| Welcome to Ravenhill. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| London by Gaslight; A Victorian Era World of Darkness | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 8 2006, 05:05 AM (210 Views) | |
| +The Storyteller | Sep 8 2006, 05:05 AM Post #1 |
|
Administrator
![]()
|
Foolish or unwary is the traveler that walks the streets of London after sundown. The supposedly feeble superstitions of old are grimly true. Vampires, werewolves, unquiet spirits, practitioners of arts arcane and diabolic, and the secret cults which worship these beings tread the streets. The supernatural, while scoffed at by the educated, is an object of fear and awe for those outside the dusty halls of academia or the soirees of the upper classes. The denizens of the night know this, and know well the lessons of times past: To avoid the notice of the herds, and the herdsmen amongst them, the witch-finders. To this end, those who dwell beyond the ken of humanity steal through the misty streets of gaslit London after dark on their mysterious errands, pitting wits, cunning and supernatural might against one another. This is a time when no one opens their doors to strangers after the sun sets. No one, that is, but the inns. Three of these exist in the Harbour District, two of which are as dangerous and disreputable as any den of iniquity in any port in the world. The third commands too high a price. Finally there is Thornhaven Estates and its village Raven Hill, a sanctuary of warmth and fellowship in the cold streets. Secretly, it stands to protect those that come to port, those that are lost or exiled by the world's fears. The patrons protect the Estate as much as the shadowy proprietor, knowing somehow instinctually the purpose of it's standing. Meanwhile, the other forces of London's shadows watch and wonder as to the purpose, identity and methods of the Duc, biding their time and gathering information. There exist worse things by far in the night of Gaslit London than vampires and spirits, murderers and wharf rats. Who can say what they are? Will you venture into the night mists and see for yourself? Will you have to take refuge at Thornhaven if you survive? For where else is safe...? [align=center]~*~[/align] The Victorian city of London was a city of startling contrasts. New building and affluent development went hand in hand with horribly overcrowded slums where people lived in the worst conditions imaginable. The population surged during the 19th century, from about 1 million in 1800 to over 6 million a century later. This growth far exceeded London's ability to look after the basic needs of its citizens. A combination of coal-fired stoves and poor sanitation made the air heavy and foul-smelling. Immense amounts of raw sewage was dumped straight into the Thames River. Even royals were not immune from the stench of London - when Queen Victoria occupied Buckingham Palace her apartments were ventilated through the common sewers, a fact that was not disclosed until some 40 years later. Upon this scene entered an unlikely hero, an engineer named Joseph Bazalgette. Bazalgette was responsible for the building of over 2100 km of tunnels and pipes to divert sewage outside the city. This made a drastic impact on the death rate, and outbreaks of cholera dropped dramatically after Bazlgette's work was finished. For an encore, Bazalgette also was responsible for the design of the Embankment, and the Battersea, Hammersmith, and Albert Bridges. Before the engineering triumphs of Bazalgette came the architectural triumphs of George IV's favorite designer, John Nash. Nash designed the broad avenues of Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, Carlton House Terrace, and Oxford Circus, as well as the ongoing creation of Buckingham transformation of Buckingham House into a palace worthy of a monarch. In 1829 Sir Robert Peel founded the Metropolitan Police to handle law and order in areas outside the City proper. These police became known as "Bobbies" after their founder. Just behind Buckingham Palace the Grosvenor family developed the aristocratic Belgrave Square. In 1830 land just east of the palace was cleared of the royal stables to create Trafalgar Square, and the new National Gallery sprang up there just two years later. The early part of the 19th century was the golden age of steam. The first railway in London was built from London Bridge to Greenwich in 1836, and a great railway boom followed. Major stations were built at Euston (1837), Paddington (1838), Fenchurch Street (1841), Waterloo (1848), and King's Cross (1850). In 1834 the Houses of Parliament at Westminster Palace burned down. They were gradually replaced by the triumphant mock-Gothic Houses of Parliament designed by Charles Barry and A.W. Pugin. In 1848 the great Potato Famine struck Ireland. What has this to do with the history of London? Plenty. Over 100,000 impoverished Irish fled their native land and settled in London, making at one time up to 20% of the total population of the city. Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria was largely responsible for one of the defining moments of the era that bears his wife's name; the Great Exhibition of 1851. This was the first great world's fair, a showcase of technology and manufacturing from countries all over the world. The Exhibition was held in Hyde Park, and the centerpiece was Joseph Paxton's revolutionary iron and glass hall, dubbed the "Crystal Palace". The exhibition was an immense success, with over 200,000 attendees. After the event, the Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham, in South London, where it stayed until it burned to the ground in 1936. The proceeds from the Great Exhibition went towards the founding of two new permanent displays, which became the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. For all the economic expansion of the Industrial Revolution, living conditions among London's poor were appalling. Children as young as 5 were often set to work begging or sweeping chimneys. Campaigners like Charles Dickens did much to make the plight of the poor in London known to the literate classes with his novels, notably Oliver Twist. |
![]() |
|
| « Previous Topic · An Introduction · Next Topic » |







8:39 AM Jul 11