Early Victorian City life
Alunni: Carla Fichera Pietro Spataro
The growth of towns
By the middle of the 19 century, Britain had become a nation of town dwellers due to its extraordinary industrial development. The census of 1851 recorded half of the population of Britain as living in towns, and finding solutions to problems linked to the overcrowded urban environment was at the hearth of Victorian political and social reforms.
Poverty
The majority of Victorian city poor lived in unhealthy slum districts overrun by disease and crime. Here the mortality rate was high and the terrible working conditions in polluted environments had a disastrous effect, especially on children’s health.
One of the many rows in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, photographed in the 1860s. The town developed into a popular seaside resort in the 19th century.
By the 1880s and 1890s, however, most people were benefiting from cheaper imported food and other goods. New terraces of houses for the more prosperous working classes were increasingly connected to clean water, drains and even gas.
A series of Factory Acts from the 1830s onwards progressively limited the number of hours that women and children could be expected to work.
Workhouses
The Victorian Workhouse was an institution that was intended to provide work and shelter for poverty stricken people who had no means to support themselves. With the advent of the Poor Law system, Victorian workhouses, designed to deal with the issue of pauperism, in fact became prison systems detaining the most vulnerable in society.
The harsh system of the workhouse became synonymous with the Victorian era, an institution which became known for its terrible conditions, forced child labour, long hours, malnutrition, beatings and neglect.
Medicine
Medicine underwent a radical change. Modern hospitals were built and professional organisations were founded to regulate and control medical education and research. Other changes concerned the gradual introduction of services such as running water, gas, street lighting and paved roads.
Info
Entertaiment
Theatres, music halls, libraries, museums and art galleries were built in every major town and many minor ones, often founded by a new breed of philanthropist. Seaside towns were no longer the preserve of the rich, and places like Great Yarmouth and Blackpool developed as popular resorts for the working classes. There were many new sports, such as lawn tennis and croquet, and old sports with newly defined rules, such as rugby, football and cricket.
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Early victorian city life
Carla Fichera
Created on January 11, 2024
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Transcript
Early Victorian City life
Alunni: Carla Fichera Pietro Spataro
The growth of towns
By the middle of the 19 century, Britain had become a nation of town dwellers due to its extraordinary industrial development. The census of 1851 recorded half of the population of Britain as living in towns, and finding solutions to problems linked to the overcrowded urban environment was at the hearth of Victorian political and social reforms.
Poverty
The majority of Victorian city poor lived in unhealthy slum districts overrun by disease and crime. Here the mortality rate was high and the terrible working conditions in polluted environments had a disastrous effect, especially on children’s health.
One of the many rows in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, photographed in the 1860s. The town developed into a popular seaside resort in the 19th century.
By the 1880s and 1890s, however, most people were benefiting from cheaper imported food and other goods. New terraces of houses for the more prosperous working classes were increasingly connected to clean water, drains and even gas. A series of Factory Acts from the 1830s onwards progressively limited the number of hours that women and children could be expected to work.
Workhouses
The Victorian Workhouse was an institution that was intended to provide work and shelter for poverty stricken people who had no means to support themselves. With the advent of the Poor Law system, Victorian workhouses, designed to deal with the issue of pauperism, in fact became prison systems detaining the most vulnerable in society. The harsh system of the workhouse became synonymous with the Victorian era, an institution which became known for its terrible conditions, forced child labour, long hours, malnutrition, beatings and neglect.
Medicine
Medicine underwent a radical change. Modern hospitals were built and professional organisations were founded to regulate and control medical education and research. Other changes concerned the gradual introduction of services such as running water, gas, street lighting and paved roads.
Info
Entertaiment
Theatres, music halls, libraries, museums and art galleries were built in every major town and many minor ones, often founded by a new breed of philanthropist. Seaside towns were no longer the preserve of the rich, and places like Great Yarmouth and Blackpool developed as popular resorts for the working classes. There were many new sports, such as lawn tennis and croquet, and old sports with newly defined rules, such as rugby, football and cricket.
Got an idea?
Use this space to add awesome interactivity. Include text, images, videos, tables, PDFs... even interactive questions! Premium tip: Get information on how your audience interacts with your creation: