Unit 11: What was it like for children
living in Victorian Britain?
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
Who were the Victorians? When did they live?
The Victorian Era is the name given to the
period in history when Queen Victoria was
on the throne.
She was Queen from 1837 to 1901.
That’s more than 63 years, which is longer
than any other British monarch so far.
Victoria had 9 children, of which 4 would
later become monarchs: Edward VII,
George V, Edward VIII and George VI.
As well as English, Queen Victoria could speak German, French, Italian
and Latin.
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Who were the Victorians? When did they live?
18371901:The
Victorian Era
1666: The
Great Fire
of London
1850s:
Florence
Nightingale
1939-1945:
Second
World War
Unit 6b: Why have people invaded and settled in Britain in the past? An Anglo Saxon Case Study
History
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
What was life like for a poor child in the 1840s?
selling things
on the street
working in
textile mills
working in
factories
working on
farms
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
Mills and factories employ children because they are
small and can get in between machinery to fix things
while the machines are still running.
This is very dangerous work and many children get
injured or sometimes killed.
Children are also employed because they are cheap. They
don’t get paid as much as adult workers
Other dangerous jobs include working in coal mines,
climbing up chimneys to clean them, working outside on
farms or on the streets in freezing weather
The working hours are long, sometimes 12 hours a day.
This means that children don’t have time to go to school
or play with their friends.
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
Who helped to improve the lives of Victorian children?
This is Lord Shaftesbury.
He was a politician who was interested in
helping factory workers, including children.
He was involved in passing the Factory
Acts of 1847 and 1850.
These were laws which reduced the amount
of hours which children were allowed to work.
He also helped to set up ‘Ragged Schools’ which were schools for
very poor children who would otherwise be unable to get an
education.
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
Who helped to improve the lives of Victorian children?
This is Dr. Thomas Barnardo.
While he was working in East London during the
cholera outbreak of the 1860s, he realised how
many homeless children there were living on the
streets.
In 1870 he opened a home for homeless boys, and in 1873
opened a similar home for girls.
By the time of his death in 1905, he had opened 66 homes, and
rescued an estimated 60,000 homeless children.
There is a children’s charity called Barnardo’s which carries on
this work today.
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
What was it like going to school at the end of the nineteenth century?
Schools were often
crowded, with as many as
40 or 50 pupils in a class.
The school buildings were
usually draughty and got
very cold in the winter.
The teachers
were very
strict and used
caning as a
punishment for
bad behaviour.
Until 1891,
parents had to
pay for their
children to go
to school!
There were no school
dinners. Children had to
walk home at lunchtime to
get something to eat.
Lessons usually involved
chanting or learning facts
by heart.
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
What was it like going to school at the end of the nineteenth century?
school bell
inkwell
& pen
slate
dunce’s
cap
If children misbehaved they could be caned. They
might also have to stand in the corner and wear the
dunce’s cap. A dunce was a word for a stupid
person.
cane
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
How did different Victorian children use their spare time?
hoop and stick
dolls’ house
spinning top
marbles
jack in the box
building blocks
Are any of these toys still used today?
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
How did different Victorian children use their spare time?
Toys which used optical illusions were popular among rich families in the
Victorian era.
This toy is called a thaumatrope. It
is a cardboard disc with a picture on
the front and another picture on
the back.
front
If you spin the disc the
pictures seem to combine.
back
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
History
How did life change for children living in Victorian Britain?
1833: Children could work no more than 10 hours a day
1842: It becomes illegal for children to work underground
1874: It becomes illegal to employ children under 10, and
children under 14 can only work part-time.
1881: It becomes compulsory for 5-10 year-olds to go to school
1891: Primary schools become free of charge
Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?