Baker Street ElementaryPresents

“The Life and Times in Victorian London”

Baker Street Elementary& The Victorian Web

The Life and Times in Victorian London# 038 – Life in Our Own Times - - 06/06/201 7

Copyright 2017, Fay, Mason, M

ason

Welcome to topic number 38… today we will be looking at what it is like to live during Victorian

period, our current times.

By the time the industrial revolution will be close to completion in the early

1 900’s, our lifestyle in Victorian Britain will have completely changed.

We will no longer focus on farming and ranching as the primary way to make

a living.

Employment in factories in the city and other large

commercial enterprises will dominate the work force.

By the time Queen Victoria took the throne in 1 837,

manufacturing was becoming more vital to our economy,

pushing out agriculture.

In 1 801 , 78% of us lived in rural areas. By 1 900, this will change to 80% living in cities.

Factories, using steam powered engines, produced

more than half of the cotton supply in the world.

And with the increase in the number of railroad miles, it is much easier to move finished

goods to ports around the country.

The business of ship- building has also been on a massive increase, allowing England to export more

products to other countries.

Both the cities of Manchester and Liverpool

have grown massively through the century.

Yes, they are now known as part of the “workshop of the world. ”

With the increase in industrial employment, citizens have more

leisure time, leading to more holidays, or vacations, for workers.

With the enactment of the Bank Holiday Act in 1 871 , more

seaside resorts, such as Blackpool and Torquay, will grow

in attendance each summer.

Authors, such as H. G. Wells, Charles Dickens, and Robert

Lewis Stephenson will sell even more books as citizens have more

reading time during the day.

And even attending the theater to see amazing acts, such as Sarah

Bernhardt or Ellen Terry is available to more of the citizenry.

Irene, you resemble a young Sarah, I

must say…

Music halls with variety shows, as well as melodramas

are being performed throughout the larger cities.

Advances in medicine, even as simple as sterilizing medical

instruments, has led to an increase in patient’s survival during surgeries.

Incidences of cholera will finally subside with boiling drinking water, and the simple

task of washing hands before eating.

Codeine, iodine, morphine, and chloroform all will become used more during our times, to help with pain,

and well as cleansing wounds.

Strangely, we have started mourning the dead with more

zeal, including massive funerals with large processions.

Right after a death, clocks in the house are stopped, black curtains

hang over the windows, and all clothes are a dark or black color.

Mourning for the dead can last for a full year, with the survivors withdrawing from normal life

during that period.

Even with the massive move to the cities, rural life is

still important to our period.

Farming has been made much easier with steam power.

Specialized industries have popped up in certain towns and villages, such as lace- making,

carpentry, and tanneries.

Local villagers help to maintain the large estates in the country- side, mostly during the growing seasons.

However, some help will live on the estate throughout the year.

However, rural Victorian life still focuses on the basics of living –

cooking, cleaning, and ensuring children get an education, which will be made mandatory by the 1 880 Elementary

Education law.

Yes, that law will require education for all children

until the age of 1 0.

Yes, but we’ll be back with another topic

soon…So we have completed topic 38 in our series…

Baker Street Elementary“The Life and Times in Victorian London”

IS CREATED THROUGH THE INGENUITY & HARD WORK OF:

JOE FAYLIESE SHERWOOD-FABRE

GEORGE P. LANDOWRUSTY MASON &

STEVE MASON

WE ARE EXTREMELY THANKFUL TO LIESE AND GEORGE FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT…