Vagrants Collection

Mount Pleasant Hotel, Kings Cross, London
The Mount Pleasant Hotel at the corner of Kings Cross Road and Calthorpe Street, Central London. The building was originally erected in 1894 as one of Londons six Rowton Houses - large

Houseless and Hungry by Luke Fildes
A study entitled Houseless and Hungry by Luke Fildes depicting homeless paupers queuing outside the casual ward of a London workhouse. A policeman stands at the left of the scene

Union Workhouse, Wokingham, Berkshire
The Wokingham Union workhouse, Berkshire. The workhouse, opened in 1850 on Barkham Road, Wokingham, later became Wokingham Hospital

Industrial School, Ashford, Kent
The Kent County Industrial School (also knows as the Stanhope Industrial School) at Kingsnorth near Ashford in Kent opened in 1875 for 150 boys. After 1933 it became an Approved School

Industrial School, Buxton, near Norwich, Norfolk
Boys and dog stand on the football pitch of the Buxton Industrial School near Norwich, Norfolk, established in 1855 to hold 100 boys. From 1933 it became Red House Farm Approved School

West Derby Union, Liverpool - Belmont Road workhouse
The Belmont Road workhouse opened in 1890 by Liverpools West Derby Union. It catered primarily for able-bodied inmates and vagrants, providing daily out-relief in return for manual labour. Date: 1925

Industrial School for Girls, Dundee, Scotland
The Industrial School for Girls, at Balgay Park, Dundee, Scotland, was established in 1861. Industrial Schools, often privately run

Labour Candidates
Labour candidates. - A postcard with a dual meaning, both a satire on potential Labour Party MPs and three down and out men all of whom are good candidates as labourers. Date: circa 1900s

Northumberland Village Homes for Girls, Whitley Bay
The Northumberland Village Homes for Girls, Whitley Bay (or Whitley-on-Sea), was an industrial school established in 1879 for 140 girls. It became an Approved School in 1933

Industrial School for Girls, Maryhill, Glasgow
The Glasgow Industrial School for Girls at Maryhill was established in 1855. Industrial Schools, often privately run, housed children aged 7-15 placed there by magistrates for a variety of reasons

Industrial School, Harborne, Birmingham
A man with umbrella at the gates of Harborne Industrial School, Balden Road, Birmingham, opened in 1902 to hold 150 boys. It later became Ansell School then after 1933 was the Tennal Approved School

Vagrants asleep in Green Park, Central London
During their daytime opening hours, Londons parks provided a pleasant place for the citys tramps and vagrants to sleep. Green Park, shown here, was typical

VAGRANT ORPHAN 4/4
An angel comes to take the little orphan girl to heaven, to be with her mother again. Date: 1910

A FRENCH VAGABOND
The French chemineau tramps the roads in his sabots, answerable to no man, scornful of societys artificial ways - a free man, indeed, but gets cold and hungry in winter... Date: 1850

GOOD RESOLUTIONS
Good resolutions - a child carries food to a man and his son tramping the roads. Date: circa 1860

Two America hoboes risking life and limb
Two Hoboes risk life and limb by riding on a carriage truck in America. Date: 1893

COMMUNITY / CHARITY / HOBOE
An American Hobo Riding on the Bumpers. Date: 1894

COMMUNITY / CHARITY / HOBOES
American Hoboes Riding the Rods. Date: 1882

COMMUNITY / CHARITY / HOBOES
American Hoboes and a Railroad employee come to blows. Date: circa 1888

Strolling beggars in China knocking their heads together and on a stone in order to extort alms. Date: 1737

Strolling beggars in China with burning coals
Strolling beggars in China laying burning coals on their heads and using other austerities in order to extort alms. Date: 1752

Salvation Army Shelter, Great Peter Street, London
A large factory building on Great Peter Street, Westminster, Central London, leased by the Salvation Army for use as a night shelter. Men were allowed to sleep here on backed benches

Rowton House, Kings Cross, London
The Kings Cross Rowton House (built in 1894) at the corner of Kings Cross Road and Calthorpe Street, Central London. Rowton Houses, of which six were erected around London, were large, purpose built

Industrial School, Chelmsford, Essex
The Essex Industrial School on Rainsford Road, Primrose Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, certified in 1879 to hold 150 boys. In 1933 it became the Essex Home Approved School

Union Workhouse, Rugby, Warwickshire
The Rugby Union workhouse on Lower Hillmorton Road, Rugby, Warwickshire. The view, seen from the Guardians Board Room, shows the main workhouse building (right of centre)

Stone-breaking cell in a workhouse
Illustration showing a workhouse stone-breaking cell. Tramps and vagrants broke stones in return for a nights accommodation Date: circa 1909

Laughing old man
A laughing old man with a wart on his nose, a fuzzy beard and blacked-out teeth. Perhaps not a real tramp, but an actor wearing makeup? Date: circa 1960s

Old man with prams and junk, Balham, SW London
An old man with a line of prams containing junk on a street in Balham, SW London. He is outside a rag and bone merchants premises where he hopes to get money in exchange for the junk

Tramp on a Balham street, SW London
A tramp sitting on a bench in a Balham street in SW London. Date: circa 1960s

Woman tramp sitting at side of road
A female tramp, her skin tanned by the outdoor life, sits by the road, her bag of possessions at her side. Although her body is well wrapped in overcoat and hat, her feet are in open sandals

Itinerant family on the road
An itinerant family - two parents and six children, plus a pram - who, for reasons unknown, are on the road. With little or no money they might have to spend each night in a workhouse casual ward

Insane tramp on the road
A tramp, aged 24, on the road, said to be insane by the former Oxford Liberal MP Frank Gray, who in the 1920s had a particular concern for tramps and vagrants

Franky Shagg, Isle of Wight tramp
Franky Shagg, a well known tramp on the Isle of Wight in the early 1900s

Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary, womens ward
An old womens ward in the Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary on Charles Street (later Bakers Row, now Vallance Road), East London

Salvation Army Shelter, Blackfriars Road, London
A crowd of vagrants awaiting admission to the Salvation Army shelter for men (known as The Embankment) at 115B Blackfriars Road, London

St Josephs Industrial School, Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland
St Josephs Industrial School at Ferryhouse, Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland, was opened in 1885 for 170 Catholic boys. Industrial Schools, often privately run

Music cover, The Tramp Galop on Bishops Melodies, by Adrien Victor. circa 1850s

Homeless men by J O Brien
No-goods or might-be-goods? The Faces of the Night. Victims of our social system or of their own faults? Men of the under-world Character sketches of homeless men to be seen each night sleeping in

London at night - Two outcasts sit on a bench - Embankment. Date: circa 1920s

Old man with cup of tea, Balham, SW London
An old man relaxing with a cup of tea, Balham, SW London. circa 1960s

Two beachcombers, Hove and Brighton seafront
Two beachcombers rummage in a litter bin on the Hove and Brighton seafront. circa 1960s

Old man pulling prams, Balham, SW London
An old man pulling along a series of prams joined together, on a road in Balham, SW London. Each of the first two prams contains a large leather armchair, and the third one contains a wooden crate

Old man with dog and pram, Balham, SW London
An old man with a German Shepherd dog and junk in a long line of prams on a street in Balham, SW London. Date: circa 1960s

Old man with military colours and medal, Balham, SW London
An old man wearing military colours and a medal (dated 1895), Balham, SW London. circa 1960s

Tramp sitting on grass, Balham, SW London
A tramp sitting on a patch of grass in Balham, SW London. His beard has recently been trimmed during a visit to the clean-up centre. Date: circa 1960s

Tramp asleep on a Balham street, SW London
A tramp asleep on a bench on a Balham street in SW London. The various bags and papers appear to belong to him. Date: circa 1960s

Tramp in a doorway, Balham, SW London
A tramp sitting in a doorway of a house in Balham, SW London. Date: circa 1960s

A tramp sitting next to a fire
A tramp sitting next to the fire he has made. A pot is boiling over it. Date: C. 1920s

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