Notes on the Victorian Period

Notes on the Victorian Period:

When Queen Victoria ascended the British throne in 1837, it marked the beginning of a promising new age - the Victorian era. The preceding Georgian era had lasted from 1714 to 1830, from the reign of George I through George IV. The Victorian Era promised to be an era of Peace and Prosperity under the new Queen as the British empire expanded to almost 25% of the Globe, making Britain the most powerful nation in the world.
The preceding years of the Industrial Revolution had led to the mass production of goods, making them far more affordable for common people, but life for mill workers was harsh.
During the Victorian era in England, law-makers and trade unions began to address and improve working conditions, particularly for child labour. They eventually made it illegal for children to work more than 69 hours per week!As living standards improved throughout the Victorian period, birth rates increased. Lack of war and famine coupled with improved health standards meant that the population exploded from 13.8 million in England in 1831, to 32.5 million by 1901.

Changes in Society:

Middle class England grew rapidly and the upper class, which was formerly purely hereditary, came to include the nouveau riche, who made fortunes from successful commercial enterprises.
However, a large proportion of Victorian society was still working class, and they remained disgruntled at the social inequality and eventually sought reform.

Transport Changes:

Railways continued to develop, offering mass transit for city dwellers who were able to spend time off visiting the seaside and participating in the new pastime of sea bathing.
Fashionable seaside resorts sprang up such as Brighton. Boarding houses were built along the seafronts of towns near to industrialised areas such as London, Leeds, Manchester and the northwest of England.

In London, the world’s first underground railway, nicknamed the Tube, opened in 1862.

Education:

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. When Queen Victoria initially came to the throne schools were for the rich. 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. 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.

Politics, The Arts  (The Crystal Palace) and Science:

Politically, during the Victoria era, the House of Commons had two main political parties: the Tories and the Whigs.
By the mid 19th century the Whigs were known as the Liberal party and the Tories were the Conservative party. The Labour party only came into being in 1900.
Prince Albert was a keen supporter of the Arts and London blossomed under his patronage with the building of the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Opera House, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.
Poetry, literature and art flourished with the Bronte sisters, George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, Kipling and Dickens publishing popular works.
Scientifically, the Victorian era also saw huge success. Darwin published his Theory of Evolution and the Great Exhibition of 1851 showcased many industrial and technological advances in the specially built Crystal Palace.
Sigmund Freud developed modern psychiatry and Karl Marx developed his new economic theory.

The Victorian era in Great Britain was a time of great change and progress and is still considered the Birth of Modern Times.