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Labour yard, Bethnal Green Employment Association
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Labour yard, Bethnal Green Employment Association
A labour yard operated in the late 1860s by the Bethnal Green Employment Association in East London to provide work for the unemployed. The men are engaged in stone breaking and many are wearing protective eye shields made from metal gauze
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Media ID 4470577
© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10424781
1868 Association Bethnal Breaking Conditions Employment Gauze Labour Poverty Protective Unemployed Unemployment Workhouse Workhouses Yard 1860s Stonebreaker
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This evocative photograph captures the harsh realities of poverty and unemployment in Victorian East London, as depicted in a labour yard operated by the Bethnal Green Employment Association in 1868. The image shows a group of men, dressed in tattered clothing, engaged in the laborious task of stone breaking. The men are shielding their eyes from flying debris with makeshift protective devices made of metal gauze. During the late 1860s, the Bethnal Green Employment Association, a charitable organization, established this labour yard to provide work for the unemployed and help alleviate the widespread poverty in the area. The association aimed to offer temporary employment and relief to those who were unable to find work in the rapidly industrializing city. The working conditions in the labour yard were far from ideal. The men were required to work long hours, often in harsh weather, and were paid a meager wage. The stonebreaking process involved the men using hammers and chisels to break large stones into smaller pieces, which were then transported to construction sites for use as road material. The work was physically demanding and dangerous, with the risk of injury from flying debris a constant concern. The use of protective eye shields made of metal gauze was a testament to the harsh working conditions in the labour yard. These shields were an attempt to mitigate the risk of eye injuries from flying stone fragments. Despite these efforts, the working conditions remained challenging, and the men continued to face numerous health and safety hazards on a daily basis. This photograph provides a poignant reminder of the living and working conditions faced by the unemployed in Victorian London and the efforts made by charitable organizations to provide temporary relief during times of economic hardship.
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