The Ruskinsʼ house stood four miles from the
“Standard in Cornhill”
in the
City (
Hilton, John Ruskin: The Early Years, 8),
which marked the crossroads of
Cornhill,
Gracechurch,
Leadenhall, and
Bishopsgate—very near to
John James Ruskinʼs business premises
in
Billiter Street (see
City of London; and
Smith, Elder, & Company). Travelers between
London and
Camberwell south of the
river
could cross
London Bridge connecting with
Old Camberwell Road,
which ran along the western side of the parish (the most convenient route between
Billiter Street and
Herne Hill),
or they could take
Blackfriars Bridge connecting with the
Old Kent Road,
which ran along the eastern side of the parish. The traveler inevitably encountered turnpike roads on the south side of the
river,
requiring tolls (
Dyos, Victorian Suburb, 64–65).
The Ruskins did not maintain a carriage of their own (
Dearden, John Ruskinʼs Camberwell, 8),
so
John James Ruskin must have taken public transport into the
City of London.
According to
H. J. Dyos, by
1834 these roads between
Camberwell and
London were traversed each day by seventeen coaches
running ninety journeys between them. Omnibuses were introduced in
1835, at first used mainly by casual travelers into the city,
not businessmen who departed earlier than these conveyances started. The frequency of omnibus schedules
accommodating all commuter travel increased at mid‐century. Then in the
1860s,
railways became a practical means of suburban commuting to and from work in the city.
The preceding decades of rail development was associated with distance travel, not suburban commuting
(
Dyos, Victorian Suburb, 66–67, 70–71).