Upper Class Victorian Homes The Victorian era was a time of ornate decorum, and grandiose homes for the upper classes. Wealth was not to be concealed, but displayed in all aspects possible, most importantly in the home. The structure of an upper class home often had at least a few levels. The top and bottom floors, or basement and attic, generally reserved for the servants of the household. Food preparation, and laundry activities were common of the basements, whereas the attic often served as housing for those that tended the household. Beyond these reserved spaces however, the splendor of wealth could be found in every room, on every wall, of every floor. The credo of the time could appropriately be stated as "if you got it, flaunt it," as the upper classes most assuredly did. Expensive floral carpets, lavish furniture, and heavy curtains were accents of almost every upper class home. According to the Bytown Museum, "A lack of clutter was to be considered "in bad taste." Consequently, the parlours and hallways were often littered with any number of pictures, mirrors, tables, ...
The average workers amid the victorian time needed to dependably have any expectations of climbing in the privileged societies. Through the diligent work and assurance they would possibly climb. The source clarifies the writing that was normal amid this day and age. Amid the Victorian Age, everything was tied in with working and progressing to the following level of social class. The idea of working amid this age was extremely essential, it was one of the deciding variables in the social class structure. Upon the activity/vocation a man had, their social class was decided for them. For instance, with path he is a worker and with him having the title of cleaning specialist/hireling he is naturally put in a lower social class than whatever is left of the
In America, the late 19th Century was known as the Victorian Era. It was a time when pro-private upper class culture dominated the nation, a time of liberation from the burden of the past and a time when the development of science and technology flourished. The Victorians believed that the advancement in science and technology served as a mean for protection, and could bring in an abundant of wealth and power, something they desired. The middle-class admired those from the upper-class, as they imitated the lives of the wealthy families. It was a period of competition and the survival of the fitness for the Victorians. While these neighbors, friends and families competed against each other for wealth, there was competition between workers and machineries in the cities, as labor was gradually being replaced by modern technology.
From 1801 to 1851, the population of London grew from under 1 million inhabitants to 2.25 million. This was due in large part to immigration, both from other countries and from the countryside of England. Hundreds of thousands of people were moving to the newly industrialized cities and towns to find work, having been squeezed off the land because of the enclosure of farms. There was also displacement of the working-class within the city of London because of a number of construction projects. There were street improvement schemes in which tenements were razed in order to widen the passages. The transformation of part of the city into a non-residential district devoted to finance and commerce destroyed whole neighborhoods. Finally, in 1820 the construction of the London Docks meant the destruction of 1,300 houses, followed in 1828 by the construction of St. Catherine's Dock resulting in the loss of a further 1,033 residences.
According to the Middle Class Victorians, less was definitely not more. In fact, in the case of the Victorians, the more ostentatious and packed a house was, the higher the status of that family. A house in the Victorian Era would most likely be cluttered until nothing else could fit. Not only was there clutter, but the rooms were "quite dark with busily patterned wallpaper (Victorian Home Life Changes)" and lots of gold garnishments.
The working class of Victorian England was a group that worked hard to stay out of poverty as well as off the streets Unlike the upper class they had minimal recreational time. Many different people have tried to account for the working class conditions and what they did in their spare time: “he could attend evening courses on scientific subjects or Latin or shorthand at a Mechanics’ Institution, or at one of the Working Men’s Colleges” (Picard The Working Class and Poor). This imposes that the men could take an educational course to get a better job. Also in their spare time, people would go to street vendors as opposed to markets so they could get food for a more affordable price (Picard The Working Class and Poor). W.J. Reader, a
The highest social class in Victorian England was the Nobility or Gentry class. The members of this class were those who inherited their land, titles, and wealth . Popular opinion at the time asserted that the noble class women led lives of lavish luxury and wedded bliss. "Ladies were ladies in those days; they did not do things themselves, they told others what to do and how to do it."
Domesticity, as defined by The Merriam Webster, is “the state of being domestic; domestic or home life.” When someone mentions domesticity, an immediate association may be drawn to domesticated cats, dogs, or even simply animals people bring into our homes and domesticize. The household trains to be accustomed to home life, rather than life on the streets. We as people, generally, spend half our time in the home and half outside. Thanks to this we are often seen as domesticated creatures. However, as demonstrated clearly by through Dicken’s writing, as well as Cullwick’s, people can also become domesticized. During the Victorian Era, women left home rarely and were not seen as working people. Despite the limited exceptions most working women constrained to work inside homes other than their own. Hannah Cullwick’s relationship to domesticity is a complex one. Despite the fact that she was a working-class woman, who was employed by various different homes, she did not work in each of them for more than a limited amount of time.
... viewing; they often depicted very intimate personal things, like a lover or mistress. Architecture became a expression of wealth or status. Tall houses or towers or example accented by gardens or stables.
The upper class represented themselves with rich, opulent and luxurious surroundings. They had large mansions, fast cars and modern technology which they showed off at large, elaborate parties.
The living quarters for the upper class were lavish, with everything from fireplaces to private bathrooms. A first class room was extremely large with access to the decks, and had all the comforts of home. These rooms were located on the top of the ship, each with their own personal ...
of the structure itself. This class "took immense pride in their homes which they saw as a reflection of status" ("BBC Homes"). The styles were excessively ornamental and took their influence from Gothic styles, rococo, styles, the Orient, and developments from their own industrialization. With owning such ornately decorated residences they had to show them off; this was done so through dinner parties and balls. People of course could not be outmatched by the rich styles of their houses and therefore doled out large amounts of money for clothes and transportation.
Men in the upper class had jobs of high ranks and involved less manual work. Occupations of these high ranks would be in the possession of men that were considered Gentlemen. In the Victorian Era, jobs of high skill or importance would qualify men to be a gentlemen. (Victorian Web.) David Cody, in “The Gentlemen” specifies that some of these jobs would be clergymen for the church, parliament members and army officers.
By the nineteenth century, staff for a household became a necessity for the middle class families. Most had acquired enough wealth to attain servants for household duties. The number of servants kept on staff, and their conduct and appearance, quickly became a mark of status, especially near the top of the class ladder (Hughes 37 ). The popular belief was at least three servants were essential for the household. The duties and conditions of work varied, from the virtual slavery of a young maid-of-all-work to the specialized skills of the servant in an aristocratic household (“Servants”).
The era of dandies are what some people call the Victorian Era when thinking about the fashion in Victorian, England at the time. Corsets and crinolines were big in fashion for women during the time. Women wanted to have an hourglass figure where the torso had to be as small as your age. “Victorian clothes were very much a symbol of who you were, what you did for a living, and how much money was in your bank account” (Rose, Tudor. “Victorian Clothes.”). Fashion is forever changing from how it was made, and the style of men’s fashion as well as women’s fashion in the Victorian Era.
The time period called the Victorian Era was named after Queen Victoria who ruled from 1837 to 1901. (“Late Victorian Politics” 1). The Era lasted the duration of her reign. She was born in 1819 and crowned in 1837 (“Victorian Events” 1). Queen Victoria married Prince Albert who was her first cousin and had nine children (“Victorian Events” 1). At the age of 42, Prince Albert passed away (“Victorian Events” 2). The couple had only been married for 21 years. Consequently, she spends the rest of her coronation single. Celebrations of her reign occur in 1887 and 1897; they were called the Golden Jubilee and the Diamond Jubilee, respectively (“Victorian Events” 4-5). In 1901, Queen Victoria passed away at the age of 82 (“Victorian Events” 5). The prosperous Victorian Era consisted of a monarchy, three divisions of social class, inequality between men and women, dynamic clothing, different ways to relax, influential inventions, and significant events.