Vicky Holmes
Search for other papers by Vicky Holmes in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
The necessary lodger
Abstract only
Log-in for full text

CIn late 1881, William Sloper headed out to work at Lime Street Station, never to return home. Crushed between the buffers of a train, he left behind a grieving wife, Mary, and their young children. Returning to her native Oxford, Mary maintained her family by taking in laundry and lodgers, but before long, she remarried. Nevertheless, lodgers continued to be a necessary part of Mary’s story. Chapter 1 introduces us to the range of Victorian working-class householders who found it necessary to accommodate lodgers. Taking in lodgers has long been seen as an economic activity undertaken by ageing widows. Yet, this chapter reveals lodgers living under a range of roofs, including those headed by the male breadwinner. We know many working-class households struggled at points in the lifecycle and at times of crisis, and this chapter reveals the importance lodgers played in the economies of makeshift that were crucial in daily survival in homes where the breadwinner could not or would not earn sufficient wages. Chapter 1 also reexamines the experiences of female-headed households – not just widows but also deserted wives – who found it necessary to accommodate lodgers and how their necessity for more than one lodger was shaped by the punitive administration of the New Poor Law. Thus, Chapter 1 reframes our understanding of ‘who’ accommodated lodgers and, more widely, our understanding of Victorian working-class household economies.

  • Collapse
  • Expand

All of MUP's digital content including Open Access books and journals is now available on manchesterhive.

 

Living with lodgers

Everyday life, household economy, and social relations in working-class Victorian England

Metrics

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 389 389 214
Full Text Views 1 1 1
PDF Downloads 1 1 1