The milkwoman

An illustration of a milkwoman from 'London: a Pilgrimage' by Blanchard Jerrold and Gustave Doré, 1872. Milk was obtained from herds of cows kept in the pastures around London, but there were also small shops where cow-keepers kept their animals in yards behind the premises. The cows were given a variety of feeds, including the mash produced by breweries. A few cows were also kept in St James's Park. In 'London Labour and the London Poor' (1861), Henry Mayhew noted that: 'The milk-sellers obtain leave from the Home Secretary, to ply their trade in the park. There are eight stands in the summer, and as many cows, but in the winter there are only four cows. The milk-vendors sell upon an average, in the summer, from eighteen to twenty quarts per day; in the winter, not more than a third of that quantity.'