Spitalfield Nippers
Eight years ago the personal
albums of Horace Warner, a
photographer and Sunday
school teacher, were uncovered.
They had not been seen for over
a century outside of his family…
In 1900, Horace took portraits of the children of Quaker Street in Spitalfields. These children belonged to some of the poorest families in London at the time. A few of the ‘nippers’ posed for the camera, but most were preoccupied in their own all-consuming world. A world independent of adults where they were resourceful, doing washing, chopping wood nursing babies and making money by selling newspapers, hawking flowers, or bunching parsley for market.
In Spitalfields at the time, one in five children did not survive to adulthood. In the book ‘Spitalfield Nippers’ published by Spitalfields Life, we learn that among the poorest families in which Horace photographed, the mortality rate was closer to a third.
Who were they and what happened to them?
Luckily for us, Horace noted down the names of a few of the children on the back of his photographs… so naturally, we got straight to researching all about their lives and have shared our findings on some of them with you below.
Adelaide Springett
Adelaide Springett was born on the 19th February 1893 in the parish of St George-in-the-East, Wapping. Her parents, William Springett and Margaret Haley, were both costermongers, although William was a dock labourer when they married.
Adelaides twin sisters sadly passed away at birth and another sister, Susannah, passed aged four.
In 1901, Adelaide was living with her mother at The Salvation Army’s women’s shelter in Whitechapel. It’s around this time that she took her old boots off to be photographed by Horace Warner as she was ‘in her Sunday best’.
When Adelaide was 14 years old her mother Margaret passed away in the Whitechapel Infirmary. At the time, they had been living at 31 Dorset Street, known to them as ‘the haunted house’.. known to many as ‘the worst street in London.’
Adelaide and her family most likely called their house ‘haunted’ due to one of Jack The Rippers victims, Mary Kelly, loosing her life just next door in Millers Court.
An extract from The East End News and London Shipping Chronicle Newspaper reported the death of Adelaide’s mother in 1907.
The "Haunted House"
Mr. Baxter held an inquest at the Whitechapel Infirmary on Tuesday with reference to the death of Margaret Springett, aged 47 years, the wife of a hawker, who died from chronic alcoholism. A daughter of the deceased said they had been living at 31 Dorset Street, which was called the ''haunted house'.'
The Coroner: Why?
Witness: I don't know.
A juror: Perhaps a murder was committed there, Mr. Coroner.
The Coroner: I should not be surprised to hear so.
Witness added that they were turned out three weeks ago. Witness went to Gun street, a sister went to Flower and Dean street, and her father went to somewhere in Brick lane. Witness added that on Wednesday morning she found her mother surrounded by a crowd outside the "haunted house." She was removed to the Infirmary.
William John Springett, the husband, said they couldn't pay the rent, and were turned out of the "haunted house." He didn't know where his wife had lived since. She used to drink, and couldn't eat, but he didn't know where she got the money from to buy the drink. At times she seemed to be a bit "looney’.’
After hearing further evidence, the Coroner remarked that it appeared to be " another illustration of life in Spitalfields," and a verdict of death from natural causes was returned.
In 1915, Adelaide is 22 years old and is listed as living on Gun Street, working as a servant and unmarried.
Little is known of Adelaide’s whereabouts for the next 24 years until she appears on the 1939 census as living in Paddington with her partner, Frank Harling. Frank was a Postman 10 years her senior and Adelaide took his surname although they were not officially married nor had any children. By 1946 they are still in Paddington, living in Cleveland Square, a world away from the slums of the East End.
Despite Adelaide’s start in life, she lived to the age of 93, passing away in a care home in Fulham in 1986.
Thomas Neale
Thomas Neale, also known as ‘Tommy Nail’, was born on 1st September 1891 in Maria Street, Haggerston to William and Eliza Neale.
He had two brothers, William Alfred born in 1889 and James born in 1896.
Thomas’ family originated from Aspenden, Hertfordshire, where his father William learned his profession as a horse groom.
Tommy joined St Mary’s School in Spital Square in 1896. By 1897 his mother, Eliza, had passed away from exhaustion. She was 31 years old.
Tommy and friend Willie Dellow at Crown Court, Spitalfields.
Tommy’s father William re-married in 1900 to Ellen Skeggs who was also a young widow. They went on to have seven children. In 1901, Tommy was living with them at 8 Market Hill, Shadwell.
Tommy and his brothers, William Alfred and James Cannon were all conscripted and fought in WW1. Two brothers made it home, settled down with their wives and started families of their own back In Apsenden, Hertfordshire.
Tommy fought in the ‘B’ Company, 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment and sadly was the brother who didn’t make it home.
He was killed in action on the 9th October 1917 in Ypres, Belgium.
Annie &
Nellie Lyons
Annie, born 1895 in Shoreditch Infirmary and Nellie (Ellen) Lyons, born 1901 in Whitechapel Infirmary, were the fifth and eighth of ten children born to Annie Daniels.
Their mother's words are recorded in the Bethnal Green Poor Law document of 1901:
“My name is Annie Daniels, I am thirty-five years old. My occupation is a street seller. I was born at 12 Thrawl St, Spitalfields, to Samuel Daniels and Bridget Corfield. Around fifteen or sixteen years ago, I met William Lyons who is thirty-eight years old, at this time he was living at 4 Winfield St, Angel Alley. He is a street hawker. The last known address for William is Margaret's Place.
I have had eight children: Margaret born 1888 at 26 De Beauvoir Square, William born 1889 at 5 Tyssen Place, Joseph born 1891 in Whiston St, William born in Tyssen Place died. James died in Haggerston Infirmary. Annie born in 1895 at Shoreditch Infirmary. Lily born in July, one year and four months ago at Baker's Row. Ellen born 28 October, one month ago at Baker's Row (workhouse).
About ten or eleven years ago, I had a son called John. He was sent away around seven years ago to the Hackney Union House. My eldest daughter Maggie is living with my sister Sarah and her husband Cornelius Haggerty. My son Joseph is living with my other sister Caroline and her husband Charles Johnson. I have moved from various addresses over the last ten years and have been lodging with my sister Mary for three years in Dorset St previous to Lily's birth.”
Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary
Annie Daniels went on to have two more children and listed William as their father. However, William is not found as living with the family on any record. In 1921 Annie Daniels is recorded as widowed.
Only half of Annie Daniels’ children survived to adulthood. At 21, Annie Lyons was working as a ‘rag sorter’ living on Flower and Dean Street. She died at 22 in Whitechapel Infirmary of tuberculosis.
In 1921, the last known record of Nellie shows she is working as a ‘jam boiler’ at 19 years old and is living with her mother in Canning Town.
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It is a testament to the power of Horace Warner’s photographs that we have been able to learn about these children’s existence and individual stories before they were lost entirely to history. Without his dedication and the fortunate preservation of their names, the world may have remained unaware of the Spitalfield Nippers. Their struggles serve as a reminder of the resilience and tenacity exhibited by those living in the slums of the East End at the time, the ‘shadows of society’, and it is our duty to ensure their stories are not forgotten nor hidden away for over a century ever again.