A short history of Victorian Britain
Sixty-four years, one queen and a country that changed fast. Here’s the story in eight parts, with every fact sourced.
Jump to: The queen | Industry | 1851 | The poor | School | Crime | Votes | Nightingale | The end
1. A young queen
She learned in the early hours of 20 June 1837 that King William IV had died and that she was queen. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom She became queen at the age of 18. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom
Victoria was queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901, and empress of India from 1876 to 1901. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom The Victorian Age is named after her. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom
A woman could not inherit the throne of Hanover, so when she became queen the crowns of Great Britain and Hanover were separated. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom
More on Queen Victoria.
2. Steam, canals and railways
In 1712 Thomas Newcomen unveiled a steam engine for pumping water out of deep mines. British Library: The Industrial Revolution By 1800 perhaps 2,000 steam engines were at work in Britain. British Library: The Industrial Revolution
By 1815 over 2,000 miles of canals were in use in Britain. British Library: The Industrial Revolution Many people left the countryside to find work in towns and cities. British Library: The Industrial Revolution
In 1833 he was made chief engineer of the Great Western Railway. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isambard Kingdom Brunel His broad-gauge railway had rails 2 metres (7 feet) apart. It led to the famous “battle of the gauges”. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Isambard Kingdom Brunel
More on railways and Brunel.
3. 1851: the Great Exhibition
For Victoria and Albert, the high point of the reign came in 1851, with the opening of the Great Exhibition. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, relations with Peel Over six million visitors came to the Great Exhibition in London’s Hyde Park during its five and a half months in 1851. V&A: The Great Exhibition of 1851
More than 100,000 objects were shown by nearly 14,000 exhibitors from 34 nations and more than 30 territories of the British Empire. V&A: The Great Exhibition of 1851 The Crystal Palace was the largest man-made covered space on earth. V&A: The Great Exhibition of 1851
Profits from the Great Exhibition paid for what became the South Kensington museums and colleges, including the museum that became the V&A. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, relations with Peel
More on the Great Exhibition.
4. Poverty and the workhouse
A new Poor Law was brought in in 1834. It was meant to cut the cost of looking after the poor and make the system the same all over the country. The National Archives: Examine an anti-Poor Law poster Apart from special cases, poor people could now only get help if they left their homes and went into a workhouse. The National Archives: Examine an anti-Poor Law poster
Conditions inside the workhouse were made harsh on purpose. The National Archives: Examine an anti-Poor Law poster The new Poor Law was very unpopular, and there were riots in northern towns. The National Archives: Examine an anti-Poor Law poster
In 1886 the businessman Charles Booth set out to find the truth about poverty in London. British Library: Charles Booth’s poverty map of London Booth thought reformers had exaggerated London’s poverty, said to be about a quarter. He found that as many as one third of Londoners lived in poverty. British Library: Charles Booth’s poverty map of London
More on the workhouse.
5. Going to school
Ragged schools were charities that aimed to give free education to poor children. British Library: Education in Victorian Britain The Factory Act of 1833 said employers must provide half-time education for workers under 13, but this was easily ignored. British Library: Education in Victorian Britain
The big breakthrough came in 1870: elected school boards could raise a local rate to build new schools, giving education up to the age of 10. British Library: Education in Victorian Britain In 1880 elementary schooling was made compulsory for boys and girls, and the age was raised to 13. British Library: Education in Victorian Britain
More on Victorian schools.
6. Crime and punishment
The National Archives says recorded crimes rose from about 5,000 a year in 1800 to 20,000 a year in the 1830s. The National Archives: Victorian children in trouble with the law The National Archives says that between 1842 and 1877, 90 new prisons were built in Britain. The National Archives: Victorian children in trouble with the law
The Juvenile Offences Act of 1847 said young people under 14 (soon raised to 16) should be tried in a special court, not an adult court. The National Archives: Victorian children in trouble with the law From 1899 children were no longer sent to adult prisons. The National Archives: Victorian children in trouble with the law
More on crime and prisons.
7. Who could vote?
The Great Reform Act of 1832 gave the vote to property-owning middle-class men, but many working men still could not vote. The National Archives: What was Chartism? Chartism was a working-class movement that began in London in 1836 and was most active between 1838 and 1848. The National Archives: What was Chartism?
She supported Disraeli’s reform of the franchise (who could vote) in 1867. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, widowhood The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies was founded in 1897. British Library: Education in Victorian Britain
More on the Chartists.
8. Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (born 12 May 1820, died 13 August 1910) was a British nurse, statistician and social reformer. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Florence Nightingale During the Crimean War she led a party of 38 women, who arrived at the Barrack Hospital in Scutari on 5 November 1854. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Florence Nightingale
Her night rounds of the wards made her famous as “the Lady with the Lamp”. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Florence Nightingale The Nightingale School of Nursing at St Thomas’ Hospital in London opened in 1860. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Florence Nightingale
The end of the reign
Her Jubilees of 1887 and 1897 showed that she had become popular. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, last years She died on 22 January 1901 at Osborne, near Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom
Her reign was the longest in British history until that of Elizabeth II. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, last years She was buried beside Prince Albert in the mausoleum at Frogmore, near Windsor. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Victoria, last years
Good sources don’t always give the same figure, and some numbers from the 1800s were estimates even then. Each fact here links to who said it, and things that can change, like what the curriculum says, show the date we checked them. See when sources disagree for every difference side by side.
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