An Overview of Britain in the Early 20th Century

An Overview of Britain in the Early 20th Century

During the early 20th century in Britain, lives for everyone changed

dramatically. The population levels increased. From 1901 – 1911 the

population increased from 42 million to 45 million. This meant there

was an increase in birth and a decrease in death rates.

There were very distinct social divisions. At the top were the upper

and upper middle classes. They earned above £700 a year. They were

only 3% of the population yet they earned most the country’s wages.

They usually went to public school when young then went onto

university. Most would then join the army. Many went abroad during

winter and the London house for the ball season in May. They lived in

large houses and got most of their money from rents of land and

property. If they felt they had to do something, they would attend the

army or become a Member of Parliament as they didn’t give wages. They

ate well and kept healthy, usually living much longer than the other

classes as they had the money to take care of themselves. In the house

they would usually have a full set of cooks, servants. The women

usually spent most of their time on their social lives.

Next down the social ladder were the middle class. They earned around

under £400 a year. They were usually doctors, business men or lawyers.

They also lived comfortable lives even though they had to work. They

usually lived in the suburbs in a large house and maybe had one or two

domestic servants. They would spend weekends away with friends or in

cottages shooting fishing etc and their holidays would be within the

continent. The women usually helped charities or kept their ...

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...sier

for many people.

The vacuum was both a good and a bad thing. It meant less work for

maids as they didn’t have to beat the carpets all day. Irons and

lighting also meant less work for maids. But this also meant that as

there was less work to do, which meant fewer domestic servants were

needed so many lost their jobs.

Entertainment became more popular for all classes. The gramophone was

mainly used by only the upper classes but the cinema was available for

all classes. Although there were different cinemas for different

people, everyone could go and it lifted the souls of many poor people

as it was something they could get involved in too.

So in the early 20th century, dramatic changes happened. By the end of

the early 20th century, the world around people had become a whole

different place in Britain.