victorian schools: background information · addition to other lessons were taught practical skills...

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Victorian Day Teachers’ Resource Pack Produced by the Education Team, The Museum of Farnham Willmer House, 38 West Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7DX 01252 715094 [email protected] www.farnhammaltings.com/museum © Museum of Farnham, 2012

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Victorian Day

Teachers’ Resource Pack

Produced by the Education Team, The Museum of Farnham

Willmer House, 38 West Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7DX

01252 715094

[email protected]

www.farnhammaltings.com/museum

© Museum of Farnham, 2012

Contents

1. Victorian Schools: Background Information

2. Education 1762-1902: A Timeline

3. Victorian Schools in Farnham

4. Extracts from a Farnham School Log Book

5. Victorian Farnham

6. Follow up ideas for the Victorian School Day

7. Victorian Shops and Shopping

8. Domestic Service: Background Information

9. Follow up ideas for mystery object talk

10. Information on The Victorian Housekeeper’s Mystery Objects

11. Victorian Toys

12. National Curriculum Links

Victorian Schools: Background Information

At the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign many children did not go to school. Instead

they went out to work, most of them unable to read or write.

In 1870 an Act of Parliament, the Education Act, was passed. This stated that all

children between the ages of five and thirteen years could attend school if they paid

between 1d and 3d (one penny in pre-decimal currency was just under 1/2p today) per

week. In 1880 a new law state that all children under ten years must attend school,

but places were not free of charge until 1891. Many of these schools were called

Board Schools as they were run by a local board of people.

Classes were very large, desks were arranged in strict rows and severe punishments

such as caning or ‘finger stocks’ were administered to children who misbehaved. Many

schools operated a monitor system where younger children were taught by older

pupils.

The lessons concentrated mainly ‘The three Rs’, reading, writing and arithmetic. In

addition there were some lessons in which boys and girls were completely separate:

girls were taught needlework which boys practiced technical drawing or woodwork.

Younger children at first wrote in sand trays and then progressed to slates and slate

pencils. With sand the tray could be shaken and reused. With slates the letters could

be rubbed off with a cloth and then used over and over again.

Older children wrote with ink on paper and used a dip pen with a metal nib. They

learned and practised a form of handwriting known as ‘copperplate.’

Some of the poorer children were forced to live in some of the larger schools and in

addition to other lessons were taught practical skills such as framing and shoemaking.

An inspector visited each school annually to make a report on each educational

establishment in the country. Registers were checked and every pupil was tested. Any

child who failed the tests would have to repeat their last school year again. If a

number of children failed teachers would also have their pay cut.

1902 to 1903: Boards were abolished and replaced by new and larger education

authorities based on the county and borough councils. Board schools became known as

County Schools. The new authorities were to be responsible for the development of

secondary education and Church of England National Schools were to be helped by

money from the rates.

Before Victoria’s reign there were two main educational bodies. These were the

British and Foreign School Society (founded in 1807) which included both Churchmen

and Nonconformists, and the National Society (founded in 1811) which was exclusively

Church of England. Both of these were voluntary bodies.

It was fully recognised by leading figures of the day that ‘the march of intellect’

would need a nationally enforced discipline, and that the State would have to

supplement the work already being done by these voluntary bodies if the nation was

to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing times.

In 1833 the Whig government made £20,000 available to be shared between the two

educational societies and in 1839 this was increased to £30,000. At the same time a

Privy Council Committee was set up to administer the grant and appoint inspectors to

examine the work of schools. The grant money was awarded to match local funding, so

that the already well endowed and better organised Church of England schools

received three quarters of the money.

The main obstacle in the development of the national educational system was the

religious zeal of the sponsors of the existing voluntary bodies. The Privy Council

Committee attempted to establish a training college for teachers, but this could not

progress because of conflicting Anglican and Nonconformist demands. Similar

reforms to the system and proposals for educating children continually floundered

under religious confrontation. As with other social reforms no progress would be

made until there was an underlying measure of agreement between the parties about

values and priorities.

This was not achieved until the 1870 Education Act provided primary education for

all. This act doubled the state grant to the existing Church Schools and to the Roman

Catholic schools, so as to enable them to become a permanent part of the new

system, while it introduced publicly controlled schools to fill up the large gaps in the

educational map of the country.

These new schools were called board schools and were paid for out of the local rates

and governed by publicly elected school boards. In most of the old voluntary, or

national, schools, Church teaching was to be continued, but in the new board schools

the Act prohibited the use of catechism or anything distinctly denominational in the

religious teaching.

By 1880, by-laws were introduced by the local boards and attendance committees to

ensure compulsory attendance of all children between the ages of 5-10. School fees

of about 3d a week had to be paid by parents and the next task was to get this

reduced. By 1895 over 4 million children were attending school free of charge.

Secondary education was largely reserved for the upper and middle classes. With the

growth of Britain’s power and wealth, education became a priority in order to develop

leadership at home and abroad. The ‘Public Schools’ such as Eton and Harrow which

tended to educate the aristocracy and upper classes, took the lead and rapidly

reformed during Victoria’s reign. This was largely due to the efforts of Dr. Thomas

Arnold, Headmaster of Rugby. His emphasis on religious instruction, the monitorial

system and his success in suppressing bullying and indiscipline with the aim of

producing a ‘Christian Gentleman’ was quickly accepted as the way forward.

The ideals set by the Public schools were rapidly copied, and aspiring middle class

parents found their choice of educational establishments much improved as grammar

schools and privately funded establishments set about raising the standard of

education they offered.

In its early stages, educational progress widened the gap between rich and poor.

Social segregation in the large cities was accentuated by the lack of provision for the

working classes. Few working class children could hope to stay at school beyond the

age of 13, although about four or five in a thousand might, by winning a series of

scholarships, progress to grammar school and beyond. During the 1890s school boards

also began to organize evening continuation classes but the creation of a national

secondary education had to wait until the passing of the 1902 Education Act.

Education 1762-1902: A Timeline

1762: Jean Jacques Rousseau published his liberal ideas on education in Emile

1780: Robert Raikes opened the first Sunday School in Gloucester. The movement

spread and provided some rudimentary education for working class children.

1800: Only one child in 30 had a proper education. Some children attended a dame

school but these were often inadequate. A small minority attended public or grammar

schools. There was virtually no educational provision for girls.

An early nineteenth century Dame School

1803: Joseph Lancaster wrote Improvements in Education in which he proposed a

cheap system of education for all children. He suggested a scheme using monitors to

teach small groups within a large class which the teacher would oversee.

1808: The British and Foreign Schools Society was formed. The schools it set up

were called British Schools and taught non-denominational religion.

1811: the Church of England set up National Schools at which the religion of the

established church was taught.

1816: Robert Owen opened his progressive infants’ school in Lanark.

1839: The Government set up the Committee of the Privy Council for Education

which supervised the paying out of new grants to schools and appointed inspectors

for schools accepting public aid. Extra grants were given to schools which paid and

trained pupil teachers.

1860: The revised code was introduced to control the payment of grants to schools.

It tried to raise standards through the system of payment by results. Grants were

made to schools on the basis of regular attendance and success in the examination of

the 3Rs. Such payment could affect the amount available for school equipment and

fuel, and could even affect the teacher’s salary.

1870: W.E. Forster’s Education Act gave school boards the power to make education

compulsory in their area if they wished to do so. The schools they set up were call

Board Schools, and religious teaching in them was to be non-denominational.

1874: The Factory Act raised the age at which a child could be employed in a factory

to 10 years. This implied compulsory schooling up to that age. This was difficult to

enforce, particularly in rural areas.

1876 and 1880: Further education acts made elementary education compulsory

throughout England until the age of 13. However, children over 10 could leave if they

had passed the Standard V examination.

1891: Education fees were abolished.

1897: Abolition of the Revised Code which was said to put too much pressure on pupils

and teachers to encourage mechanical learning.

1899: The school leaving age was raised to 12 years.

Victorian Schools in Farnham

Throughout Victoria’s reign, Farnham was well provided with private educational

facilities. George Sturt records attending Miss May’s school in East Street. There

was also the Misses Alexander’s school in West (later in Castle Street) and the

Misses Penn’s in West Street. Thomas Hunter’s school for boys was at 38 West

Street (now the Museum) and Henry Poppleton’s College Boarding School in East

Street which George Sturt attended. He wrote about this in A Small Boy in the Sixties. The Grammar School, which was probably founded in the Elizabethan period, fell into

abeyance for part of the C19th. Like many other things, it was revitalised with the

arrival of Bishop Sumner who reorganised it as a Diocesan School with the Rector as

headmaster. It took fee-paying and scholarship pupils. The growth of the school was

frequently a problem and extra accommodation was always having to be found in hop

kiln and drill halls. In 1872 and 1895 substantial rebuilding took place of the school at

25 West Street (which now houses the Adult Education Centre). An examination of

the school roll shows the names of many prominent Farnham families.

The British School in East

Street was linked to the

Independent Nonconformist

Chapel and under the auspices of

The British and Foreign Schools

Society had been established in

1835.

Staff at Hale School c.1880, then known as Bishop Sumner School.

The school did not restrict access to children of its church members, but pupils were

required, ‘to attend such place of worship on the Sabbath as their parent or guardian

may prefer.’ The school was always short of funds and in the hope of extending its

field of financial support did make a tentative, unsuccessful, attempt to link with the

Established Church.

The first East Street School, picture taken c.1894 before the new East Street School was built on the site at the junction of East Street and Hale Road.

Pupils at the East Street School in 1915. The Church of England had established its own school next to St. Andrew’s Church on

land given by the Archdeacon of Surrey in 1860 and opened with a Master and

Mistress, 116 boys, 101 girls, and 110 infants. Fees fluctuated between 2d and 3d a

week, but from 1891 education was provided free of charge. Control of the school was

transferred from the Board of Education to Voluntary Managers in 1896. The school

was advertised as ‘providing a sound and useful education for the children of labourers, mechanics and tradesmen at a charge ranging from 2d. to 6d. per week.’

From 1896 the girls attended daily laundry classes at Farnham Castle with the Mrs.

Porter, the Bishop’s head laundry maid. In 1903 this changed to cookery lessons.

Pupils at St. Andrew’s School in 1918

In Bear Lane, Father Gerin, the Roman Catholic priest, had by 1891 and against all the

odds, established a school. The head was somewhat dismayed to find on her arrival

that the house she was supposed to live in existed only on paper until the money could

be found! The school grew quickly and in 1896 a new school, St. Polycarp’s was opened.

St. Polycarp’s School

A School Board was formed in Farnham in 1893 for

an area including Hale, The Bourne and Badshot Lea.

By 1897 ‘handsome and capacious schools’ had been

erected in East Street, West Street, The Bourne

and Badshot Lea. The National School at Hale was

taken over, as was the Church School next to St.

Andrews, but the latter was subsequently

transferred to Voluntary Managers. East Street

School is now closed, but West Street School

continues to flourish as Potters Gate.

Miss Stroud and her pupils at her West Street School

Schools in Farnham during the 19th Century

1791 Mary Cook, Schoolmistress

Mrs. Miller, Schoolmistress

Mrs. Miller, Schoolmistress

Miss Jenkins’ Boarding School (1791-96)

1820 John Merriott’s Music School, 26 West Street

1823 Mrs. Charsley’s Academy (1823-24)

Thomas Cobbett’s Academy (possibly at 69 West Street)

James Fenton’s Academy (1823-24)

Rev. S.C. Locke’s Academy

Miss Wilmer’s Academy (up to at least 1826)

1826 Mrs. Regent’s Preparatory School

Mary Dudman’s Ladies’ Seminary, West Street (up to at least 1855)

Henry Austen’s Gents Boarding School

1830s The British School, 80 West Street:

1839

Sirus Blandford’s boarding and day school, West Street

British Schools: Henry Brewster and Elizabeth Sharpe, East Street

Greaves and Weston, West Street

John Harrington, The Borough

Thomas Hunter, 38 West Street (up to at least 1845)

Elizabeth May, 45 Downing Street (up to at least 1855)

National School, George Philips Hamilton, Castle Street

Misses Stratford, 72 Castle Street

William Trew, East Street

Miss L. Barrett, Church Lane

1840s The Old Vicarage run as a private school

1841 William True, 8 East Street (taken over by Miss Louisa Stratford)

1845 Mrs. Anne Brasier, East Street

William Smith, Castle Street

Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson, East Street

Miss Sarah Wills, Downing Street

1850s Church Lane: one property run for girl boarders

1855 Mrs. Sarah Milner, Church Lane

Henry Poppleton’s L.C.P. Academy, 99 or 119 West Street

Miss Ann Lawrence Infants’ School, The Borough

c.1860s Miss Elizabeth and Miss Martha May, 93 East Street:

1878

c.1878-

1892

Mrs Margaret Tideman, 75 East Street

Miss Caroline Biddick’s Ladies’ School, 102 West Street

Mrs Mary Mason’s Preparatory School, 111 East Street

1891 Mrs. William Swayne’s Middle Class School, 14 Castle Street

89 West Street: run as a school during later part of the nineteenth century by

the Alexander family

Probably built in early 1830s.

27 West Street: Farnham Female School of Industry

32 Castle Street: Miss Josephine Reynard’s School (formerly at 38)

74 Castle Street: Miss Swayne transferred here from No.14. This was the

precursor of the Farnham Girls’ Grammar School.

Extracts from a Farnham School Log Book 1872 Monday, February 12th: James and William Taylor were detained for damaging the fence in the playground. Wednesday, April 3rd: William Waile was punished this morning for kicking his teacher. Thursday, July 18th: James Taylor had to stay back the same time for using improper language to the pupil teacher. Monday, July 22nd: James Taylor withdrawn, reason assigned to go to plough. There is to be holiday tomorrow for the children to remember Mr Hardy’s marriage. Monday, October 14th: Increased attendance this week, several children returned to school who have been away for more than three months [probably due to the hopping] Tuesday, May 20th: William Chitty was hung by his arm to one of the stack pipes after school, in attempting to get a birds nest, and we had great trouble to extricate him. Monday, May 26th: Whooping Cough is prevalent in the village, a thin school this week, a great many children at work. Tuesday, June 10th: Alfred Jackson was punished for getting over into the girl’s playground. Friday, October 17th: The attendance of children over seven is very unsatisfactory, many boys are at farm work, and others are engaged in picking up acorns. Friday, March 27th: Elizabeth Mary Ann and Eliza Ham were requested to stay away from school as they were suffering from an infectious disease-itch… Monday, July 20th: Minnie Chitty inattentive and ill tempered at lessons this morning, not trying to answer properly. Friday, October 23rd: Fanny Trimmer, a girl twelve in November has just come to school without any knowledge of her letters.

Friday, October 30th: This morning William Knight and Frank Stent were very troublesome boys to their teacher. First they did damage to the school property by breaking a desk. Second by an act of carelessness, William Knight upset the ink. Thirdly the teacher came to inform me that William Knight and Frank Stent were fighting when I interfered and caned them across the shoulder. William Knight also kicked Annie kemp on the arm when trying to separate them.

1877 Friday, August 17th: The school was closed after the afternoon meeting for six weeks. The long holiday at the beginning of the year when the school was closed under medical authority makes it extremely difficult to keep the school open 400 times, as after harvest there is hop picking which is likely to last longer than usual this year.

Victorian Farnham

There were many changes in Farnham during Queen Victoria’s reign. When she

ascended the throne in 1837 the population of Farnham was around 3500. By 1881

this had risen to 5080, and to about 6461 when she died in 1901.

East Street in the 1830s

In the first half of the nineteenth century people tended to travel around on horses,

on foot or in horse-drawn coaches. In the early Victorian period one of the coaches

from London passed the Farnham wharf on the Basingstoke Canal, then the toll-gate

over the heath land from Bagshot down the hill into Farnham. The fare was about

15/- which was a lot for most people, so most walked. The railway came to the town in

1849, which made it easier to get around. People started working further afield in

places like Woking, Surbiton and London.

In 1895 John Henry Knight (who was

born at Weybourne house) is said to

have invented the first two-seater

petrol- driven car. Ironically, he was

also fined for speeding!

When Victoria came to the throne the

Parish Church of St. Andrew, Farnham

Castle and the Bush Hotel were busy

places, just as they are now. Almost

all of the buildings in West Street (as far as the junction with Crondall Lane), Castle

Street, The Borough and Downing street were in existence, although many of them

have been altered. South Street and Union Road did not exist until the railway was

constructed in the 1849.

Many of the public houses which

are in the town today existed

during part of the nineteenth

century, although some have had

their names changed. The ‘William

Cobbett’, for example, was called

the ‘Jolly Farmer’. Although they

look old, ‘The Seven Stars’, ‘Plough’

and ‘Marlborough Head’ were all

rebuilt in the 1920s. ‘The Hop

Blossom’, ‘Nelson Arms’, ‘Coach and

Horses’ and ‘Queens Head’ and

others were all selling alcohol at the time. The ‘Jolly Farmer’ Inn

Farnham’s main industry in the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign was work

connected with growing hops and brewing beer. Farnham hops were pale green and

considered very good. Brewers had to pay very high prices for them.

The last day of hop picking.

Farnham was also a busy farming community. Sheep and cows were brought into town

from outlying farms and then sold to other farmers or butchers to kill them at the

back of their shops before selling the meat. Occasionally, frightened animals would

rush into the nearest building, often ruining stationery, books or breaking china. In

the later part of the nineteenth century, a man called Absolom Harris founded a

pottery at Wrecclesham. Their trademark pots have a bright green glaze known as

‘Farnham Greenware.’

Wrecclesham Pottery founded in 1873.

About 50 houses in early Victorian Farnham were supplied with water from the new

Water Board, but most people had to collect their water from public wells. There was

a public one at the corner of Castle Street and The Borough running down from the

Castle. Sanitation was pretty bad, many houses ran their sewage into the river and

wells got contaminated with diphtheria, typhoid and cholera, which killed lots of

people. A local board was set up in 1866 to help the situation. Public Health Officers

were still reporting unhygienic living conditions well into the twentieth century.

Most Farnham houses would have been lit with colza-oil, candles and rush lights and

turf. Street lighting was provided from 1834 by the Gas Company. Anybody could

operate as a dentist. Farnham had five surgeons, one hospital. The worst place to end

up was the workhouse. Workhouse children were intended for apprenticeships to

various trades. Life in the workhouse would have been very hard work and disease was

rife. The workhouse in Hale Road was built in 1790. The Workhouse Report of 1867

concluded that Farnham Workhouse was ‘a reproach to England- a scandal and a curse

to a country which calls itself civilised and Christian.’ It was demolished in 1971 to

make way for Farnham Hospital.

Farnham had three annual fairs held in Castle Street. There was also a fair at what

now is called ‘Fairfield’ near to the station. Animals, sideshows, roundabouts, swings

and stalls selling food and clothing were at these fairs. George Sturt’s memoirs A Small Boy in the 60s recalls his life in Farnham in the 1860s, written through the

eyes of a child. He writes about the fairs and ‘squibs’ (bonfire night) at school.

Market day was Thursday.

The fair in Castle Street in the 1880s

Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in Castle Street. This was a big celebration in 1897 with parades and lots of entertainment.

The Parish Church had been in Farnham for hundreds of years before Victoria came

to the throne, but some of the other churches were built during the nineteenth

century: The Wesleyan Church (now Methodist) and the Congregational Church (now

United Reformed Church) on South Street; St. Polycarp’s Catholic Church in Bear

Lane (now demolished), St. James’ Church on East Street (now flats) and the Baptist

Church in Bear Lane (now a private house). Towards the end of Victoria’s reign, the

Emmanuel Church was built on South Street.

Farnham c. 1850 from a drawing by H. Prosser from the south side of the river across the meadows. The old church tower can just be seen.

Many shops and businesses flourished in Farnham during the Victorian period. There

were insurance men, bakers, grocers, brick makers, cartwright’s, clockmakers, rope

makers and many other trades. The largest grocery shop was William Kingham and

Son in West Street. Elphick’s, Pullinger’s and Ranger’s which were trading at this time

still exist under the same names.

The Co-operative Store

A view of the Borough taken from the West Street direction

During Victoria’s reign, several of the Bishops of Winchester still lived at Farnham

Castle as they had done for thousands of years. Some Farnham roads are named

after Bishops: Sumner Road, Thorold Road and Ryle Road for example.

In 1859 Mr. Arthur Lucy started the first newspaper in Surrey at No.1, The Borough

(now Clinton Cards). It was called the Surrey and Hants News, and was a very large

and popular newspaper. In 1892, Mr. Ernest Langham began publishing the Farnham Herald in South Street.

Victorian Farnham had connections with several famous people. Amongst them was

Florence Nightingale the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ who tended the sick and dying soldiers

at Scutari Hospital during the Crimean War. She probably stayed at Brightwell House

(near Sainsburys in South Street) on the night before she left for the Crimea. She

also often visited her cousins at Waverley Abbey House. She presented Farnham

Hospital with a silver communion set. Charles Darwin also visited the Hydrotherapy

Clinic at Moor Park on several occasions.

Castle Street showing the Corn Exchange and Knight’s Bank buildings which no longer exist. The Victorian Corn Exchange was built in the 1860s. This was knocked down to make way for the current building in 1932 which is more in-keeping with the Georgian architecture of Farnham.

Follow up ideas for the Victorian School Day Write a diary about a day in the life of a Victorian school child

Ask the children to make a list of the similarities and differences between

school today and in Victorian times. Which would they have preferred and why?

Write a play/scene about an inspector coming to your school in Victorian times.

Recreate a scene from a Victorian everyday life photograph e.g. Children playing

old fashioned games or explain to other children how to play games or write

instructions,

Recreate a Victorian picture or photograph and write some thought bubbles of

the people in the picture or photograph.

Victorian Shops and Shopping In the first half of the nineteenth century, the advent of the railways meant a

much wider distribution of goods, greater quantities and things becoming. cheaper.

More goods began to come from abroad in the 1860s. By the end of the century

shops had larger windows and fancier signage to entice customers into shops

where you could find almost everything you wanted under one roof

From ‘The Shopkeeper’s Guide’, 1853

A selection of items stocked by each shop:

The Ironmonger Smoke jacks, kitchen fenders, box irons, crimping

machines, goffering machines, pestles and mortars,

trivets, ice safes, bell pulls, coppers for washing, taper

boxes.

The Cutler Boot jacks, champagne nippers, Gentleman’s pocket

companion, ham knives, large scissors, oyster knives,

rotary knife cleaner, pinching irons, razor strops, sugar

nippers.

The Optician Opera glasses, magic lanterns, spectacles for railway

travellers, spectacles for charities and poor persons,

barometers.

The Turner Beetle traps, butter prints, chocolate mills, butler’s trays,

housemaid’s boxes, linen presses, portable water closets,

mouse traps, washing crimps, dollies, stools, trays and

tubs, towel horse, salting tubs.

The General

Fancy Shop

Crochet carriages, powder puffs, improved whisker

curlers, larding pins, steel beads, inkstands, reticule

mounts, papier mache goods, metallic pens, sealing wax,

wafer & bottle seals, umbrellas, rings, card cases, glove

studs, vinaigrettes, smelling salt bottles.

The Stationer Ornamental cards in packets, black-bordered envelopes

(for condolence correspondence), sealing wax and wafers,

pens and quills, valentines, curling papers (for curling hair),

music papers, chalks.

The Chandler

and Oilman

Candles, best mottled soap, best vinegar, curd in bars,

Albert lights, Brown Windsor, India Soy, Poland starch,

Ketchup.

The Perfumer

and Fancy Soap

Maker

Otto or Rose: jasmine, bergamot, lemon, orange. For the

hair: macassar oil, Russia oil, marrow oil, fancy soaps: cocoa

nut, sultana, lavender, Otto of Rose, must, violet, Camphor.

Court perfumes, tooth powders, cosmetics, milk of rose, lip

salve, honey paste, almond cream, rouge, rose cream, cold

cream. Fancy brushes and combs.

The Chemist and

Druggist

Aloes, arsenic, carmine, gentian, sponges, concentrated

infusions, tincture of lavender, camphos, castor oil.

The Hosier,

Shirt Maker and

Outfitter

Long cloth shirts, calico drawers, shirt collars, brown and

white cotton hose, stiffeners for cravats, dark merino or

silk jackets, monkey jackets, pilot cloth trousers,

southwesters, Glengarry caps, boot hooks, bolsters,

printed flannel dressing gowns, folding chairs, dress shoes,

towels, overland trunks, sea chests, shawls.

The Grocer Teas- Indian and China, sugars- West India, demerara,

cocoa and chocolate, fruits, raisins, spices, preserves, oils,

sauces, best blue starch, soda, bees wax, black lead, putty

powder, lamp black, linseed, canary seed, brimstone,

bloater paste, potted ham, semolina, cheese.

The

Confectioner

Candied citron, lemon and orange, pink, brown, white rose

and lemon candies, barley sugar, acid, pear, mint, barberry

and ginger drops, aniseed, cinnamon, Bath, clove and

pearled comfits, lozenges, jujubes, liquorice, Pontefract

cakes, crystallized fruits, dried fruits, jellies. French

confectionary: apricot knots, liqueur almonds,

Macedonians, chocolate pralines, Twelfth cake, isinglass,

(like gelatine), bonbonniers, comfits

Other dealers: The Agricultural Implement Maker, the Basket Maker, The

Bookseller, The Boot and Shoemaker, the Bed and Mattress Dealer, The Butcher,

the Bottle Dealer, the Cabinet Maker (also a toymaker), the Archery shopkeeper

(fishing tackle and guns), the Carpenter, the Hatter, the Milliner, the

Tobacconist, the Watchmaker, the Harness Maker, Tailors, the Looking-Glass

Maker, Pawnbrokers, the Haberdasher, the Glover.

Domestic Service: Background Information

Most Victorian households employed servants. A large house would have employed

many people, ranging from scullery maids and boot boys, aged 10 or 11, who washed up,

peeled potatoes and polished boots, right up to a butler and housekeeper, who

supervised the junior staff.

A housemaid would have started work when she was about 12 or 13 years old. She

would have earned about 7s 6d (37p) a week in 1880, plus her food, with possibly one

afternoon and evening off each week.

Her working day would have begun at 5.30 or 6.00am. She would have started by

drawing the blinds, sweeping the floors, black leading the grates and laying the fires.

She would then have swept the stairs and served breakfast. After breakfast she

would have to empty the slops, carry water for washing and make the beds. She’d

then have dusted the furniture in many rooms, often on her knees. When she wasn’t

cleaning she would have been expected to sew and mend tablecloths and sheets. In

the evening she would light candles, turn down the beds and laid out the nightclothes,

before going to bed herself.

Servants could give notice to leave their employers’ service, but they were entirely

dependent on them for a good reference. Without one, they were unlikely to find

another job.

Follow up ideas for mystery object session

Key ideas

Domestic life and appliances have changed greatly over the last two hundred

years.

Developments in technology have helped shape domestic life. Labour-saving

devices have not only changed the home but also changed lifestyles and

people’s attitudes.

Activities

1. Cut out the boxes on sheets 1 and 2. Ask the children to match up the modern

day appliances with their predecessors.

2. Cut up the invention sheet 3 and see if the children can put them in the

correct order.

3. Compare the different materials used for modern appliances. Are they an

improvement on older versions?

4. What energies are used to power household appliances? How did the invention

of electricity change domestic life? (e.g. you could compare times taken to

complete tasks like cooking etc.)

5. How do our modern appliances work? Who invented them and when?

6. Write a diary entry about the day in the life of a maid or a washday for a

poorer family.

7. Write down the functions of a modern washing machine. Compare them to the

Victorian equivalent.

8. Imagine you an artefact and write your life story; how you were used and how

you ended up at the museum etc.

Sheet 1

Sheet 2

Sheet 3

Cut up these strips put them in order from the oldest to the newest.

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Domestic Electric refrigerator invented

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Steam Iron invented

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First gas cookers go on sale

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First tinned food produced

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First electric washing machine invented

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Microwave oven invented

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Houses and streets first lit by electricity

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Information on The Victorian Housekeeper’s

Mystery Objects Victorian homes got dirtier than modern homes because of the fumes from oil and gas

lamps and the smuts from burning candles and solid fuel fires. There was also a lot of

dust from constant carrying of coal scuttles up and down stairs, and mud and dirt

brought in on people’s shoes. Added to this, the housemaid had to dust the heavily

ornamented furnishings, and polish the brasses and silver that tarnished quickly. She

had to daily black-lead the iron grates in the fireplace to protect them from rust,

and deal with heavy curtains and upholstery which trapped all the dust and dirt.

Upholstery was swept and shaken daily and rugs and carpets swept with a stiff brush

or beaten outside with a carpet beater.

Carpet Beater

Used to beat the dirt out of carpets. They are often made of woven cane because it

is light and flexible. However, metal was sometimes used to strengthen the handle

and hold the instrument together. This design was so effective that it was left

unchanged for over a hundred years.

Dolly or Posser

Used to mix clothes, soap and water in a tub; the Dolly is rotated in different

directions to force out the dirt. It is the same motion created by a modern washing

machine. It was made of wood from the local wood turner for example, sycamore.

Yoke

Used to carry water and by dairymaids to carry milk. Made from wood, it was carved

to comfortably fit on the shoulders. The adjustable chains hooked onto the pail

handles and the wearer had to hold them firmly to prevent the contents from spilling

out.

4 Flying Insect Trap

Used to trap common pests for example, flies and wasps. Sweet bait (such as honey)

was put inside and the insect was attracted through the narrow hole. It was difficult

for the insect to find its way out again.

Candle Trimmer

Used to trim candlewicks to stop them smoking. Early candles were made from

household fats melted around a piece of bleached yarn. Unless this type of candle

was regularly trimmed it dropped burning fragments or put itself out. Modern candles

burn more efficiently because of refined materials and the wick woven with a bias to

one side, which makes it curl over and disappear in the flame. The box (attached to

one of the blades) is designed to catch the excess wick. Complete, it comes with a

small metal tray.

Box Iron

Universally used where kitchen ranges did not exist for example, Africa and British

India. A cast iron slug could be heated on a fire until it was red hot and inserted into

the hollow iron. They were numbered: the smaller the number, the lighter and smaller

the iron.

Trivet

Used to rest a hot iron on. A wooden handle obviously means it could be moved

without burning. Trivets were made in many shapes and designs.

Sugar Nippers

Used to cut sugar that was obtained in loaves. Loaves were conical (‘dunce’s cap)’ in

shape, hard and could be up to fifteen inches tall. A chopper may have been used to

reduce the size of the loaves before cutting. It could be cut into cubes for tea or

ground very fine with a sugar crusher or mortar and pestle to make cakes. The blunt

spike on one handle would protect the user’s knuckles when they levered the handle

against the top of the table. Grippers could be used to hold the sugar loaves while

cutting.

Goffering/Crimping Machine

Used to press pleats into a frill. The corrugated, brass rollers were hollow so that

the heated rods could be inserted and it was operated in the same way as an upright

mangle (by turning the handle the rollers rotated and the material passed through).

However, it was not an essential part of laundry equipment and only professional

laundries or the wealthy would have owned one.

Apple Peeler

The fruit was skewered onto the three spikes and the handle quickly turned so that

the arm engaged with the driving screw of the spring-loaded peeling attachment. At

the end of the traverse, the arm was released from the guide bar at the arch and

could be sent back to the starting position by a flick of the left thumb. In order to

be a great labour saving device it would need to be screwed onto a surface because

instead of collecting the peelings, the spare hand would be needed to hold the device

steady. It would seem that it was a Victorian gadget and this one was never used.

Bottle Jack

Used to accelerate the cooking of meat. The clockwork bottle jack rotated the meat,

which could be hooked on a dangle-spit and placed in front of the open fire of a coal-

burning range. A rounded tin shield could also be used to reflect the heat and ‘hasten’

the roast; this is called a hastener. The door in the shield allowed the meat to be

basted while cooking.

Shoe Last

Used to repair shoes. Made of iron, it is shaped for the heels of shoes. Many

Victorians would need to make their shoes last as long as possible so they would need

continual repair. To save money, Victorians would put nails in the bottoms of their

shoes to stop them wearing out.

We now have a small selection of items available to buy in the Garden Gallery

N.B. You will probably not have seen all these objects in your session as there

are too many to cover easily in the time. If you would like to borrow a loan box

from our collection, please ask for information or check the details on the

website www.farnhammaltings.com/museum

Victorian Toys

At the start of Victoria’s reign in 1837 most toys were made by hand. Toymakers

usually worked in their own homes. Toys were expensive and many people could not

afford to buy them. Poor children would have had toys made from cardboard boxes,

acorns and conkers. Clay wood, tin, leather and lead was commonly used materials.

Dolls could be made from wax and real hair. In the nineteenth century Germany was

the centre of the toy industry; producing wooden dolls, horses and carriages,

soldiers, buildings and animals.

Before the laws on labour became stricter, factories often employed children to

make toys. They could work anything up to 70 hours a week. In the 1850s with

industrial expansion, more toys were made in factories. Often using stream-driven

machines, they were made quicker and cheaper. The railways also meant toys could be

distributed further and more quickly.

Middle-class Victorian children with religious parents were not allowed to play on

Sunday, except with the Noah’s Ark as it was biblical. Optical toys such as magic

lanterns, jigsaw puzzles and educational toys such as bricks with letters were popular

for the middle classes.

Links to the National Curriculum

How will your visit support your work in school?

Subject Level

History KS1-2 a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends

pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066, education ,

childhood, play, homes. Understand historical concepts such

as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity,

difference and significance, and use them to make

connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame

historically-valid questions

English KS1-2 Listening group discussion and interaction and reading and

reciting and speaking and performing to peers

Science

Materials

& their

properties

Looking at materials and their properties and seeing if the

objects are made of the best material and design for the

job.