The Early History of English Soup Kitchens
Channel: Two Slices - Food History
Date: 2022-05-01

In 1795 there were only a handful of large-scale soup kitchens in England, by 1900 there were several thousand. 

This video discusses why soup kitchens became so widespread in England. 

Soup kitchens were admired by those who set them up, but were incredibly dehumanising for the people who used them. 


Further information

Colquhoun's pamphlet makes for interesting, if wordy, reading - it can be found here: 
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/dzvut3ua

I did not come across the folk song in this video through my own research, this was taken from a lecture given by Philip Carstairs who is the foremost  historian of early soup kitchens. If these videos have provoked an interest in the topic  then I highly recommend taking a look at Carstairs' Work. Hiss lecture can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jMSaQPfSSE&ab_channel=FoodHistorySeminar-IHR

The 'London Lives' project, is worth a look. This is a vast collection of sources that give a good idea of what would have been like for urban workers in the 18th century:
https://www.londonlives.org/index.jsp

The new poor laws coincided with the rise of soup houses in Britain, but discussing these would have made this a very long video. If you're interested in learning about the poor laws, or workhouses in more detail, see the links below: 

Introduction to the poor laws from the BBC 'In our time' radio show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aD0BUJAtcE

Documentary on the Eastville workhouse from Bristol radical history:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMobWOWh5RI






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