From murder bottles to arsenic wallpaper: 5 hidden killers in Victorian Britain
The Victorian era is often romanticised as a time of progress, with technological advancements and societal changes reshaping how people lived and worked. But Victorian Britain was also full of hidden dangers that threatened the health and safety of its inhabitants – and the domestic sphere was rife with hazards that could kill or seriously harm. Here, we round up five hidden killers in the Victorian home…
Back-breaking back-to-backs
While wealthier Victorians enjoyed spacious homes with servants to cater to their needs, working class people lived in cramped, badly ventilated, and often poorly constructed houses. Many families were packed into back-to-backs – small, terraced dwellings which had party walls on three of their four sides. Many of these properties had just a single room on each floor and only one window, on the front wall. Staircases could be steep and narrow – not ideal for multiple young children squeezing past one another or women wearing long flowing skirts.
These cramped houses offered little privacy and even less comfort for the families that lived in them. The walls were often damp and prone to mould, contributing to respiratory problems. Toilet and water supplies were located outside and usually shared with multiple households – meaning disease and illness could spread quickly. The houses were typically so crammed together that sunlight – with its bacteria and virus-killing properties – would rarely reach the inside.
WATCH | Ruth Goodman on what life was like in Victorian Britain
Water woes
Water could be a huge health hazard in Victorian Britain, especially in poorer households. Most working-class homes didn’t have running water, relying instead on wells or communal pumps for drinking and cleaning. If a water source became contaminated with bacteria, disease and illness could sweep through communities. Four major outbreaks of cholera between 1832 and 1866, caused by contaminated drinking water, ravaged London communities – and led to the death of tens of thousands of people.
In 1854, the physician John Snow began mapping incidences of deaths due to cholera and noted the deceased were mostly people whose nearest access to water was a water pump located in Broad Street, Soho. The well was disabled and the outbreak ended. It was a groundbreaking moment in public health history, highlighting the need for better sanitation and a greater awareness of how disease is spread.
Poisonous products
Victorian homes were filled to the brim with products that we would now recognise as extremely hazardous. Safety regulations were virtually non-existent, and many everyday household items contained toxic chemicals. Wallpaper, cosmetics, and even children’s toys were all known to have contained dangerous substances such as lead and arsenic.
While today we recognise that certain household products are toxic – bleach for example – we make sure that they are clearly identified and labelled as such. In the Victorian period, such products were often sold in unassuming packaging, meaning they could wrongly be mistaken for other non-toxic items. This could have disastrous consequences; in September 1888, the Aberdeen Evening Express reported that 13 people had been poisoned by carbolic acid – a common household item at the time – and five of these people died. It wasn’t until 1902 that the Pharmacy Act made it illegal for dangerous chemicals to be sold in bottles shaped similarly to ordinary liquids.
Murderous milk bottles
In the 19th century, the seemingly innocent baby feeding bottle became a chilling symbol of danger, earning the grim moniker ‘murder bottle’.
Designed to make infant feeding more convenient, these bottles often featured a rubber tube attached to a glass or ceramic vessel, allowing milk to be sucked directly by the baby. However, their design made them nearly impossible to clean effectively.
Milk residue would quickly spoil, creating a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Combined with poor hygiene practices and a lack of understanding that germs caused disease, these bottles frequently caused fatal infections in infants. Tragically, the widespread use of these deadly devices contributed to high infant mortality rates.
Lethal lighting
Gas lighting was a hallmark of modernity in Victorian homes, illuminating spaces more brightly than candles or oil lamps. Yet beneath its warm glow lay a multitude of dangers. The systems, powered by coal gas, were prone to leaks. What’s more, gas pipes and fittings often degraded over time or were improperly installed, releasing toxic gases like carbon monoxide into the air. The popular image of a Victorian lady fainting is as likely to have been due to lack of oxygen caused by gas lighting as an overly tight corset!
Additionally, the presence of combustible gas in enclosed spaces created a significant fire and explosion risk. Even the routine lighting of a gas lamp could be fraught with danger – improperly adjusted burners could cause flaring or accidents, and if a flame came into contact with a leaking gas pipe, the results could be catastrophic. Many Victorian newspapers carried harrowing accounts of fatal explosions caused by gas accumulations in confined spaces, with entire buildings sometimes destroyed.
Authors
Rachel Dinning is the Premium Content Editor at HistoryExtra, website of BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed.