Working papers of the Survey of 'Labour and Life of the People' and 'Life and Labour of the People in London' by Charles Booth 1886 - 1903 comprising the original survey notebooks and papers: interviews, questionnaires, statistics, reports and colour coded maps describing poverty.
The papers and the original survey notebooks reflect the three areas of investigation undertaken in the survey: poverty, industry and religious influences.
The poverty series interviewed School Board visitors about levels of poverty in households and streets. The survey also investigated trades of East London connected with poverty: tailoring; furniture and women's work.
The industry series comprises interviews of employers, trade union leaders and workers for each trade and industry and questionnaires concerning rates of wages, numbers employed, details of trade unions and domestic details (food, dress and circumstances etc) which were completed by employees and trade union officials. The following trades and industries are covered by the survey: building trade; wood workers; metal workers; precious metals, watches and instruments; sundry manufacturers printing and paper trades; textile trades; clothing trades; food and drink trades; dealers and clerks; transport and gardeners; labourers; public service and professional classes; domestic service. Case histories of the inmates of Bromley and Stepney workhouses during 1889 and people who received outdoor relief from the union were also transcribed.
The religious survey includes reports of visits to churches and over 1450 interviews with ministers of all denominations including Church of England, Methodist, Presbyterian, Jewish, Roman Catholic. Salvation Army officers and missionaries were also interviewed. The reports of the interviews contain printed material relating to the churches. Questionnaires were also completed as part of the survey. The investigation went beyond documenting religious influences and incorporates a description of the social and moral influences on Londoners' lives.
The Maps Descriptive of London Poverty 1898-1899 are probably the most well known documents which survive from the survey. The Maps Descriptive of London Poverty 1898-1899 are twelve sheets colour coded by social class and poverty from black [semi-vicious] to yellow [middle and upper class, well-to-do]. The maps cover an area of London from Hammersmith in the west, to Greenwich in the east, and from Hampstead in the north to Clapham in the south. The working and printed copies of the maps are contained within the archive.
The social investigators accompanied police around their beats in London in order to update the existing street-level information for the Maps Descriptive of London Poverty 1898-1899. The reports of the walks are known as the 'police notebooks' and contain descriptions of London streets. All the notebooks have been digitised.
Other papers include an inventory undertaken in 1925 by Thomas Macaulay Booth, son of Charles Booth; additional manuscripts concerning the survey: circulars, statistics etc and booklets collected during the survey.
