While excavating at SEGRO Park Wapping site in East London, archaeologists from MOLA have uncovered rare fragments of Victorian children’s schoolwork. The discovery includes a slate school tablet with visible children’s scribbles and handwriting, preserved inside a covered, brick-lined drain. Alongside the slate, researchers found numerous ceramic marbles resembling alabaster stone, likely lost during schoolyard play.
These artifacts come from a historically significant educational institution founded in the 1530s by Nicholas Gibson, sheriff of London, and his wife Avice. Originally established as a free school for poor boys, it was later entrusted to the Worshipful Company of Coopers in the 1550s. The site operated continuously until the late 1800s, providing education to local impoverished children while also maintaining alms houses that offered homes and monthly stipends for elderly residents in need.
The finds are particularly valuable for their direct connection to Victorian children’s lives, offering insights beyond what is typically found in elite historical narratives. The area between the docks and Ratcliff Highway was known for overcrowding and danger during the 18th and 19th centuries, making these discoveries important for understanding the complex social history of the area. The excavation challenges common perceptions by revealing the area was once a vibrant Sailor Town community with diverse social classes.
Victorian childhood in industrial cities was often marked by hardship. High orphan rates resulted from epidemics in overcrowded conditions, with historians estimating that half of all children lost at least one parent before reaching adolescence. Many ended up in workhouses with strict regimes or on the streets where they worked, begged, or stole to survive. These children often served as emotive figures in Victorian literature, drawing attention to their plight and inspiring social reforms. Personal accounts from the era reveal that some children preferred street life over workhouses despite the dangers, as it offered a sense of freedom and companionship.
The excavated schoolwork and play items reveal a different dimension of Victorian childhood than typically portrayed in contemporary sources. Brick cellars at the site show evidence of the Ratcliffe Fire of 1794, placing the school at the heart of this historic disaster.
These humble artifacts—scribbles on slate and lost marbles—provide tangible connections to children who received education despite challenging circumstances in Victorian London.
