The mid-century workers in London did not have proper houses to live in. They had to find residence in cheap, usually unsafe tenements. According to a survey by a Liverpool shipowner in 1887, as many as one million Londoners (about 1/5 of the population of London at that time were very poor, expected to live upto an average age of 29 as compared to 55 among the gentry and the middle class. They were expected to die in a ‘‘workhouse, hospital or lunatic asylum. There were constant worries about fire hazard created by poor housing. The one-room houses occupied by the poor were a serious threat to public health. There was a constant fear of uprising by the poor. The only leisure for working classes was to meet in pubs and drink, exchange news and sometimes also organise for political action. Crime flourished among workers who did not have jobs. Children were forced to work for low wages. Women tried to earn by working at home or domestic maids. Later on there was a drive to build more houses, clearn up the city,provide libraries and museums for the workers. Workers were encouraged to take annual leave and go to the seaside like Blackpool. Cinema also became a means of mass entertainment.