditions. These new regulations also did little for domestics as this occupation was virtually impossible to control.

Yet the passage of laws relative to health did little for the workers but were passed for the purpose of protecting those who lived around the factories. If it provided any help at all, child workers were the ones who benefited. The increased use of machinery and the long hours still contributed to injury and death and the laws provided little protection in these cases.

Significant changes in the area of health and safety, as well as hours, did not take place until the 1900s.

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1. Clapham, Economic History of Modern Britain "Free Trade and Steel 1850 - 1886".
2. Best, Mid-Victorian Britain 1851-1875.

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