Long-gone sights from everyday life in 1900s London

The roads were not tarmac but flints or stone broken into pieces by men in the workhouse and thrown down by workmen with spades, and then sprayed with tar. Then the steam roller would come along to crush the stones to make a flat surface. It wasn’t long, though, before the stones worked their way up. Young children often fell over on the roads and got nasty cuts. In fact most young children had scabs on their knees.

In summer, the water cart would go round the streets. Imagination or not, summers seemed warmer and drier when I was a child in the early 1900s. The roads were different then with horse-drawn carts, and there was more dust around. So in the hot summers, the water cart was very welcome. It was a horse-drawn cart that carried water. Along the back of the cart was a perforated rod that sprayed the water onto the road. We children would try to run into the spray without getting wet. How we laughed! When the driver heard us he would crack his whip over his shoulder, not to hurt us but to fob us off - but we always came back for more.

The postman was always in uniform and wore a hat that was unusual, a sort of graduated peak back and front of very dark blue, almost black, as was his uniform. The trousers had a thin red stripe down the outside of the leg. He had a lot of of walking to do, as there were four deliveries a day, with the last one at half past nine at night. Letters were very important in those days as ordinary families did not have a phone. So people would wait for the postman, if they were expecting news from the family. The dreaded letters had black-edged envelopes containing black-edged paper, and they brought news of a death and a funeral. Parcels were delivered in a hand cart. It was customary for the postman to call on Boxing Day for his Christmas present called a Christmas Box which would be just a few coppers.

The telegraph boy would bring the telegrams. He also had a uniform of red and he wore a pill-box hat. He rode about on a red bicycle. Just the sight of him would be looked on with apprehension, particularly during the 1914-18 war because it probably signalled that a young man in the family had been killed in action.

The road sweeper was employed by the Urban District Council. He had a large broom, a shovel on a long handle and a small cart to put the rubbish into. He wouldn't just sweep the roads, he would also sweep the gutters - not that I recall ever seeing much rubbish in them. Everyone seemed to act responsibly about not leaving rubbish around. The road sweepings were mainly silt which, if not cleared, would run into the drains when it rained and block them. This silt had its uses. When my father was rooting plant cuttings, he would collect the silt, make a mound of it and peg the cuttings into it. Pavements were always swept by householders, and it was a matter of pride to keep the pavement outside one's own house clean and tidy. This was even the case when it snowed. Householders were expected to clear it; it was not regarded as the council's problem.

What I really liked about gypsies was their caravans which were very picturesque and colourful. They were horse-drawn and would travel miles. We children were discouraged from talking to gypsies, though. No doubt they were harmless but they were like a race apart.