An introduction to

 The Victorians is the name given to the people who lived in Britain over 150 years ago, under the rule of Queen Victoria.

 Queen Victoria was 18 years old when she became Queen.

 Queen Victoria came to the throne when she was only 18 years old.  Victoria reigned from , sixty-four years altogether, meaning that she is Britain’s longest serving monarch. 

 During the Victorian Times, the British Empire extended over one eighth of the world’s population.

 By the end of Victoria’s reign, the British Empire extended over nearly one quarter of the world’s population.  During Victoria’s reign, Britain became the world’s leading superpower.  Also, during Victoria’s reign, Britain was the first country to go through an industrial revolution. When Victoria came to the throne most people worked on the land and lived in villages, by 1901 most lived and worked in towns or cities. Life changed faster than it ever had done.

 However, this extremely rapid expansion of town and cities brought with it some negative consequences.  Many people in Victorian cities suffered from poor housing conditions, long working hours, disease and premature death.  Victorian cities were not the healthiest of places, they were very crowded, dirty and even had open sewers.  In the poorest areas during the 1830s and 1840s, almost one in every five children born did not make it to five years old.

 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson  Alexander Graham Bell  Charles Dickens  Charles Darwin  Arthur Conan Doyle  Thomas Edison  Florence Nightingale  The inventor of the light bulb  Author who created the character of Sherlock Holmes  Great novelist who wrote ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Oliver Twist’  The first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain  The founder of modern nursing  An English naturalist, famous for his theory of ‘natural selection’  The inventor of the telephone

This is a velvet bonnet which is trimmed with flowers and tied with a velvet bow under the neck. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, dresses were becoming simpler in shape. This dress is made of satin with lace frills. Underneath the dress she is wearing a petticoat that is made from either cotton or wool. Underneath her dress she is wearing a corset. The Victorian corset was elaborately decorated with lace frills. Young women wanted to have a waist measurement that was the same or less than their age, between inches. (Between 43 and 53 centimetres). What type of Victorian women do you think wore outfits like this?