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For the prison in St. Louis known as “The Workhouse”, see St. Louis Workhouse.

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VICTORION TIMES WHERE IN 1837
VICTORIONS HAD A QUEEN CALLED QUEEN VICTORIA

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In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the Georgian era and preceded the Edwardian era, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.

Various liberalising political reforms took place in the UK, including expanding the electoral franchise. The Great Famine caused mass death in Ireland early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other great powers. It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and was the predominant power in the world.

Victorian society valued a high standard of personal conduct across all sections of society. The emphasis on morality gave impetus to social reform but also placed restrictions on certain groups' liberty. Prosperity rose during the period, but debilitating undernutrition persisted. Literacy and childhood education became near universal in Great Britain for the first time. Whilst some attempts were made to improve living conditions, slum housing and disease remained a severe problem.

The period saw significant scientific and technological development. Britain was advanced in industry and engineering in particular, but somewhat undeveloped in art and education. Great Britain's population increased rapidly, while Ireland's fell sharply.

Terminology and periodisation

In the strictest sense, the Victorian era covers the duration of Victoria's reign as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from her accession on 20 June 1837-after the death of her uncle, William IV-until her death on 22 January 1901, after which she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII. Her reign lasted 63 years and seven months, a longer period than any of her predecessors. The term 'Victorian' was in contemporaneous usage to describe the era. The era has also been understood in a more extensive sense as a period that possessed sensibilities and characteristics distinct from the periods adjacent to it, in which case it is sometimes dated to begin before Victoria's accession-typically from the passage of or agitation for (during the 1830s) the Reform Act 1832, which introduced a wide-ranging change to the electoral system of England and Wales. Definitions that purport a distinct sensibility or politics to the era have also created scepticism about the worth of the label 'Victorian', though there have also been defences of it.

Michael Sadleir was insistent that "in truth, the Victorian period is three periods, and not one". He distinguished early Victorianism-the socially and politically unsettled period from 1837 to 1850-and late Victorianism (from 1880 onwards), with its new waves of aestheticism and imperialism, from the Victorian heyday: mid-Victorianism, 1851 to 1879. He saw the latter period as characterized by a distinctive mixture of prosperity, domestic prudery, and complacency-what G. M. Trevelyan called the 'mid-Victorian decades of quiet politics and roaring prosperity'.

Political and diplomatic history

Domestically, Britain liberalised and gradually evolved into a democracy. The Reform Act, which made various changes to the electoral system including expanding the franchise, had been passed in 1832. The franchise was expanded again by the Second Reform Act in 1867. Cities were given greater political autonomy and the labour movement was legalised. From 1845 to 1852, the Great Famine caused mass starvation, disease and death in Ireland, sparking large-scale emigration. The Corn Laws were repealed in response to this. Across the British Empire, reform included rapid expansion, the complete abolition of slavery in the African possessions and the end of transportation of convicts to Australia. Restrictions on colonial trade were loosened and responsible (i.e. semi-autonomous) government was introduced in some territories.

Depiction of the defence of Rorke's Drift during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 by Alphonse de Neuville (1880)

Throughout most of the 19th century Britain was the most powerful country in the world. The period from 1815 to 1914, known as the Pax Britannica, was a time of relatively peaceful relations between the world's great powers. This is particularly true of Britain's interactions with the others. The only war in which the British Empire fought against another major power was the Crimean War, from 1853 to 1856. There were various revolts and violent conflicts within the British Empire, and Britain participated in wars against minor powers. It also took part in the diplomatic struggles of the Great Game and the Scramble for Africa.

In 1840, Queen Victoria married her German cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple had nine children, who themselves married into various royal families, and the queen thus became known as the 'grandmother of Europe'. In 1861, Albert died. Victoria went into mourning and withdrew from public life for ten years. In 1871, with republican sentiments growing in Britain, she began to return to public life. In her later years, her popularity soared as she became a symbol of the British Empire. Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901.

Society and culture

The Victorian era saw a rapidly growing middle class who became an important cultural influence, to a significant extent replacing the aristocracy as British society's dominant class. A distinctive middle-class lifestyle developed that influenced what society valued as a whole. Increased importance was placed on the value of the family, and the idea that marriage should be based on romantic love gained popularity. A clear separation was established between the home and the workplace, which had often not been the case before. The home was seen as a private environment, where housewives provided their husbands with a respite from the troubles of the outside world. Within this ideal, women were expected to focus on domestic matters and to rely on men as breadwinners. Women had limited legal rights in most areas of life, and a feminist movement developed. Parental authority was seen as important, but children were given legal protections against abuse and neglect for the first time. Access to education increased rapidly during the 19th century. State-funded schools were established in England and Wales for the first time. Education became compulsory for pre-teenaged children in England, Scotland and Wales. Literacy rates increased rapidly, and had become nearly universal by the end of the century. Private education for wealthier children, boys and more gradually girls, became more formalised over the course of the century.

The growing middle class and strong evangelical movement placed great emphasis on a respectable and moral code of behaviour. This included features such as charity, personal responsibility, controlled habits, child discipline and self-criticism. As well as personal improvement, importance was given to social reform. Utilitarianism was another philosophy that saw itself as based on science rather than on morality, but also emphasised social progress. An alliance formed between these two ideological strands. The reformers emphasised causes such as improving the conditions of women and children, giving police reform priority over harsh punishment to prevent crime, religious equality, and political reform in order to establish a democracy. The political legacy of the reform movement was to link the nonconformists (part of the evangelical movement) in England and Wales with the Liberal Party. This continued until the First World War. The Presbyterians played a similar role as a religious voice for reform in Scotland.

Religion was politically controversial during this era, with Nonconformists pushing for the disestablishment of the Church of England. Nonconformists comprised about half of church attendees in England in 1851, and gradually the legal discrimination that had been established against them outside of Scotland was removed. Legal restrictions on Roman Catholics were also largely removed. The number of Catholics grew in Great Britain due to conversions and immigration from Ireland. Secularism and doubts about the accuracy of the Old Testament grew among people with higher levels of education. Northern English and Scottish academics tended to be more religiously conservative, whilst agnosticism and even atheism (though its promotion was illegal) gained appeal among academics in the south. Historians refer to a 'Victorian Crisis of Faith', a period when religious views had to readjust to accommodate new scientific knowledge and criticism of the Bible.

A variety of reading materials grew in popularity during the period, including novels, women's magazines, children's literature, and newspapers. Much literature, including chapbooks, was distributed on the street. Music was also very popular, with genres such as folk music, broadsides, music halls, brass bands, theater music and choral music having mass appeal. What is now called classical music was somewhat undeveloped compared to parts of Europe but did have significant support. Many sports were introduced or popularised during the Victorian era. They became important to male identity. Examples included cricket, football, rugby, tennis and cycling. The idea of women participating in sport did not fit well with the Victorian view of femininity, but their involvement did increase as the period progressed. For the middle classes, many leisure activities such as table games could be done in the home while domestic holidays to rural locations such as the Lake District and Scottish Highlands were increasingly practical. The working classes had their own culture separate from that of their richer counterparts, various cheaper forms of entertainment and recreational activities provided by philanthropy. Trips to resorts such as Blackpool were increasingly popular towards the end of period. Initially the industrial revolution increased working hours, but over the course of the 19th century a variety of political and economic changes caused them to fall back down to and in some cases below pre-industrial levels, creating more time for leisure.

Economy, industry, and trade

Illustrations of the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield in The Illustrated London News (1861)

Before the Industrial Revolution, daily life had changed little for hundreds of years. The 19th century saw rapid technological development with a wide range of new inventions. This led Great Britain to become the foremost industrial and trading nation of the time. Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era (1850-1870) as Britain's 'Golden Years', with national income per person increasing by half. This prosperity was driven by increased industrialisation, especially in textiles and machinery, along with exports to the empire and elsewhere. The positive economic conditions, as well as a fashion among employers for providing welfare services to their workers, led to relative social stability. The Chartist movement for working-class men to be given the right to vote, which had been prominent in the early Victorian period, dissipated. Government involvement in the economy was limited. Only in the post-World War II period, around a century later, did the country experience substantial economic growth again. Bit whilst industry was well developed, education and the arts were mediocre. Historian Llewellyn Woodward concluded that during the 'golden years', whilst quality of life was improving, conditions and housing for the working classes 'were still a disgrace to an age of plenty'. Wage rates continued to improve in the later 19th century: real wages (after taking inflation into account) were 65 per cent higher in 1901 compared to 1871. Much of the money was saved, as the number of depositors in savings banks rose from 430,000 in 1831 to 5.2 million in 1887, and their deposits from £14 million to over £90 million.

This illustration of a child drawer (a type of hurrier) pulling a coal tub was originally published in the Children's Employment Commission (Mines) 1842 report.

Children had always played a role in economic life but exploitation of their labour became especially intense during the Victorian era. Children were put to work in a wide range of occupations, but particularly associated with this period are factories. Employing children had advantages, as they were cheap, had limited ability to resist harsh working conditions, and could enter spaces too small for adults. Some accounts exist of happy upbringings involving child labour, but conditions were generally poor. Pay was low, punishments severe, work was dangerous and disrupted children's development (often leaving them too tired to play even in their free time). Early labour could do lifelong harm; even in the 1960s and '70s, the elderly people of industrial towns were noted for their often unusually short stature, deformed physiques, and diseases associated with unhealthy working conditions. Reformers wanted the children in school; in 1840 only about 20 per cent of the children in London had any schooling. By the 1850s, around half of the children in England and Wales were in school (not including Sunday school). From the 1833 Factory Act onwards, attempts were made to get child labourers into part time education, though this was often difficult to achieve. Only in the 1870s and 1880s did children begin to be compelled into school. Work continued to inhibit children's schooling into the early 20th century.

Housing and public health

19th-century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid urbanisation stimulated by the Industrial Revolution. In the 1901 census, more than 3 out of every 4 people were classified as living in an urban area, compared to 1 in 5 a century earlier. Historian Richard A. Soloway wrote that "Great Britain had become the most urbanized country in the West." The rapid growth in the urban population included the new industrial and manufacturing cities, as well as service centres such as Edinburgh and London. Private renting from housing landlords was the dominant tenure. P. Kemp says this was usually of advantage to tenants. Overcrowding was a major problem with seven or eight people frequently sleeping in a single room. Until at least the 1880s, sanitation was inadequate in areas such as water supply and disposal of sewage. This all had a negative effect on health, especially that of the impoverished young. For instance, of the babies born in Liverpool in 1851, only 45 per cent survived to age 20. Conditions were particularly bad in London, where the population rose sharply and poorly maintained, overcrowded dwellings became slum housing. Kellow Chesney wrote of the situation:

Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the metropolis... In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room

Hunger and poor diet was a common aspect of life across the UK in the Victorian period, especially in the 1840s, but the mass starvation seen in the Great Famine in Ireland was unique. Levels of poverty fell significantly during the 19th century from as much as two thirds of the population in 1800 to less than a third by 1901. 1890s studies suggested that almost 10% of the urban population lived in a state of desperation lacking the food necessary to maintain basic physical functions. Attitudes towards the poor were often unsympathetic and they were frequently blamed for their situation. In that spirit, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 had been deliberately designed to punish them and would remain the basis for welfare provision into the 20th century. While many people were prone to vices, not least alcoholism, historian Bernard A. Cook argues that the main reason for 19th century poverty was that typical wages for much of the population were simply too low. Barely enough to provide a subsistence living in good times, let alone save up for bad.

Improvements were made over time to housing along with the management of sewage and water eventually giving the UK the most advanced system of public health protection anywhere in the world. The quality and safety of household lighting improved over the period with oil lamps becoming the norm in the early 1860s, gas lighting in the 1890s and electric lights beginning to appear in the homes of the richest by the end of the period. Medicine advanced rapidly during the 19th century and germ theory was developed for the first time. Doctors became more specialised and the number of hospitals grew. The overall number of deaths fell by about 20%. The life expectancy of women increased from around 42 to 55 and 40 to 56 for men. In spite of this, the mortality rate fell only marginally, from 20.8 per thousand in 1850 to 18.2 by the end of the century. Urbanisation aided the spread of diseases and squalid living conditions in many places exacerbated the problem. The population of England, Scotland and Wales grew rapidly during the 19th century. Various factors are considered contributary to this, including a rising fertility rate (though it was falling by the end of the period), the lack of a catastrophic pandemic or famine in the island of Great Britain during the 19th century for the first time in history, improved nutrition, and a lower overall mortality rate. Ireland's population shrank significantly, mostly due to emigration and the Great Famine.

Knowledge and infrastructure

Michael Faraday delivering a Christmas Lecture at the Royal Institution (c. 1855)

The professionalisation of scientific study began in parts of Europe following the French Revolution but was slow to reach Britain. William Whewell coined the term 'scientist' in 1833 to refer to those who studied what was generally then known as natural philosophy, but it took a while to catch on. Having been previously dominated by amateurs with a separate income, the Royal Society admitted only professionals from 1847 onwards. The British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley indicated in 1852 that it remained difficult to earn a living as a scientist alone. Scientific knowledge and debates such as that about Charles Darwin's book on evolution gained a high profile. Simplified (and at times inaccurate) popular science was increasingly distributed through a variety of publications which caused tension with the professionals. There were significant advances in various fields of research, including statistics, elasticity, refrigeration, natural history, electricity and logic.

Crew stood with a railway engine (1873)

Known as the 'workshop of the world', Britain was uniquely advanced in technology in the mid-19th century. Engineering, having developed into a profession in the 18th century, gained new profile and prestige in this period. The Victorian era saw methods of communication and transportation develop significantly. In 1837, William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone invented the first telegraph system. This system, which used electrical currents to transmit coded messages, quickly spread across Britain, appearing in every town and post office. A worldwide network developed towards the end of the century. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone. A little over a decade later, 26,000 telephones were in service in Britain. Multiple switchboards were installed in every major town and city. Guglielmo Marconi developed early radio broadcasting at the end of the period. The railways were important economically in the Victorian era, allowing goods, raw materials, and people to be moved around, stimulating trade and industry. They were also a major employer and industry in their own right.

Moral standards

If we lift our skirts they level their eye-glasses at our ankles (1854), cartoon suggesting that men saw women lifting their dresses as a titillating opportunity to see some of their body shape.

Expected standards of personal conduct changed in around the first half of the 19th century, with good manners and self-restraint becoming much more common. Historians have suggested various contributing factors, such as Britain's major conflicts with France during the early 19th century meaning that the distracting temptations of sinful behaviour had to be avoided in order to focus on the war effort and the evangelical movement's push for moral improvement. There is evidence that the expected standards of moral behaviour were reflected in action as well as rhetoric across all classes of society. For instance, an analysis suggested that less than 5% of working class couples co-habited before marriage.

Historian Harold Perkin argued that the change in moral standards led by the middle of the 19th century to 'diminished cruelty to animals, criminals, lunatics, and children (in that order)'. Legal restrictions were placed on cruelty to animals. Restrictions were placed on the working hours of child labourers in the 1830s and 1840s. Further interventions took place throughout the century to increase the level of child protection. Use of the death penalty also decreased. Crime rates fell significantly in the second half of the 19th century. Sociologist Christie Davies linked this change to attempts to morally educate the population, especially at Sunday schools.

Contrary to popular belief, Victorian society understood that both men and women enjoyed copulation. Chastity was expected of women, whilst attitudes to male sexual behaviour were more relaxed. The development of police forces led to a rise in prosecutions for illegal sodomy in the middle of the 19th century. Male sexuality became a favourite subject of medical researchers' study. For the first time, all male homosexual acts were outlawed. At a time when job options for women were limited and generally low-paying, some women, particularly those without familial support, took to prostitution to support themselves. Attitudes in public life and among the general population to prostitution varied. Evidence about prostitutes' situation also varies. One contemporary study argues that the trade was a short-term stepping stone to a different lifestyle for many women, while another, more recent study argues they were subject to physical abuse, financial exploitation, state persecution, and difficult working conditions. Due to worries about venereal disease, especially among soldiers, women suspected of prostitution were for a period between the 1860s and 1880s subject to spot compulsory examinations for sexually transmitted infections, and detainment if they were found to be infected. This caused a great deal of resentment among women in general due to the principle underlying the checks, that women had to be controlled in order to be safe for sexual use by men, and the checks were opposed by some of the earliest feminist campaigning. Concern about sexual exploitation of adolescent girls increased during the period, especially following the white slavery scandal, which contributed to the increasing of the age of consent from 13 to 16.

References

Further reading

External links

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In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used.

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The Development of a Police Force

The first professional police force in the UK, funded by local taxation, was set up in Glasgow in 1800. At the time, the City of Glasgow police undertook more duties than modern police, including fire fighting. It served Glasgow right through until 1975. In 1822, the Irish Constabulary was set up and became the Royal Irish Constabulary in 1867.

The first professional policemen, in England, known as 'Peelers' or 'Bobbies', were set up in London in 1829 by Robert Peel, the then Home Secretary, after 'The Metropolitan Police Act' of 1829.

It was the start of a campaign to improve public law. Reform, however, was slow as there was distrust of the police at all levels.
The First Policemen in London
By September of 1829, the first Metropolitan Police were patrolling the streets of London. There were 17 divisions, which had 4 inspectors and 144 constables each. The force headquarters was Scotland Yard, and it answered to the Home Secretary.

The 'Peelers' wore a long blue coats and strengthened tall hats, which protected them from blows to the head and they could use to stand on to look over walls. Their only weapon was a truncheon although they also carried a rattle to raise an alarm.

At first, the quality of officers was poor. Of the first 2,800 new policemen, only 600 eventually kept their jobs. The first Metropolitan policeman (who was given the number 1), was sacked after only four hours, for drunkenness. Things eventually settled down.

Policing the Counties and Boroughs

Despite rising crime levels, most counties retained their Parish Constable. Many people were concerned about the idea of a uniformed force and feared that the police would be used to arrest opponents of the government, stop protests and destroy free speech.

The Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, allowed Borough Councils to organise a police force but few of them seemed eager to implement the law. By 1837, only 93 out of 171 boroughs had organised a police force.

The Rural Constabulary Act of 1839, allowed any of the 54 English Counties to raise and equip a paid police force. The Act permitted JPs to appoint Chief Constables, for the direction of the police in their areas and allowed for one policeman per 1,000 population. This was still optional but saw the development of the first constabularies. It also encouraged some boroughs to hastily form their own police forces, to avoid the high expense of being involved with county forces. The Act still did not meet the Report's demands for a national police force, with the Metropolitan Police as the controlling power.

In the 1840s, there was still a great disparity between different areas of the country with no single style of policing. By 1840, only 108 out of 171 boroughs had police forces. Then, in 1842, a new Parish Constables Act was passed in response to the political unrest associated with the chartist movement. The appointed parish constables were part time and poorly paid - sometimes unpaid, so posts attracted a low calibre of persons, who were not prepared to risk life and limb to arrest anyone.

By 1848 there were still 22 boroughs that did not have a police force and, in 1850, only 36 counties that did. In 1855, there were still only 12,000 policemen in England and Wales. This was despite the fact that the police force in London was proving effective in reducing crime and increasing detection.

Why Was Implementation So Slow?

Besides being seen as a challenge to liberties, the legislation was slow to be implemented for several reasons:

The new police were seen by some as a means of enforcing the new Poor Law, which was unpopular

It was thought to be too expensive

Lack of interest at local level and poor co-operation between the boroughs and the counties

No provision for government inspection, audit or regulation, meant many just did not bother.

The Development of Police Forces nationwide
The 1856 Police Act saw a system for government inspection, audit and regulation for the first time. This County Borough Police Act now forced the whole of the country to set up police forces. The legislation:

Obliged the counties to organise police forces, subject to government control

Devised a system of inspection already in use in factories, workhouses and education

Made grants dependent on efficiency

Shifted the emphasis from the prevention of crime to its detection.

This act saw the start of the Modern Police Service in England and Wales. 239 forces were set up, still with great variations in pay and conditions; only half of them were found to be efficient. Similarly, the General Police Act (Scotland) 1857 required each Scottish county and burgh to set up a police force. In 1869, the National Criminal Record was set up, which made use of the new, rapid telegraph communications between forces and in 1877 Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was formed with 200 detectives; 600 more were added in 1883. Picture Gallery

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The Development of a Police Force - Victorian Crime and Punishment from E2BN

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The Development of a Police Force The first professional police force in the UK, funded by local taxation, was set up in Glasgow in 1800. At the time, the City of Glasgow police undertook more duties than modern police, including fire fighting. It served Glasgow right through until 1975.

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Victioran school

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In 1880 a law was passed making it compulsory for every child in Britain between the ages of 5 and 10 to attend school.

Lots of new schools were opened in Victorian times, but they were very different from the schools of today.

What were Victorian classrooms like?

In the first half of the 1800s, classes were massive. Sometimes there were more than 100 pupils in every class.

The Victorian classroom was often referred to as the schoolroom.

Victorian pupils sat at iron-framed desks. These were usually bolted to the floor in rows facing the front of the classroom.

The walls of a Victorian school were often completely bare.

The floor of the schoolrooms were tiered (a bit like in a cinema). The children sitting at the back of the room were higher up than those sitting at the front. This meant that all of the children had a good view of the teacher and the blackboard, but it also meant that the teacher had a good view of them.

The windows in a Victorian classroom were high up (to stop pupils looking out of the window) and the rooms were lit by gaslights. As a result, the schoolrooms were gloomy and often stuffy.

Sometimes different classrooms were only divided from the others by curtains. This meant that it was very easy to hear noise coming from other lessons.

Although lots of schools were built during the Victorian era, not a great deal of money was spent on taking care of the buildings. Victorian schools were often quite shabby and in need of repair.

What did Victorian children learn? What were Victorian lessons like?

Most Victorian lessons involved listening to the teacher and copying sentences from the blackboard. There was very little partner work or group work and very little chance for pupils to discuss their ideas and ask questions.

Here are some more facts about Victorian lessons:

The most important lessons were the 'three Rs' - reading, writing and arithmetic (maths).

Pupils had to chant things (the times-table facts, for example) out loud until they could do it without making a mistake.

Victorian pupils also received lessons in history and geography.

Some lessons were called 'object lessons'. Items (such as models, seeds, rocks and pictures) were placed on each pupil's desk. The pupils were meant to make observations about the object in front of them. Most science lessons were taught in this way.

PE lessons were called 'drill' and usually took place in the playground. The children didn't get changed for PE and the lessons involved lots of jogging on the spot, marching, stretching and lifting weights (dumbbells).

In the afternoons the girls and boys did different lessons. The boys were taught woodworking (and some schools also taught farming, shoe-making and gardening). The girls were taught how to cook meals, how to do embroidery and how to complete housework (such as washing and ironing).

What equipment did Victorian pupils use? What did they write on?

Children often wrote on slates instead of paper. They scratched the letters onto the slate with a sharpened piece of slate (which they held like a pencil). The writing on the slate could easily be removed and slates could be used again and again. This saved the school money as paper was expensive.

The very youngest children used to practise writing letters in sand-trays.

Older children used pen and ink to write in their 'copybooks'. Each child had an inkwell and a fountain pen. It was the job of the ink monitor to fill the inkwells each morning.

Children were taught to write in a handwriting style called 'copperplate' and left-handed children were often forced to write with their right hands.

Victorian classrooms often had an abacus and a globe.

How were Victorian pupils punished if they misbehaved?

Discipline in Victorian schools was very harsh.

Here are some examples of Victorian punishments:

Teachers often beat pupils using a cane. Canes were mostly made out of birch wood. Boys were usually caned on their backsides and girls were either beaten on their bare legs or across their hands. A pupil could receive a caning for a whole range of different reasons, including: rudeness, leaving a room without permission, laziness, not telling the truth and playing truant (missing school).

Victorian pupils who couldn't keep up in lessons were often made to wear a 'dunce's cap' (usually made of newspaper) or told to put on an armband or badge with the word 'dunce' written on it. The Victorian teachers thought that the pupil would be embarrassed into making more of an effort.

In some schools (mostly in Scotland), Victorian children were beaten with a 'tawse' (a vicious-looking leather strap).

'Punishment baskets' were used in some Victorian classrooms to suspend badly behaved children from the ceiling. The pupil was made to sit in a wicker basket and was then raised from the ground by ropes and pulleys.

Sometimes pupils were given lines. They often had to write out the same sentence over 100 without making a single mistake.

All of the punishments handed out by Victorian teachers were recorded in the school's 'punishment book'.

What were Victorian teachers like?

Here are some useful facts about Victorian teachers:

In Victorian schools there were more female teachers than male ones.

Victorian pupils were expected to call a male teacher 'Sir' and a female teacher 'Madam' or 'Miss'.

Older pupils were sometimes given the job of teaching the younger pupils. They were known as 'pupil teachers'.

Click here to find out more about the Victorians.

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Facts About Victorian Schools and Classrooms - Primary Facts

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In 1880 a law was passed making it compulsory for every child in Britain between the ages of 5 and 10 to attend school. Lots of new schools were opened in Victorian times, but they were very different from the schools of today. What were Victorian classrooms like?

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Schools were not free until 1891. Up until then children had to pay to go to school.

Queen Victoria's reign brought many improvements to the education of children, especially for the poor children.

The Victorians came up with the idea that all children should go to school, and they checked to make sure the schools were up to scratch too. They were the first people to ask whether it was right to allow children to work. They introduced laws saying what you could and could not expect children to do.

Who went to school during the Victorian times?
Did rich children go to school?
Where did poor children go to school?
Why go to school?
Important Dates
When did attending school become mandatory?
What were the schools like?
What did the schools teach?
Did Victorian children use a calculator?
What was a Victorian School Day like?
Why did Victorian children write on slates?
Did Victorian children use a pen?

School logbook (Stretton Handley Primary)
Who went to school during the Victorian times?
In early Victorian England, most children never went to school at all and grew up unable to read or write. Instead they were sent out to work to earn money for their families. Only the upper and middle class children went to school.
Rich Children
Children from rich families were taught at home by a governess until they were 10 years old. Once a boy turned ten, he went away to Public schools like Eton or Harrow. There were very few schools available for girls, however, until near the end of the Victorian time. Wealthy girls were mostly educated at home.
Where did poor children go to school?
Poor children went to free charity schools or ' Dame' schools (so called because they were run by women) for young children. They also went to Sunday Schools which were run by churches. There they learnt bible stories and were taught to read a little.
Why go to school?
The Victorians soon realised that it was important for people to be able to read and write and education became more important. The Church of England became active in the field and erected ' National Schools' which taught children reading, writing, arithmetic and religion.
When did attending school become mandatory?
It wasn't until 1880 that schooling became mandatory. All children had to attend a school until they were 10 years old. In 1889, the school leaving age was raised to twelve, and in 1891, the school's pence fee was abolished and schools became free.

What were the schools like?

There could be as many as 70 or 80 pupils in one class, especially in cities. The teachers were very strict. Children were often taught by reading and copying things down, or chanting things till they were perfect.

In many Victorian schools pupil-teachers helped with the teaching. The pupil-teachers were boys and girls of 13 and over. After five years of apprenticeship they could themselves become teachers.
What did the schools teach?
Typical lessons at school included the three Rs - Reading, W Riting and Dictation, and A R ithmetic. In addition to the three Rs which were taught most of the day, once a week the children learned geography, history and singing. The girls learned how to sew.

Schools did not teach music or PE in the way that schools do now. Children sometimes did 'drill' in the classroom. Drill was a series of exercises that were done by the side of a desk.

The children sat on hard wooden benches or chairs.
Can you see the holes for the ink pots?

Did Victorian children use a calculator?

For maths lessons, children used frames with coloured wooden beads, much like an abacus. Children learned how to multiply and divide using this apparatus.
What was a Victorian school day like?
The day usually began with prayers and religious instruction. Morning lessons ran from 9a.m. to 12p.m. Children often went home for a meal, then returned for afternoon classes from 2p.m. to 5p.m.
Why did Victorian children write on slates?
Paper was expensive. Children usually therefore wrote on slates with slate pencils. After a lesson was completed, and the teacher checked their work, the students cleared their slates for the next lesson.
Did Victorian children use pens?
Older children learnt to write on paper. An 'ink monitor' distributed ink to the children, who used pens made out of thin wooden sticks with steel needles. The pen had to be dipped every few words or it would run dry.

Other websites

School Life In The 1800s.
Web Quest
What were Dame Schools?

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Schools were not free until 1891. Up until then children had to pay to go to school. Queen Victoria's reign brought many improvements to the education of children, especially for the poor children. The Victorians came up with the idea that all children should go to school, and they checked to make sure the schools were up to scratch too.

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Victorian Schools

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Although schools have always been around it wasn't until the Victorian era that these were improved considerably and available for all children rich and poor. In 1870 a law was passed which made it mandatory for all children aged between 5-10 in Britain to attend school. This was similar to the system we use today of Monday-Friday however the leaving age was far lower.

The leaving age was then increased to 11 in 1893 however parents and employers of working children still prevented some of them from going to school as they were making money in the workplace and this is what they wanted.

Who went to school?

When Queen Victoria initially came to the throne schools were for the rich. Children of the wealthy would go to fee paying schools where they would learn classical subjects such as Latin and Greek, study classical history such as Greek mythology and classical literature about Roman Gods and Goddesses.

Most children never went to school and struggled to read or write. Children from rich families were typically taught at home by governess until the age of 10 years old. Wealthy boys from the age of 10 would then go to Public schools such as Rugby. Girls on the other hand continued to be educated at home.

The poor were initially introduced to school thanks to the 'Sunday school' introduction by Robert Raikes with about 1,250,000 children gaining an education with this method by 1831.

This was all turned on its head however in 1870 with the passing of the law and schools began to cater for the rich and poor alike. Various names were given to the schools including the British schools and the Ragged schools; the latter getting the name from the poor children attending the school.

An education system had started and what a stark contrast it was to the one we have today.

What were schools like?

Schools were certainly different to the schools we have of today. Within poor inner city areas there could be anywhere between 70 and 80 pupils in one class!

The schools were imposing buildings with high up windows to prevent children from seeing out of. Furthermore the walls of the schools lacked creativity and were often bare or had merely text for the children to look at.

Village schools typically had smaller classes however the age groups would be varied. It wasn't uncommon to see a 6-year-old child working in the same classroom as a 10-year-old! Due to the size of the school classrooms it became regimented and adopted a significant amount of repetition. Usually this would consist of the classroom teacher writing on the chalkboard and the children copying this down. Teaching lacked creativity and it was a strict, uncomfortable place for children to begin their life education.

Typical Victorian Teacher:

In Victorian schools there were more female teachers than male ones with women occupying the majority of teaching roles. These women were often very strict and scary. The majority of female teachers were unmarried ladies and they were to be called 'Miss' at all times. The reason teaching consisted of mostly ladies was due to the pay scale. The salaries were poor and men could be earning more money elsewhere so this was left to the women. The rationale behind it been mostly unmarried women was that once married the women was expected to take care of the family.

The large majority of teachers did not have a college education. The role of teaching was something they picked up while on the job and every new lesson would be a challenge for them too.

The teaching was also passed on to some of the brightest children in some schools known as 'Monitors' where they would be taught by the Headmaster and would then pass this onto small groups of children as another way of educating. The Victorian teaching system was much different to the one we have today.

Victorian Punishment on children in school:

Discipline was huge in the Victorian times and this was no different in schools. It wasn't uncommon for children to be beat by canes made from birch wood. Boys were typically caned on their backsides whereas Girls would take the punishment on their legs or hands.

The reasons ranged from truancy right through to laziness in the classroom. The punishments were usually harsh and painful for children aged jus between 5-10.

Children who were slower than the rest within lessons were made to wear the shameful dunce hats and sit in the corner for over an hour. This was not only humiliating for the child but also not helping them get up to speed with the rest of the class. At the time there was no concept of children with learning difficulties and the uneducated classroom teachers would assume it was purely down to the laziness or lack of effort.

Amazingly children were reprimanded for using their left hand to write! This was seen as a punishable offence and they were made write with their right hand!

Lessons:

In terms of lessons they were basic but focused on the 3 R's of Reading, wRiting & aRtmetic (Maths) with the introduction of religion to make this the not so fantastic four. The intiial three were seen as the most important areas of education at the time and a vast majority of school time involved the learning of these.

The lessons were very different to lessons of today and usually involved copying down what the teacher wrote on the chalkboard. Furthermore children were expected to chant things out loud until they did so without mistakes. The times tables were commonly done in this way and children were expected to do this without any mistakes.

The importance of developing a fine hand in writing was high and alongside numbers this was seen as a crucial part of education.

School Hours:

The school days in Victorian times were structured slightly different to those of today with the morning introduction session consisting of prayers and religious instructions. This was commonly followed by morning lessons running from 9am until 12pm. Following this was a lunch period when children usually went home. Similar to fathers who went home from work within the Victorian period the children would do the same.

Afternoon classes began at approximately 2pm and finished at 5pm. The school day in Victorian times was in the mould of the modern day 9-5pm. Children of a very young age were expected to maintain their best attention at all times and adhere to the rules of the school.

School Equipment:

Unlike today school equipment was very different in Victorian times. The most famous equipment from these times was how children were expected to write on slate instead of paper. The reason for this was simple; it was cost effective!

Paper was expensive so children used slates with slate pencils to complete their work. The letters were scratched into the slate with the pencil. This could be easily removed and usually was at the end of each lesson. It was standard procedure for the teacher to walk around the classroom checking the work of the pupils.

Once this was checked off they cleared their slate for the next lesson. No work was saved and children were expected to memorise the information they had taken in.

Before using slate boards the youngest children would practice writing letters in sand trays. This was a common activity for those in the 5-6 years old age bracket before they were ready to hold a slate pencil and write on a slate board.

For the teachers the most important equipment was the chalkboard and easel. The mainstay of any lesson was for children to copy information from the chalkboard onto slate board. The older children would begin to write in a book using a dip pen with black ink from an inkwell. There was a designated 'Ink monitor' whose job was to fill the inkwells each and every morning.

Victorians used a device called an Abacus for arithmetic which was their version of the modern day calculator. This enabled the children to conduct sums quickly and effectively.

Although Victorian schools are different in many ways to today's classrooms some of the methods used help shape our education system today. Victorian schools are still used throughout Britain and remain an important part of history.

Sources:

http://www.victorianschool.co.uk/schoolday.html
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/victorians/children/schools.htm

Facts About Victorian Schools and Classrooms

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Victorian Schools & School Children Facts & Information

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Although schools have always been around it wasn't until the Victorian era that these were improved considerably and available for all children rich and poor. In 1870 a law was passed which made it mandatory for all children aged between 5-10 in Britain to attend school.

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Victorian Food For The Rich & Poor Children

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Victorian food and what was eaten varied hugely at the time between the rich and the poor and this was the same for children too. Rich children ate extremely well whereas as a generalisation the poor had limited choices and availability.

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The Vast Differences Between Rich and Poor Victorian Homes

The Victorian Houses that are so popular today with all their splendor and decorative trimmings only tell a small part of how Victorian children lived. These were the houses that the wealthy children lived in. The poor Victorian children lived in dwellings much different. While a rich family might live in a large Beautiful house with several bedrooms, a large living room, a parlor and a dining room separate from the kitchen, poor children might have as little as one room for the family to live in.

Keep in mind that families were large in Victorian times, especially poor families. Some families had as many as eight to twelve children or more. The more children they had the more bodies there were to go to work and earn money. Sometimes more than one family would live in an apartment to split the costs. They could never dream of living in a nice big Victorian house.

Victorian Houses of the Wealthy

The wealthy Victorian Children and their families lived a much more elegant and privileged life than the poor families lived. The difference between upper class and lower class was vastly greater than it is today. Wealthy families lived in large Victorian houses three and sometimes four stories high with several rooms. They had more than one bathroom and even had flushing toilets.

They usually had servants that performed all the duties including cleaning the house, washing clothes and cooking supper. A nanny was hired to fulfill the children's needs and was in many cases responsible for raising the children. The servants life was not anything to dream about but the servants quarters were still better than the poor families homes. Watch the slide show below to get a more vivid idea of a rich Victorian child's home.

(Some exterior house photos are examples of Victorian style architecture and not actually from the Victorian era.)

Victorian Houses and Homes of the Poor

The poor Victorian Children lived in much smaller accommodations than the rich children did. It is hard to adequately put into words how bad the conditions were for poor Victorian children. The poor did not live in houses since property was next to impossible to acquire and the rich were the only ones who could afford to buy it.

Most poor families lived in small apartments. Some no bigger than one room. Sometimes two or more families would share an apartment. These apartments could be found in the very "ran down" part of town. They would be in buildings that were very close to or connected to another set of apartments.

These apartment buildings were not like the attractive apartments we have today. They were built very cheaply with little consideration for safety and attractiveness. There was no plumbing or bathrooms much less flushing toilets. Public outhouses were used by everyone that lived within the block. Sewage ran down the street since there was no underground sewage pipes.

Victorian Era Slums

The rendering to the left is an artists first hand impression of what a Victorian slum looked like. The squalid and unsanitary conditions that were brought on by immense overcrowding made life very dismal for poor Victorian children and their families. East London had the most well-known slums of that time. The upper crust of society referred to the east side as the "darkest London". London had slums in other areas also. The different slums were given names such as Whitechapel, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Old Nichol.

It was the general opinion of many of the wealthy Victorian families that the slums were brought on because of laziness, sin and lack of principle and self-discipline among the people who lived there. As the overcrowding and conditions of the slums worsened it was harder to ignore. The conscientious sector of society such as journalist, ministers and moral reformers debated accurately that the slums were brought on by a rapid growth in population and the explosion of industrialism during that time.

Upper Class Slumming

As I've stated before the differences between the rich and the poor classes were vast. As you can imagine this caused great curiosity among the poor about how the wealthy people lived. But a surprising aspect of society in the late 1800's is that the wealthy upper class had their own curiosities about how the poor lower class lived. They would actually put on their "common clothes" and go down to the slums for sight seeing trips. "Slumming" became the name for this form of tourism.

Many of the upper class men and women alike would disguise themselves in lower class clothing and head to the slums for a night or two to indulge in the guilty pleasures that could be found in the streets and boarding houses of the slums. This mingling of the classes actually helped to lessen the upper and lower class barriers as time went by.

There were missionaries, social workers, charity workers and others who would visit the slums to help in any way they could. As time went by the national press caught hold of the story of the slums and the dismal life and existence of the people and brought widespread awareness and public sympathy to the problem.

Published by Paxton Price on: January 29, 2014

Citations:
Victorian Durham Victorian Web
Other Articles You May Like:
Victorian Children Victorian Child Labor Victorian Children's Clothing Victorian Toys and Games

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Victorian Houses and Where the Rich and Poor Victorian Children Lived

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Victorian Houses or Homes depended on the financial status of the family. Poor Victorian children lived a much different life than the wealthy children did.

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Who was King or Queen before Victoria?

The Victorians lived over one hundred and fifty years ago during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 to 1901).

What does Victorian times mean?

Victorian times means during Victoria's rule. The time Queen Victoria was on the throne. She ruled for 64 years.

What was it like living in the Victorian times?

There was no electricity, instead gas lamps or candles were used for light.

There were no cars. People either walked, travelled by boat or train or used coach horses to move from place to place.
Why are the Victorians so famous?
Britain managed to build a huge empire during the Victorian period. It was also a time of tremendous change in the lives of British people. In 1837 most people lived in villages and worked on the land; by 1901, most lived in towns and worked in offices, shops and factories.

During Queen Victoria's reign:

Britain became the most powerful and richest country in the world, with the largest empire that had ever existed, ruling a quarter of the world's population.

Towns and cities got piped water, gas and, by the end of the century, electricity

The number of people living in Britain more than doubled from 16 million to 37 million, causing a huge demand for food, clothes and housing.

Factories and machines were built to meet this demand and new towns grew up, changing the landscape and the ways people lived and worked.

Railways, originally built to transport goods, meant people could travel easily around the country for the first time. Railways brought new foods to towns and cities.

Soldiers were at war all over the world especially in 1850 - 1880.

Many households had a servant or servants - in 1891, 2 million servants were recorded in the census

Seaside holidays were 'invented' (became popular).

Police Force 'invented'.

At the beginning of the Victorian period crossing the Atlantic took up to eight weeks. By 1901 it took about a week.

New cookers and gadgets for the home were invented.

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Victorians Homework for kids - Woodlands

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Who was King or Queen before Victoria? The Victorians lived over one hundred and fifty years ago during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 to 1901). What does Victorian times mean? Victorian times means during Victoria's rule. The time Queen Victoria was on the throne. She ruled for 64 years.

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Find & download beautiful, royalty-free stock photos

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Explore millions of high quality, royalty free photos and images! Find the perfect background, nature, business, food, or abstract photo for your design.

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Explore the Victorians and discover facts about their houses, clothes, inventions and health. What were the major events of Queen Victoria's reign?

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Victorian Money - 1876 Victorian England Revisited

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Victorian money was quite different and some of the coins and their values are discussed below.

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The Victorians: Facts, Information and Resources - Primary Facts

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Welcome to The Victorians area of Primary Facts. Use the links below to find your way to the information you need. Queen Victoria Prince Albert Famous Victorians Queen Victoria's Children Facts About Victorian Schools and Classrooms Christmas in Victorian Times The Great Exhibition of 1851 Victorian Factories Factory Reform The Crimean War Go to the ...

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In Victorian England, the quality of a child's life was determined largely by whether he or she was born to a poor family or a wealthy one. If born to a working class family, the child was usually sent to work, often by the age of five. With no laws to protect children from exploitation, they were expected to work long hours in harsh environments. Some were sent into the coal mines to push carts of coal to the surface or open and close doors for ventilation, underground for 12 hours a day. Others, in factories, were sent into small spaces under machinery when problems arose, sometimes resulting in their death. Children who were orphaned or abandoned could be sold and forced to work in such grim jobs as chimney sweeps.

Education was regarded as a privilege for those families that could afford it. Boys had a better chance of being sent to school than girls. But for both, the survival of their families often depended on their working and earning as early as possible.

During Queen Victoria's rule, advocates for the rights of children succeeded in bringing these deplorable conditions to light. A series of laws were passed, beginning with the Mines Act of 1841, which prohibited sending children under the age of 10 to work in the mines. In 1868 a similar law was enacted to protect children in rural areas who were under the age of eight from being exploited as farm workers. By 1874, it was illegal to employ a child under the age of 10 in a factory. Despite this increased awareness and the enactment of protective laws, by the time of Queen Victoria's death in 1901, many
children ages nine and up still worked.

Children of the wealthy had very different experiences. Usually a nanny was hired to care for the children; she lived in the house and often had a greater role in the children's lives than the parents. Children in these families had toys to play with, trips to the park with their nanny, and some measure of education.

Wealthy or poor, children in Victorian times were held in fairly low regard by the culture. They were expected to behave like little adults, and to be self-contained and self-reliant at a very early age. Childish exuberance and playfulness were repressed; obedience and conformity were imperative. Older siblings, especially girls,
were expected to care for their younger siblings.

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In Victorian England, the quality of a child's life was determined largely by whether he or she was born to a poor family or a wealthy one. If born to a working class family, the child was usually sent to work, often by the age of five.

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Poor Victorians bought their clothes from second-hand, third and fourth-hand shops. Their clothes had previously been worn and discarded, but still in good enough condition to wear.