The Victorian era within England marked a huge time for a change. Really, this was a global change that took place in many other countries as well. However, the Industrial Revolution was certainly a large part of England within the Victorian era.
The workforce was probably what was primarily changed during the Victorian times. From pre-industrial revolution where skilled workers created their own wealth to large factories that were extremely common. Prior to the industrial revolution many people worked their own farms, some created by hand many items that we commonly see mass produced today.
Afterward, large factories were using machinery in place of people. This allowed for much more work to be completed in a shorter period of time, but these skilled workers either worked the machinery or were thrown to the wayside to find other jobs.
Another part of the problem was the rapid growth in population. England experienced a huge increase in population, almost double within a short fifty-year time span. The size of England went from about 18 million to roughly 30 million people. Not only were all of these people coming into the country, but good portions were going to the same areas.
They would try to go to where these large factories were hiring. The unfortunate part is there were not enough jobs to support those who had lost their jobs plus the immigrants who were also seeking work. The jobs paid low, simply because they could get people to work at that rate. People were nearly starving to death.
Overall, however, the country was really seeing much more income in general. The vast majority of it was going to a small group who were becoming extremely wealthy. The downside is that many did not see such wealth because it was never passed down to the average workers. Still, England primarily views this as a time of prosperity despite the fact that the industrial revolution caused some growing pains within capitalism.
This era also plays a huge role in design history. Since the British at the time had the largest empire of colonies in history, rich Victorians would decorate their houses intricately with collectables from all over the world. Aspects of Victorian era interior decor included-paintings, elaborate frames, curvaceous gilded furniture, many showpieces and collectables and curiosities, gilded frames and strips on the walls, imported good and floral printed wallpapers and pillow covers.
The Great Exhibition- 1851
It took around 5,000 navvies to erect the 1,850 feet (564 m) long, 108 feet (33 m) high structure. But the work was completed on time and the Great Exhibition was opened by Queen Victoria on 1st May 1851.
The exhibits included almost every marvel of the Victorian age, including pottery, porcelain, ironwork, furniture, perfumes, pianos, firearms, fabrics, steam hammers, hydraulic presses and even the odd house or two.
Although the original aim of the world fair had been as a celebration of art in industry for the benefit of All Nations, in practice it appears to have been turned into more of a showcase for British manufacturing: more than half the 100,000 exhibits on display were from Britain or the British Empire.
The opening of the Great Expedition in 1851 just happened to coincide with the building of another great innovation of the Industrial Revolution. Visiting London had only just become feasible for the masses thanks to the new railway lines that had spread across the country. Church and works outings from across the country were organized to see the “Works of Industry of All Nations” all housed in Paxton’s sparkling Crystal Palace.
The Great Exhibition of 1851 ran from May to October and during this time six million people passed through those crystal doors. The event proved to be the most successful ever staged and became one of the defining points of the nineteenth century.
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