Introduction

When people think of the Matchgirls, they usually picture the young women who worked inside the Bryant & May factory in Bow and who famously went on strike in July 1888. Yet beyond the factory gates was another workforce, far larger and far less visible.

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Across the East End of London, thousands of women and children earned a living making matchboxes in their own homes. Working at kitchen tables, in overcrowded tenements and tiny courts, they folded, glued and assembled the boxes that carried Britain's matches into homes around the world. Their names rarely appeared in newspapers. They left few photographs and almost no personal records. Yet without their labour, the match industry could not have functioned. Today, they remain one of the least remembered groups of Victorian working women.

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What Did Homeworkers Do?

The manufacture of matches involved many different processes. Inside factories such as Bryant & May, workers cut timber, prepared splints, dipped matches into chemicals, packed finished products and prepared them for sale.

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Many of the cardboard boxes used to hold those matches, however, were produced outside the factory through a system of homeworking. Bundles of cardboard components were distributed to workers who assembled them at home. The work involved folding, gluing and constructing both the inner tray and outer sleeve of each matchbox before returning completed boxes to contractors or factory agents.

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The work required patience and speed rather than machinery. Because it could be carried out in cramped domestic spaces, manufacturers saw it as an ideal task to outsource.

For employers, the arrangement reduced costs. For workers, it offered one of the few opportunities to earn money while remaining at home.

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Life in London's East End

Most matchbox homeworkers lived in some of the poorest districts of Victorian London. Areas such as Bow, Poplar, Limehouse, Stepney and Mile End were characterised by overcrowded housing, poor sanitation and widespread poverty. Many families occupied just one or two rooms.

For homeworkers, there was no separation between work and family life.

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The same room might serve as a workshop during the day, a kitchen at mealtimes and a bedroom at night. Cardboard, glue and bundles of unfinished boxes shared space with cooking utensils, washing and children's belongings.

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Women worked wherever they could find room: at tables, on benches, or sometimes sitting on beds. The home was both workplace and refuge, making it difficult to escape the demands of work.

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Paid by the Piece

Homeworkers were not paid a regular wage. Instead, they were paid by the piece, receiving a small amount for each gross (144 boxes) they completed. The rates varied but were notoriously low. Contemporary investigations reported payments of only a few pence per gross, with workers often expected to provide their own glue and string. This meant earnings depended entirely on speed and volume.

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The result was relentless pressure to work for long hours. Families often worked from early morning until late at night in an effort to earn enough money to survive. Even then, many remained trapped in poverty. 

 

Victorian reformers frequently cited matchbox making as an example of what became known as "sweated labour" - work characterised by low wages, long hours and insecure employment.

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Women and Children at Work

Women formed the backbone of the homeworking system. Many were married women whose husbands found only irregular employment as dock labourers, casual workers or street traders. Others were widows or single mothers with few alternatives for supporting their families.

Children frequently helped with the work.

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Older daughters often worked alongside their mothers, folding boxes and applying glue. Younger children might sort materials, tie bundles or assist with deliveries. Although children were not always formally employed, their labour often contributed directly to the family's income. The involvement of entire families was common throughout many Victorian home industries and reflected the economic realities faced by the poorest households.

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The Famous Photograph

One of the most powerful images associated with Victorian poverty shows a woman making matchboxes while her young child sleeps beneath the table. The photograph has become an enduring symbol of sweated labour in late nineteenth-century Britain. 

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It captures the reality faced by many homeworkers. Work could not simply be left behind at the end of the day. Mothers combined childcare and paid labour simultaneously, often working whenever there was a spare moment.

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For many women, producing matchboxes was not merely a job. It was a constant struggle to keep food on the table and a roof over their family's heads.

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Homeworkers and the Matchgirls Strike

The famous Matchgirls Strike of 1888 focused attention on conditions inside the Bryant & May factory. The Strike led to important improvements, including the abolition of unfair fines, an end to deductions for materials and the recognition of workers' grievances. Yet many homeworkers remained outside these reforms.

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Unlike factory workers, they had no common workplace where they could organise collectively. They were scattered across hundreds of homes throughout the East End. Their isolation made it difficult to form unions or campaign for better conditions. As a result, while the Matchgirls became symbols of working-class resistance and collective action, many homeworkers continued to experience the hardships of sweated labour long after the strike had ended.

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Why Their Story Matters

The story of the Matchgirls is rightly celebrated as a landmark in labour history. However, understanding the wider match industry means recognising that the factory workers were only part of a much larger workforce. Behind every box of matches stood countless women and children whose labour took place behind closed doors.

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The homeworkers remind us that Victorian industry was not confined to factories. It extended into homes, streets and communities, blurring the line between domestic life and paid work.

Their experiences reveal the hidden costs of industrialisation and the often invisible contribution of working-class women to Britain's economic success.

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A Forgotten Legacy

The Matchgirls became famous. Their strike inspired workers across Britain and helped shape the emerging trade union movement. The homeworkers, by contrast, were largely forgotten.

Few names survive. Few photographs exist. Their voices are rarely heard in official records.

Yet they were an essential part of the same industry and faced many of the same struggles: low pay, insecurity, long hours and poverty.

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By remembering the homeworkers alongside the Matchgirls, we gain a fuller understanding of the women whose labour powered Victorian Britain and whose determination helped lay the foundations for future improvements in working conditions.

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Can You Help?

The Matchgirls Memorial is keen to learn more about the women and children who made matchboxes at home in London's East End. If you have family connections to matchbox making, photographs, documents or memories that might help us understand this hidden workforce, we would love to hear from you.

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Together, we can help ensure that these forgotten workers are remembered alongside the Matchgirls whose story has inspired generations.