University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2016 Minding the Gap: Uncovering the Underground's Role in the Formation of Modern London, 1855-1945 Danielle K. Dodson University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2016.339 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Dodson, Danielle K., "Minding the Gap: Uncovering the Underground's Role in the Formation of Modern London, 1855-1945" (2016). Theses and Dissertations--History. 40. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/40 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Danielle K. Dodson, Student Dr. Philip Harling, Major Professor Dr. Scott Taylor, Director of Graduate Studies MINDING THE GAP: UNCOVERING THE UNDERGROUND’S ROLE IN THE FORMATION OF MODERN LONDON, 1855-1945 ________________________ DISSERTATION ________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Danielle Kristen Dodson Lexington, Kentucky Director: Philip Harling, Professor of History Lexington, Kentucky 2016 Copyright © Danielle Kristen Dodson 2016 ABSTRACT MINDING THE GAP: UNCOVERING THE UNDERGROUND’S ROLE IN THE FORMATION OF MODERN LONDON, 1855-1945 My research examines how the London Underground – the first subway in the world - provided new public spaces and forms of mobility that redefined how Londoners interacted in, moved through, and imaged the city. Perhaps nothing embodies the Underground’s iconic status in London quite as completely as the phrase, “Mind the Gap.” This phrase, which originally referred to the gap between the train and the platform at Embankment station on the Northern line, has since become an enduringly popular symbol of London in the minds of travelers and visitors. The fact that a behavioral command about how to move through Underground space has become synonymous with visiting London suggests the deep connections between spatial behaviors and identity in the modern city. People had to be taught how to “Mind the Gap” – and railway officials were never completely able to control the ways in which people used, traveled through, and imagined these spaces. Illuminating these tensions between railway technicians and ordinary passengers demonstrates how the Underground provided a new type of space in which men and women from different classes and backgrounds could assert claims to freedom of movement within the city. Aside from the gap between station platforms and Underground trains, this cultural history of the Underground also reveals how Londoners negotiated and bridged other important gaps - between rich and poor, men and women, and concepts of what constituted being modern or backwards, progressive or dangerous - as they embraced this public space as a part of their everyday lives. My dissertation interweaves works of art and fiction, literary scholarship, and elements of geography and sociology into a cultural history of London’s transport. Though it was owned and operated by a series of private companies throughout the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the Underground offered a relatively affordable means of traversing the capitol for Londoners of all classes and backgrounds, and therefore the spaces of the Underground network (stations, platforms, and train cars) acted as public spaces where new ideas about democratic order in society were challenged and negotiated. My dissertation will bring a new perspective to studies of urban history by using interactions within the Tube to demonstrate how modernity was experienced and given meaning through particular spatial practices. I argue that the Underground helped challenge and redefine urban identities in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, particularly for women. KEYWORDS: Subways, Urbanization, Spatial Studies, British Transport History, Women and Mobility Danielle Dodson_____ July 20, 016_________ MINDING THE GAP: UNCOVERING THE UNDERGROUND’S ROLE IN THE FORMATION OF MODERN LONDON, 1855-1945 By Danielle Dodson ______Dr. Philip Harling__ ____ Director of Dissertation _______Dr. Scott Taylor_______ Director of Graduate Studies _______July 20th, 2016________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I first got the idea to write about the Underground for a research paper during my first year of graduate school, I had no idea that I would still be as enthralled with this subject seven years later (well, most of the time). This work owes an enormous debt of gratitude to a number of people who I would like to thank here. First, I would like to thank my committee members – Dr. Karen Petrone for giving me the initial idea to study the cultural history of public celebrations and for providing thoughtful analysis; Dr. Akiko Takenaka for being willing to teach me all about spatial studies and help me prepare a qualifying field on the subject when I had almost no idea what I was actually talking about; Dr. Srimati Basu for challenging me to think more broadly about issues of gender and empire in British society (there aren’t enough of either subject here, probably, but that fault is entirely my own); and Dr. Jonathan Allison for being so enthusiastic and helpful about reading the completed dissertation. I would especially like to thank Dr. Jim Albisetti for providing lightning-fast feedback and thoughtful encouragement and friendship over the years. In particular, his support for the graduate program at the University of Kentucky enabled me to travel to London for research on two occasions, and this work is made possibly largely by his generosity. Lastly, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Philip Harling, for his incredible mentorship over the last seven years. Dr. Harling has made me a better writer, iii teacher, scholar, and (hopefully, if any of his warm personality rubbed off on me) person. I knew when I started here that Dr. Harling would be an excellent advisor, but he has also become a real friend and mentor as well, and I will be forever grateful to him for his generosity and kind spirit. I would also like to thank my friends in the history department. Team Britain – Jill Abney, Jon Coleman, and Lacey Sparks (and our sometimes honorary member, Stephen Pickering) - provided me with something I’d only dreamed about before grad school: a group of people as excited about England as I was. I am so thankful for your friendship. This work would also not be complete without the support of my writing group, particularly Jill Abney and Dana Johnson. While most writing days probably involved more eating and laughing than writing, those times will remain some of my very favorite memories and did essential work to buoy my spirit in grad school. I am so lucky to have found lifelong friends in you both. My family and friends have also been an unending source of support and I cannot thank them enough. I know I asked a great deal of them over the years and I was not always able to adequately convey how deeply I have appreciated their help. I am so thankful to my close friends, Rachel May and Emily Boyle, for continuously encouraging me and helping me stay happy and healthy during the isolation of the dissertating process. My sister, Lexi Dodson, tried to keep me sane during moments of intense stress, and I am especially thankful that she overlooked how many weekends I promised and failed to visit because I was writing. My mother, Cyndi Dodson, has been my biggest fan iv and did so much to ensure that the other parts of my life could run smoothly so I could focus on work. This dissertation would not have been possible without her daily help. I would also like to thank my father, Mark Dodson, for providing support throughout my time at UK. I also think I owe much of this work to him, because I am quite certain his love for the Beatles, Sherlock Holmes, and Monty Python has everything to do with why I chose to study British History.