What was living conditions like in the Victorian era?
By the end of the Victorian era, half of the people living in Britain lived in cities. This meant that cities were crowded and dirty. If you were poor and couldn’t afford to live in a very nice place, it was easy to get sick. There was a large outbreak of cholera in London in 1853-1854 that killed 11,000 people.
What was life like in the Victorian times for the poor?
A poor Victorian family would have lived in a very small house with only a couple of rooms on each floor. The very poorest families had to make do with even less – some houses were home to two, three or even four families. The houses would share toilets and water, which they could get from a pump or a well.
What conditions did the poor live in in Victorian England?
For the first half of the 19th century the rural and urban poor had much in common: unsanitary and overcrowded housing, low wages, poor diet, insecure employment and the dreaded effects of sickness and old age.
What are Victorian social conditions?
The Victorian Era in Britain was dominated by the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Although it was a peaceful and prosperous time, there were still issues within the social structure. The social classes of this era included the Upper class, Middle class, and lower class.
Why was living in the Victorian era difficult for the poor?
Low wages and the scramble for jobs meant that people needed to live near to where work was available. Time taken walking to and from work would extend an already long day beyond endurance. Consequently available housing became scarce and therefore expensive, resulting in extremely overcrowded conditions.
What are the main characteristics of Victorian age?
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 did poor Victorians do for fun?
Poor families made their own, such as cloth-peg dolls and paper windmills. Children would save their pocket money to buy marbles, a spinning top, skipping ropes, kites or cheap wooden toys. Girls played with dolls and tea sets whilst boys played with toy soldiers and marbles.
How much did people earn in Victorian times?
A Mason might earn 29 shillings a week and a carpenter twenty-five. Overall, in the middle years of the 1880s, the average annual wage for workers in England, £46/12/- was greater than the average wage in Scotland or Ireland.
How did poor people live during the Victorian era?
Poverty stricken families living during the Victorian Era likely lived in crowded, unkempt, slum houses, or were homeless, endured poor sanitary conditions and often were forced to subject their children to work in harsh conditions. This was especially common in big cities like London,…
What was life like in London in the Victorian times?
The Victorian London was a city which showcased two absolutely opposite living conditions of the people. London in those days was a developing rapidly and most importantly, it was one of the places where factories were set-up. The progressing London city witnessed vast areas covered with new buildings.
How big was the average family in Victorian times?
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.
What was the sanitation like in the Victorian era?
This overcrowding of towns and cities and the resultant overcrowding also gave rise to sanitation problems. Just to quote, Henry Mayhew, was a journalist, who in an article dated 24th September 1849 described a Victorian London street as a tidal ditch running through it, into which the drains and sewers emptied.
