In the slums of Victorian England, poverty was so pervasive that even sleep came with a price tag. Among the poorest of the poor, including homeless labourers, beggars, and itinerant workers, there existed an entire economy of cheap lodging known as “doss-houses.” These establishments offered minimal shelter in a hierarchy of misery at equally minimal prices, catering to those who could not afford a proper bed. The poorest could choose among the penny sit-up, the two-penny hangover, and, if they could stretch their means a little, the four-penny coffin.
The Penny Sit-Up
Established during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the penny sit-up was one of the first homeless shelters in central London operated by The Salvation Army to provide support to destitute people. For the price of a single penny, a man or woman could spend the night indoors but was not permitted to lie down. Instead, he was given a seat on a bench or a rough wooden plank in a crowded, dimly lit room. There were no blankets, and often the room was unheated. The “lodgers” were expected to remain upright all night, dozing fitfully as they sat shoulder to shoulder with other destitute souls. Some places even went as far as to employ monitors to ensure that no one fell asleep, as the right to sleep was not included in the penny price. For many, the penny sit-up was the last refuge before outright homelessness, but it was still preferable to spending night outside in England’s wet and freezing winters.
The Two-Penny Hangover
A slight improvement was the two-penny hangover, named for the peculiar manner in which one slept. For two pennies, the lodger could rest his body on a bench and lean forward over a thick rope stretched tightly across the room, hanging onto it as he dozed. The rope acted as a crude support, allowing him to slump forward and sleep in a bent position—hence the word hangover. Come morning, the rope was unceremoniously untied or dropped, sending the sleepers tumbling to the floor as a signal that their night’s lodging had ended. The two-penny hangover was considered more desirable than the penny sit-up because it allowed some semblance of rest, however awkward.
A scene from "The Great Train Robbery," recreated the two-penny hangover.
The Four-Penny Coffin
For four pennies one could finally stretch out. The “four-penny coffin” was the closest thing to a bed the penniless could afford. Named for its shape, it consisted of a narrow wooden box resembling a coffin, often with an oilcloth or leather blanket, and sometimes even a pillow. Often the price would include a cup of tea or coffee and a piece of bread as well. Although the coffins provided the luxury of horizontal sleep, people who used them would wake up cramped and sore the next day.
The coffin beds were offered in some of the better-run doss-houses and later by the Salvation Army, which sought to reform the worst of London’s lodging conditions. Though spartan, these beds were a vast improvement on the benches and ropes that came cheaper.
This macabre scale of sleeping arrangements, ranging from a penny to fourpence, have been commented upon by both Charles Dickens in his ‘Pickwick Papers’, which were published in 1836, and George Orwell’s work ‘Down and Out in London and Paris’ published in 1933.
In Pickwick Papers, when Mr. Pickwick’s manservant, Sam Weller, explains how he was forced to take a twopenny rope as a lodging for a fortnight, his master inquired, ‘And pray, Sam, what is the twopenny rope?’. Weller explains:
‘The twopenny rope, sir,’ replied Mr. Weller, ‘is just a cheap lodgin’ house, where the beds is twopence a night.’
‘What do they call a bed a rope for?’ said Mr. Pickwick.
‘Bless your innocence, sir, that ain’t it,’ replied Sam. ‘Ven the lady and gen’l’m’n as keeps the hot-el first begun business, they used to make the beds on the floor; but this wouldn’t do at no price, ‘cos instead o’ taking a moderate twopenn’orth o’ sleep, the lodgers used to lie there half the day. So now they has two ropes, ’bout six foot apart, and three from the floor, which goes right down the room; and the beds are made of slips of coarse sacking, stretched across ’em.’
‘Well,’ said Mr. Pickwick.
‘Well,’ said Mr. Weller, ‘the adwantage o’ the plan’s hobvious. At six o’clock every mornin’ they lets go the ropes at one end, and down falls the lodgers. Consequence is, that being thoroughly waked, they get up wery quietly, and walk away!‘
The two-penny sleeping arrangement is so fascinating for some that one of the contributors to Casebook, an online forum devoted to the Jack the Ripper murders, attempted to recreate the experience for himself.
After my first night on the ropes, I can say…..man that was uncomfortable. Sorry, no pictures yet, because I was the only one home last night.
I first tried to sleep standing up, facing the rope with my arms hanging over it. That only lasted about 3 minutes. I find this method most improbable, because without anything other than the rope supporting the body you cannot stay on it. If you were ever able to get to sleep, your legs would go limp and you’d fall off.
Next, I tried sitting facing the rope, arms hanging over. This method would be possible, but only after you are very tired. The first thing you find out with this method is that, unless you have a large rolled-up piece of material between your arms and the rope, your arms will fall asleep before you do.
Next, I tried leaning forward with my forehead on the rope. This was much more comfortable that the other two tries, and I could sleep this way. It’s the same as resting your head on the desk in front of you – or the seat-back on the school bus, as I heard one person put it. The drawback is that if there are more people on the rope and someone moves it, you will fall off.
Last, I tried leaning back against the rope with my arms hanging over it. This position actually supported my body very well, but not my head. It was by far still the best position, and I actually slept for about an hour.
References:
# A Very Victorian Two-Penny Hangover. Historic UK
# The Twopenny Hangover. Mike Dash
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