Nick Drake

London now is one of the most important financial, political and social centres in the industrialised world. This essay will provide a framework to understanding how and why London has developed since the Industrial Revolution of c.1750.

Before the age of the railway, e.g. mechanised transport, there were no cities because all large towns were self-sufficient with enough food and provisions for everyone, producing a stable economic environment with little need for communication or trade with adjoining neighbours; International trade did not exist. Towns and villages did however still develop along primitive transportation nodes, as seen below (fig.1). A larger settlement usually occurred where two or more important (e.g. frequently used) transport nodes met.

With the introduction of the railway, came the urban growth period. Suddenly, as the railway lines spreads throughout the country, adjoining villages usually from a distance of 1 mile away from the centre of the town, there was a huge growth in village and town development as towns and villages literally sprawled outwards in direction of the nearest station (fig.2)

The railway management and housing companies had an agreement at this time; (c. 1850-1900) if there were enough houses in the suburban areas of a town, then the railway company would build more stations. This, lead to a circular effect of building houses and stations, and the very rapid growth of towns into cities. This phenomenon is geographically known as Ribbon development.

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Of course as easy as it is to generalise about how towns developed into cities, there are a number of generalised locational factors that limit and aid a towns’ development. For example, a town in a river valley can only expand a certain amount due to the limits of the physical environment surrounding it. However, despite the above example of a physical environment limiting growth, in other cases the physical environment may encourage growth (or more accurately not limit). For example; the city of London has developed along the river Thames which is useful for transportation of goods, also the relief of London, it’s warm, near Mediterranean climate, soils, defence capabilities etc. have all played an important role in shaping the growth of London.

The industrial revolution, which embraced England during the period of 1750 onwards, was the most important advance in human development; in sociological stability, the emergence of both democracy and bureaucracy in politics, industrial and agricultural innovation etc.

"There has been a greater development in the 200 years since the beginning of the industrial revolution than in the entire 6 million years of human existence" (Source unknown, Internet)

These new inventions to industry coincided with the development of tools for discovery, especially better ships, compasses (Source unknown, Internet). With the urge that many had to explore the riches of undiscovered countries, America was found including vast useful natural resources including gold. This discovery of gold is a very significant stage in the industrial revolution and how this event would shape the future. Gold now is a very valuable resource for any country; this is because during the pioneering years after the industrial revolution, gold became an internationally tradable good. This also meant that a safe organised policy of purchasing and selling had to be introduced, which lead to the economy of Britain switching from informal bargaining to an organised and carefully monitored accounting of transactions. (Source unknown, Internet)

The Navigation Act gave Britain a trade monopoly with its colonies which at that time, comprised of nearly 2/3^rd of the world population. So, London as the capital of this huge empire led to London developing as a large trade centre with much capital to invest. This capital was then invested into industry; health, housing, government, development and most importantly transport infrastructure.

Although the industrial revolution led to the largest reformation of agriculture, for the purpose of this essay, I shall only be concentrating on one particular aspect, the migration of workers into cities.

With the introduction of crop rotation, new machinery and selective breeding, farmers no longer needed the huge volume of workers as before. Many thousands of farm labours were now unemployed and chose the cities as places to migrate. As people migrate, the further they travel, the more likely it is that they will choose to locate in the capital city. "These migrants often many nationalities, were all brought together by common experience of oppressive social conditions, and the hope that there must be a better way" (Hobsbawm, Internet)

Of course one feature that stands out when studying the industrial revolution is that of power exploitation. Many may think that up until the industrial revolution, there was no power and then suddenly steam engines, electricity developed. However, up until c.18^th century, human and animal power was the main source of power, which is linked to wealth. Then, the use of wood became increasingly popular, used for heating and smelting, coal was then discovered and it’s applications to power in industry was soon realised, but it was very expensive to extract and not easily modified, very polluting. So a cheaper, ‘better’ source of energy was sort after, this was found to be water; both in the form of mills driven by huge wooden paddles and most importantly the steam engine. "In some respects it was the application of new forms of power that defines the Industrial Revolution. (Steam, coal, electricity)" (Halsall, Internet)

Another important aspect of the industrial revolution, which gave rise to the urban growth of London, was the seven-year war against France in 1756-1763 to gain control of India. England won this war and gained control of India; India was a very valuable asset due to the cotton industry that gave rise one of the largest companies, The East India Company.

The combination of demand, free trade, the agrarian revolution, geographical possibilities, new materials and textiles, transport infrastructure, wealth of raw materials and trade with colonies, all lead to England becoming the first industrialised nation, with London at it’s heart.

London was started by the Romans in c. AD300 (fig. 4), and consisted of a small enclosure surrounded by a wall (this is found near the Tower of London today) which was built along the River Thames. During the darkages, London did not increase in size, most industry and commerce was conducted through Winchester.

Through territorial battles and wars throughout the kingdom, London eventually reigned as the capital of the unified kingdom. (fig. 5)

The great fire of 1666 and the plague of 1665 lead to a huge boom in development. The Earl of St. Albans developed St. James’s Square and a neighbourhood followed. (Cherry 1972)

Up until c.1750, London was only 2-3 miles in diameter. (fig. 6)

Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

Following the beginning of the Industrial Revolution as explained above, London became wealthier but up until 1800 did not significantly change in size (fig. 7). Transportation before 1850 was limited to water, which did not aid the sprawl development of London. However during the period of 1844-1914, Railways developed, connecting not only London with other national cities, such as the power sources of the North, but smaller villages on the outskirts of the city border which provided the labour force for the factories, shops and businesses inside the city. Steam powered industry then developed, driving huge factories producing goods to be shipped internationally. The docks of London grew immensely, needing more workers, more money, and more power. If this happened to London now, at the end of the 20^th century, it could not develop in the same way. We no longer have a limitless supply of cheap workers, a seemingly infinite supply of coal and I believe most importantly, the huge Colony Empire with such great demand and no competition. Also, there are the geographical constraints to development, such as the Green Belt and strict pollution controls.

Figure 7

All these factories, businesses and shops needed workers, and there was a huge wealth of workers available for employment. Due to the agrarian revolution that occurred before the Industrial Revolution, many thousands of unemployed workers flocked to London in search of something better, the Bright Light Syndrome. These workers were met with open arms by employers, and these people built houses, ran factories and were an integral part of the massive growth of London post 1750.

Historically, the social hierarchy that you are born into determines the relative success that you will achieve For instance, if born into a poor family, then you would not become wealthy as moving up this ladder of power and wealth was not allowed. So, with the introduction of a fairer political system of democracy and bureaucracy, people could now freely exploit the employment opportunities available to them.

During the inter war period of 1918-1939 (fig. 8), the London Underground was built linking vast areas of the city together, including outside the perimeter of the city itself. The development of the internal combustion engine also gave rise to a significant growth in London as vast areas became accessible through rail, road or water.

Huge areas of London now developed along transportation nodes (stations, roads, canals), and London became the hub for finance, fashion, migration, politics, tourism etc.

International trade boomed until the later stages of the 20^th century when international trade, cheaper raw materials, increased ‘localised’ markets, and international commerce emerged.

Also, during the 1960’s, Green Belts were introduced around London in an effort to limit it’s growth. However due to the technological advancements in telecommunications and transportation, this Green Belt was merely by-passed and new satellite commuter towns developed, taking people by rail into and out of London on a daily basis.

Figure 8

Different purchasing patterns became apparent, with people now purchasing non-essential domestic (or white) goods for the home. This lead to the growth of the tertiary and manufacturing sectors. N.B. most of these new white goods came from an multinational corporation such as Sony, Bosch etc.

The demographic conditions that surrounded London encouraged growth, for instance, migration into London both nationally and internationally due to the Bright Light Syndrome (mentioned earlier). Also, not mentioned before were the huge advancements in the health sector including medicines; people now lived longer which increased the population signifcantly. Many believed that the population increase is directly related to the Industrial Revolution which is understandble due to the advancements in healthcare, medicines etc. which became available after 1750. (see table below)

(Halsall, Internet)

Figure 9

According to the demographic transition model (fig. 9), a country will experience not only significant changes in both the birth rates and death rates, but also experience variations in the structure and shape of the economy. For instance, a poor, undeveloped country will have an economic structure dominated by agriculture and primary industries. A developing country or region will experience a decline in primary type industry, a spurt of growth in secondary manufacturing industry and the emergence of a third sector, known as the service sector. Following this, a country such as the UK which entered the final stage of the demographic transition model during the latter stages of the 20^th century, is now possibly entering a new uncharted territory. Population size in total begins to decline, and there is urban depopulation due to a number of factors. The nature of work in the 21^st century will be centred around two main themes. Firstly is the use and subsequent time of travel, travelling into London from a distance of 20 miles away by motor vehicle may take up to 2 hrs in the morning and late evening, incurring a great loss of working hours and parking expenses etc. Someone travelling into a town such as Guildford will face insignificant traffic problems, plentiful parking and most important less time lost in transit.

Whereas a businesses’ main objective one hundred years ago was to produce the product at the best quality. Due to the globalisation of industry, reduced international transportation costs, and international competition, businesses now concentrate on only one thing, which is profit. Profit is the result of sales minus the costs of production, and included within the total costs of production are the man hours worked, so in an effort to maximise profits above your competitors, reducing the number of hours employees are in transit will make you more profitable. This is why cities such as London will still be the political and financial centre but may experience a decline in the population in the early stages of the 21^st century. The periphery areas outside the M25 boundary of London may develop along with specialised ‘localised’ areas of similar industry develop, in a process known as agglomeration (e.g. Silicon Glen, Silicon Valley)

And so in conclusion, the factors that have all played an important role in shaping the growth of London since 1750 include:

Paul Halsall – Modern Western Civilisation – Internet

Gordon E. Cherry – Urban Change and Planning – 1972

Lecture notes from Mike Turner