Cities were dirty, noisy, and overcrowded. London had about 600,000 people around 1700 and almost a million residents in 1800. The rich, only a tiny minority of the population, lived luxuriously in lavish, elegant mansions and country houses, which they furnished with comfortable, upholstered furniture.
What was daily life like in the 1800s?
Many lived a hand-to-mouth existence, working long hours in often harsh conditions. There was no electricity, running water or central heating. With no electric lighting (or gas) the rhythm of life revolved around the hours of daylight, and therefore would have varied with the seasons.
What were the living conditions like in London in the 1800s?
London’s population grew rapidly during the 19th century. This lead to major problems with overcrowding and poverty. Disease and early death were common for both rich and poor people. Victorian children did not have as many toys and clothes as children do today and many of them were homemade.
What was happening in 1800s in England?
The period saw the British Empire grow to become the first global industrial power, producing much of the world’s coal, iron, steel and textiles. The Victorian era saw revolutionary breakthroughs in the arts and sciences, which shaped the world as we know it today.
What was life like in the 1830s in England?
England in the 1830s was a country in thrall to industrialisation. But new machines gave rise to new political problems: a middle class with a growing political consciousness, the dangers of the unregulated, uninspected factory floor, and the drain of workers from the country to England’s great industrial cities.
What did adults do for fun in the 1800s?
What sort of things might you do to have fun and be entertained? Theatre Halls were numerous and performances were regularly given by theatre troupes, ventriloquists, hypnotists, poets, comedians, choirs and orchestras. Circuses came to town and set up in parks and public places.
What did kids do in the 1800s?
Foot races, hopscotch, marbles, and spinning tops were also popular. Playing hopscotch outside Job Carr Cabin Museum. When the weather was poor and children had to stay indoors, they could sing, read, or memorize poetry. Girls as young as four began learning how to use a needle and thread.
What did Victorians smell like?
By the middle of the Victorian era, bergamot and lemon oil had surpassed Eau de Cologne to become the most popular fragrance for women. According to Goodman: “Bergamot and lemon oil, sometimes employed separately but more often used in combination, was the signature smell of the middle years of the century.
What was family life like in the 1800s?
Many lived in one or two room houses that were often crowded with large families, as well as lodgers that shared their living space. Women typically gave birth to eight to ten children; however, due to high mortality rates, only raised five or six children.
How clean were Victorians?
Showers were not yet en vogue and everyone bathed to keep clean. Poorer families would have boiled water on the stove then added it along with cool water to a wooden or metal tub, usually in the kitchen area, when it was time for a deep scrub down.
What was the 1800s called in England?
Victorian era, in British history, the period between approximately 1820 and 1914, corresponding roughly but not exactly to the period of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837–1901) and characterized by a class-based society, a growing number of people able to vote, a growing state and economy, and Britain’s status as the most
What problems did people have in the 1800s?
Industrial expansion and population growth radically changed the face of the nation’s cities. Noise, traffic jams, slums, air pollution, and sanitation and health problems became commonplace.
How did people dress in the late 1800s?
Long bloomers and pantaloons trimmed with lace were popular. Tiered cape-jackets were fashionable, as were paisley patterned shawls. Deep bonnets were worn and hair was swept into buns or side coils from a centre parting.
What was life like for a woman in the 1800s?
Women did not have the power to make contracts, own property or vote. A woman was seen merely as a servant to her husband. By the 1830s and 1840s, however, that began to change when many bold, outspoken women championed social reforms of prisons, war, alcohol and slavery.
What was home like in the 1800s?
The houses were cheap, most had between two and four rooms – one or two rooms downstairs, and one or two rooms upstairs, but Victorian families were big with perhaps four or five children. There was no water, and no toilet. A whole street (sometimes more) would have to share a couple of toilets and a pump.
What did Victorians eat?
Popular foods included beef, mutton, port, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread, potatoes, rice, porridge oats, milk, vegetables, flour, sugar, treacle, jam and tea. Breakfast might consist of stoneground bread smeared with dripping or lard, with a large bunch of watercress.
What did girls do for fun in the 1800s?
When they wouldn’t be playing football, they would be playing a board game or a toy they own at home. Girls would be in the park most of the time talking to one another. They would also be at home preparing to learn how to be a woman.
What did girls do in the 1800s?
In the 1800s, women usually stayed at home. They cleaned the house and cooked and sewed. They didn’t often go out to work and many girls didn’t go to school. Women from very poor families worked as servants.
What did people do at night in the 1800s?
Before electricity, what did Victorian families do in the evenings? For some the answer was simple – they went to sleep. Others did a variety of activities by candlelight, oil lamp, or gas light. Like today, children had homework.
How were babies treated in the 1800s?
Children were often sent to stay with friends or family as a birth approached, so that they would be spared the sound of their mother crying out in pain. Sometimes they would be unaware that another baby was even expected until they returned home again.
How much were kids paid in the 1800s?
Most children working here were boys earning $0.50-$0.60 a day. Underground, a boy might work 14 hours a day. Working in a cannery was a seasonal job, very common for six and seven year old boys and girls. An ordinary day began at 3 a.m. At the height of the season, children often worked eighteen hours a day.