Who were the Flower Girls of Covent Garden?

Covent Garden Market was established in 1630 by the 4th Earl of Bedford, as the nation’s first public square. Originating as a residential area for the wealthy, the market began to develop around 1654, and by the turn of the century was devoted to the selling of fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs from permanent stalls.

As Covent Garden Market developed, street selling across London became more common. Among these street sellers were the London Flower Girls, who populated the market and other public areas.

In his article London Labour and the London Poor (1851), Henry Mayhew describes the two types of flower girls commonly found in Victorian London. The first were younger children, who worked as street sellers to support their families. The second were in their early twenties and of ‘immoral character’, and would continue to sell goods late into the night.

Perhaps the most famous example of a London Flower girl can be found in Pygmalion, through the character of Eliza Doolittle. A Covent Garden street seller, Eliza finds herself the subject of a bet between Professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering, as Higgins attempts to transform her into a lady of the London elite.

Shaw is said to have taken inspiration for his character from Eliza Sheffield, a barmaid who, through her marriage to an aristocrat, rose through the ranks of London society.