Children at Work: Background

In the early Victorian period children would work similar hours to adults. The manager who supervised them would expect the same level of work, the same skill, the same speed and the same standard from the children as from the adult workers. If the children were ever drowsy or slow, they could get beaten.

As much of the machinery was too large for the children, they stood on boxes and leaned over the equipment. The children would be standing for hours without a break and by the end of their 12- hour shift their limbs would ache.

The two images show child labour. The children look no older than ten. Men tended to have labouring roles whereas the women would do more intricate jobs. Children tended to fetch and carry. However there was no distinction between following the rules of the job, commitment to their work and how hard they worked. Both sexes and all ages were expected to work the same amount of hours but the pay was different. Women got paid less than men, and children less still. Employers therefore liked to employ as many children as possible as they were cheap labour.

The images in this section show two opposing views of what life was like for children during the Victorian period. The textile pictures are from a book called "History of the Cotton Trade" 1836 and represent an idealised image of a factory floor. The other picture is of two young children in a coal mine with the caption 'Hurrier and a Thruster'. This image is from a book called "The White Slaves of England" by J Cobden and is dated 1853.