• Introduction
• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Visits to churches
• Reports of local communities
• Police notebooks
• Housing and rents
• Local government

Introduction

Archive reference numbers: Booth A31-58, B169-392

The results of the religious influences part of the survey were published in seven volumes in the final edition of Life and Labour of the People in London, describing the work of the churches by geographic area. Information was gained from religious organisations by interviews undertaken by the social investigators and by questionnaires. Charles Booth, in the introduction to the religious influence volumes states:

"My principal aim is confined to the descriptions of things as they are.[...] My concern in the matter of religion is solely with the extent to which people accept doctrines, conform to the discipline and share in the work of religious bodies"

Questionnaires

Archive reference numbers: Booth A31-58

There are two examples of religious questionnaires used during the survey which survive in the Charles Booth archive: the first entitled: "Form A – The Church of England" and "Form B – Non-conformist Churches". The questions are the same on each form and are as follows:-

1. What is the general character of the population?
2. What portion do the ministrations of the Church touch?
3. What persons are employed? (stating duties and whether paid or not)
4. What buildings are used? (including mission rooms, schools and clubs)
5. What services or other religious meetings are held and by whom and by how many attended?
6. What social agencies are connected with the Church – institutes, societies, clubs, entertainment's meetings etc.
7. What educational work is done?
8. To what extent are the people visited? (by ministers or district visitors)
9. What arrangements are there for nursing the sick?
10. To what extent is charitable relief given or administered by the Church

General questions are also asked concerning other religious influences on the population and the extent of co-operation between church organisations. Remarks are also invited concerning: local government; police; drink; prostitution; crime; marriage; thrift; health; housing; and social conditions.

This is an example of a questionnaire following Form A - The Church of England from Booth A54 page 33 of the Booth Collection at the Archives Division of the British Library of Political and Economic Science (London School of Economics). It concerns St Saviour's parish in Forest Hill.

This is an example of a questionnaire following Form B - Non-conformist Churches from Booth A54 page 34 of the Booth Collection at the Archives Division of the British Library of Political and Economic Science (London School of Economics). It concerns Wesleyan churches in Anerley.

Interviews

Archive reference numbers: Booth B169-B315

The survey notebooks covering religious influences contain 1800 written reports of personal interviews of which 1450 were with direct representatives of religious work and nearly 350 with other authorities.

Ministers of all denominations were interviewed. Church of England, Methodist, Presbyterian, Jewish and Roman Catholic ministers were consulted as well as Salvation Army officers and missionaries. The reports of the interviews contain printed material of the church organisations including parish magazines, service sheets, printed accounts, printed photographs of clergy and annual reports. The social investigators often included a description of the physical characteristics and manner of the interviewee.

Visits to churches

Archive reference numbers: Booth A43, A46, B385-B387

The social investigators visited churches and wrote reports of the services and their observations of the church buildings.

Two of the notebooks are arranged by area:-

Booth district	Area covered	Archive reference number
29	Fulham	Booth A43
30	Hammersmith	Booth A43
31	Lambeth and St Saviour's Southwark	Booth A46
32	Trinity Newington and St Mary Bermondsey	Booth A46
33	St James Bermondsey and Rotherhithe	Booth A46
34	Lambeth and Kennington	Booth A46
42	St George Camberwell	Booth A46

Reports of local communities

Archive reference numbers: Booth A33-35, A37, A39-A42

Reports of religious influences by area, on a parish by parish basis. They provide a flavour of life in the local community and often reveal more about the area than the just the religious influences.

Booth district	Area covered	Archive reference number
1	The City	Booth A42
2	Strand and St Giles	Booth A41
3	St James, Westminster, Soho, All Saints and Tottenham Court Road	Booth A41
4	Clerkenwell and Grays' Inn	Booth A40
5	Old Street, Finsbury and Shoreditch	Booth A40
7	Mile End Old Town, and Spitalfields	Booth A39
8	Aldgate, St George's in the East and Shadwell	Booth A39
9	Bethnal Green, North and South	Booth A39
10	Bethnal Green, East	Booth A33
11	Poplar and Limehouse	Booth A33
12	Bow and Bromley	Booth A33-A34
13	South Hackney and Hackney	Booth A35
14	West Hackney and South East Islington	Booth A37
15	South West Islington	Booth A37
17	Upper Holloway	Booth A37

Police notebooks

Click here for information on the police notebooks

Housing and rents

Archive reference numbers: Booth B316-345

Notebooks describe the type of housing, average rents, sketches of typical housing and a description of the housing and rents of properties in specific streets.

Local government

Archive reference numbers: Booth B377-B384

Notebooks describe evidence concerning local government contained in the earlier interviews [Booth B169-B315] and additional interviews with local government officials.