From several beautifully colored marbles to a reusable writing slate that was found alongside its accompanying pencil and was still covered in children's scribbles, these artifacts illuminate what life was like in the schools of Victorian England.
Museum of London Archaeology/FacebookSome of the toy marbles that were found during excavations in London.
More than a century ago, Victorian schoolboys playing in London seemingly lost several marbles down a drain. Now, excavations at the site have turned up these lost toys as well as fragments of a writing slate that boys likely used to copy down lessons from the blackboard.
The discoveries offer a peak into what life was like for kids in Victorian London. And because items used by children are relatively rare in the archaeological record, the marbles and the slate are an especially exciting find.
The Discovery Of Toy Marbles And A Writing Slate Once Used By Victorian Schoolchildren
Museum of London Archaeology/FacebookThe excavations in London have turned up the foundations of several buildings, in addition to the marbles and slate.
According to a statement from the Museum of London Archaeology, the marbles and slate were found during excavations at the SEGRO Park Wapping site in East London, ahead of the construction of new commercial buildings. Archaeologists uncovered the remains of several buildings at the site, ones that had been active between the 16th century and the 19th, including a chapel, almshouses, and a free school for poor boys.
Alongside the buildings, archaeologists also uncovered items that the schoolchildren would have used, namely the small toy marbles and chunks of slate.
Known as alley marbles, these toys were made of ceramic but designed with colorful swirls to look like alabaster stone. They were found inside a covered, brick-lined drain. This raises the possibility, as the Museum of London Archaeology noted, that the marbles were “perhaps lost during a breaktime game.”
MOLA/Andy ChoppingOne of the ceramic alley marbles that was found in a drain and had perhaps been lost by schoolboys during a game.
Meanwhile, archaeologists also found chunks of slate as well as a slate pencil that Victorian children would have used during class.
“Children would have used chalk or slate pencils to copy down from the blackboard or practice their handwriting and rubbed them clean for the next lesson,” the Museum of London Archaeology explained.
There even appears to be faint handwriting left on the slate chunks, though it’s difficult to make out what it says.
MOLA/Andy ChoppingThe slate still had faint writing on it that had been left there by a Victorian schoolchild.
Furthermore, the site once encompassed far more than just a school. At various points in its long history, it was part of a larger complex that included an almshouse and a chapel that were meant to aid some of London’s most vulnerable citizens.
The Almshouse Found Alongside The School At SEGRO Park Wapping
Both the school and the almshouse first appear in the historical record in a 1598 survey of London. They were described as places meant for “the instruction of sixty poor men’s children, a schoolmaster and usher with fifty pounds… also… alms houses for fourteen poor aged persons, each of them to receive quarterly six shillings and eight pence the piece for ever.”
Museum of London ArchaeologyDuring the excavations in London, archaeologists uncovered the foundations of several buildings, including the almshouse and school.
The school and the almshouses were ultimately supported by the Worshipful Company of Coopers. Coopers were people who made barrels, and because barrels were exceedingly important from the 16th century on, the cooper industry had become very profitable. Indeed, many of the people living in the almshouse likely also had some connection to coopers.
According to records of the site, there were 20 people living in the almshouses by 1720: 14 women and six men. The women would have received an allowance of 20 shillings, four times a year, whereas the men received 25 shillings. Though this was a small allowance, even by today’s standards, they would have also each had a room, a cellar, and a small garden. Most, like resident Mary Alexander, had a connection to coopers: her husband and sons were all coopers.
All told, the excavations of both the school and the almshouse provide a fascinating look into London’s past. Hundreds of years ago at this now-forgotten site, the mothers and widows of coopers might have shuffled through small gardens while children’s voices and the sound of marbles rang out. Now, we can see what remains of this bygone community, hundreds of years on.
After reading about the Victorian-era marbles and slate that were found during excavations in London, look through these striking colorized photos of Victorian London. Then, read about crinoline, the popular Victorian fabric that was so flammable that it caused several deadly accidents.
