Two-penny hangover
A two-penny hangover was a sleeping arrangement for the poor in Victorian England. Customers were allowed to spend the night sitting on a bench, with a rope in front of them to stop them from falling over when asleep.[1]
The practice was attested to by George Orwell in Down and Out in Paris and London, in which Orwell wrote:
- "At the Twopenny Hangover, the lodgers sit in a row on a bench; there is a rope in front of them, and they lean on this as though leaning over a fence. A man, humorously called the valet, cuts the rope at five in the morning. I have never been there myself, but Bozo had been there often. I asked him whether anyone could possibly sleep in such an attitude, and he said that it was more comfortable than it sounded—at any rate, better than bare floor. There are similar shelters in Paris, but the charge there is only twenty-five centimes (a halfpenny) instead of twopence."[2]
An even cheaper option, the penny sit-up, was available, but it did not allow the customer to sleep but merely to sit awake upright.
Charles Dickens describes a different form of "twopenny rope" in The Pickwick Papers,[3] in a conversation between Mr. Pickwick and Sam Weller:
‘Sights, sir,’ resumed Mr. Weller, ‘as ‘ud penetrate your benevolent heart, and come out on the other side. You don’t see the reg’lar vagrants there; trust ‘em, they know better than that. Young beggars, male and female, as haven’t made a rise in their profession, take up their quarters there sometimes; but it’s generally the worn-out, starving, houseless creatures as roll themselves in the dark corners o’ them lonesome places—poor creatures as ain’t up to the twopenny rope.’
‘And pray, Sam, what is the twopenny rope?’ inquired Mr. Pickwick.
‘The twopenny rope, sir,’ replied Mr. Weller, ‘is just a cheap lodging 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. ‘When the lady and gentleman as keeps the hot-el first begun business, they used to make the beds on the floor; but this wouldn’t do at any 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 advantage o’ the plan’s obvious. At six o’clock every mornin’ they let’s go the ropes at one end, and down falls the lodgers. Consequence is, that being thoroughly waked, they get up very quietly, and walk away!’
References
- ↑ "A Very Victorian Two-Penny Hangover". Historic UK. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
- ↑ Orwell, George. Down and Out in Paris and London. Search this book on
Chapter 37.
- ↑ Dickens, Charles. "The Pickwick Papers". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
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