| The Poor The Wealthy | had few luxuries. ate food they could afford to buy worked long hours lived in damp, filthy conditions. Many children died of disease. usually well fed, clean and well clothed. didn’t need to work lived in big houses with servants went on holidays children had expensive toys children went to school |
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How did the rich Victorians treat the poor?
There was a big difference between rich and poor in Victorian times. Rich people
could afford lots of treats like holidays, fancy clothes
, and even telephones when they were invented. Poor people – even children – had to work hard in factories, mines or workhouses. They didn’t get paid very much money.
What was the Victorian attitude towards the poor?
It was a commonly held belief that
the workhouse needed to be unbearable
so that those in need of help would only turn to the workhouse in absolutely desperate circumstances. The workhouse conditions needed to be worse than those that a poor person on the lowest possible wages could survive on outside of the workhouse.
What was life like for the poor in the 1800s?
For the first half of the 19th century the rural and urban poor had much in common:
unsanitary and overcrowded housing, low wages, poor diet
, insecure employment and the dreaded effects of sickness and old age.
Why was living in the Victorian era difficult for the poor?
Low wages
and the scramble for jobs meant that people needed to live near to where work was available. Time taken walking to and from work would extend an already long day beyond endurance. Consequently available housing became scarce and therefore expensive, resulting in extremely overcrowded conditions.
What percentage of Victorians were poor?
That is the sort of poverty that
25%
of Britons suffered in Victorian times. We can check this with Angus Maddison’s numbers (which are also inflation and PPP adjusted) and we can see that per capita GDP in 1890 was $4,000 a year.
What did poor Victorians eat?
For many poor people across Britain,
white bread made from bolted wheat flour
was the staple component of the diet. When they could afford it, people would supplement this with vegetables, fruit and animal-derived foods such as meat, fish, milk, cheese and eggs – a Mediterranean-style diet.
What did rich Victorians do for fun?
Rich children had
train sets, toy soldiers, rocking horses, dolls and doll houses, tea-sets
, and toy shops with toy fruit.
How much did poor Victorians get paid?
The pay was pitifully low. A woman might make one shirt in a long day, sewing by hand in poor light – she had to buy her own candles – and she would be lucky to earn
six shillings for a dozen
.
What did rich Victorians do for jobs?
Most of the child care was done by a nanny. Rich Victorian men had jobs such as
doctors, lawyers, bankers and factory owners
. Until near the end of the Victorian era, parents had to pay to send their children to school. This meant that many poor children received no education and could neither read not write.
What did poor Victorians do for fun?
Poor families made their own, such as
cloth-peg dolls and paper windmills
. Children would save their pocket money to buy marbles, a spinning top, skipping ropes, kites or cheap wooden toys. Girls played with dolls and tea sets whilst boys played with toy soldiers and marbles.
What did rich Victorians eat?
Meat was relatively expensive, though you could buy a sheep’s head for about 3d (£2.50 in modern money). Instead they ate plenty of
omega-3-rich oily fish and seafood
. Herrings, sprats, eels, oysters, mussels, cockles and whelks, were all popular, as were cod and haddock.
How did the rich live in the 1800’s?
Wealth in 1800 was
owning land
, which is pretty amazing. People who had a mansion were considered the “Gentry”. They lived in luxury. The people who had money built amazing countryside mansions.
What were living conditions like in the 1800s?
The living conditions in the cities and towns were miserable and characterized by:
overcrowding, poor sanitation, spread of diseases, and pollution
. As well, workers were paid low wages that barely allowed them to afford the cost of living associated with their rent and food.
What did poor Victorians wear?
Poor Victorian men wore
a vest, a shirt, a bow tie, coat
(sometimes even down to their knees because it was bought from a 3rd or 4th hand shop and they wouldn’t try it on to see if it was the right size for them) pants, trousers, rarely shoes and a cap.
What did rich Victorians wear?
Rich women wore
corsets under their dresses
. At the beginning of Victoria’s reign it was fashionable to wear a crinoline under a skirt. These hoops and petticoats made skirts very wide.
