Category: Victoria

Period features refer to the original fixtures of a property that remain in place today. Period features often include: Ornate fireplaces. Decorative wood or tiled flooring. What are the main features of a Victorian house? Defining features of a Victorian home Steep, gabled roofs. Round angles. Towers, turrets and dormers. Shapeley windows, especially bay windows. […]

Sash windows existed in both the Victorian and Georgian eras. Georgian era sash windows are characterized by their ‘6 panes over 6 panes’ design and numerous glazing bars. Victorian era sash windows, on the other hand, predominantly have a two over two-panel grid design and run-through sash horns. What is the point of sash windows? […]

Accordingly, young children could be sent to an adult prison. There are records of children aged 12 being hanged. The Victorians were very worried about crime and its causes. Were children executed in the Victorian era? In reality, death sentences bestowed on children were almost always commuted to lesser sentences on the grounds of leniency. […]

While slavery was abolished in the British Empire on 1 August 1834, only children under the age of six were freed immediately under the terms of the 1833 Emancipation Act. All other former slaves were bound as ‘apprentices,’ where they continued to work without pay for their former owners. When was slavery officially legal? Constitution […]

When you think about the Victorian era, you probably remember a whole host of ridiculously repressive social edicts such as the one about how women couldn’t reveal their ankles without it being considered indecent exposure. True, if nothing else, showing an ankle in public was considered scandalous. When were ankles considered scandalous? Ankles (1890s) As […]

In the Victorian era, divorce was extremely expensive. It entailed to loss of property and wealth. As the property and wealth were accumulated from generations in the family, obtaining a divorce was neither economical nor socially practical. Thus, it was not an acceptable norm in the Victorian era. How did Victorians view divorce? Victorian Marriage […]

Women valued their hair so very much that medicines were peddled expressly catering to the vanity. Victorian-American women cared so much about their long tresses, it seems, that they went so far as to augment thin hair (or replace what had been lost to time, illness, or punishment). Why did Victorians have such long hair? […]

Hair jewelry was common, too—and not just the kind of locket that Queen Victoria wore. It could be a brooch, or a pendant with hair woven in the middle, or even a bracelet of hair. In its heyday, hair jewelry was considered both sentimental and fashionable. What is a Victorian hair wreath? Victorian hair wreaths […]

Servants wore turned up collars with a plain necktie or cravat and a crisp, white shirt. Plain, dark coloured waistcoats were worn by all the menservants and were usually a cast-off from the master. Trousers can be either long or short, tucked into socks or cut off and elasticated at the knee. What would servants […]

A hair receiver is a small pot, typically made of ceramic, bronze, or crystal, with a hole in the lid, kept on the dressing table in the Victorian era to store hair removed from brushes and combs. What did people use hair receivers? Hair receivers were common on the dressing tables of women from the […]