Caregiving and the Caring Place in Victorian London’s West End

Abstract

Space and place, viewed as socially constructed concepts, are imbued with meaning used to define particular locations and the spatial thinking of societies, as well as how society and social practices are regulated and disciplined. Analyzing the architecture of Victorian London’s West End, this project will work towards understanding how space and place influence and affect health for the poor. This understanding will aid in the prediction of future caring places and is aimed at how the caregiving community influenced the culture and society of Victorian London from the New Poor Law of 1834 and how that translated into the National Health Care System seen there today. Interdisciplinary research will be used to understand how the space and place of Victorian London’s West End affected and influenced the care provided for the children of the poor, as well as the similarities and differences in care provided to the poor versus the rich. Using archival material found at the British Library such as manuscripts, minutes of evidence, and other such primary sources describing the living conditions, health services received by, and other social services provided to the poor will be used to investigate how these services were distributed, how the hospitals and other providers of services were funded, and who the organizations/groups that made these decisions were.