A century of poverty in England and Wales, 1898-1998: a geographical analysis

This chapter analyses geographical trends in relative poverty and inequality in England and Wales between 1898 and the present by assembling statistics for infant mortality, overcrowded housing and unemployment for Joseph Rowntree's times, the inter-war depression, and the 'never-had-it-so-good' post-War boom. The research of Rowntree and his contemporaries was strictly local in focus, studying poverty in a single town such as York or a single district of the metropolis. The chapter examines the changing geography of housing via census statistics of overcrowding. Overcrowding is usually summarised in terms of persons per room: in the nineteenth century, overcrowding meant rates of over two persons per room, but over one person per room is seen as unacceptable. The pattern for both infant mortality and overcrowding showsa rapid decline in average rates but at the same time inequality seems to rise.