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Victorian
Britain
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Virtual Victorians: This website, created by Tiverton Museum and the Telematics Centre at the University of Exeter, explores the themes of childhood, education, housing, domestic life, transport, leisure, factory working life and agricultural life by following the daily lives of Elizabeth and John Poslett, two Victorian Tiverton factory workers, across one week in September 1874. The website includes a facility that allows children to send questions to the Poslett family. The Object Galleries allow virtual handling of original Victorian artefacts. All the objects and photographs in the gallery are in the collections at Tiverton Museum.
British Empire: At its peak, the British Empire was the largest formal empire that the world had ever known. As such, its power and influence stretched all over the globe; shaping it in all manner of ways. The site is dedicated to annualizing the history of the British Empire: The triumphs, the humiliations, the good that it brought and the bad that it inflicted. For better or worse the British Empire had a massive impact on the history of the world. It is for this reason that the site tries to bring to life the peoples, cultures, adventures and domination that made the Empire such a powerful institution. It is neither an apology for, nor a nostalgic reminiscince of the institution that so dominated the world for over a century. Rather, it analyses and describes the vast institution that so influenced the shape of the world that we see today. The site includes timelines, maps and photos of colonies, descriptions of battles and campaigns, images of Imperial art and explanations of scientific development.
Child Labour Simulation A historical simulation on child labour. Each student is given the name of a person involved in the debate over the issue of children working in textile factories in the early part of the 19th century. The characters are divided into eight different categories: Factory Owners: Supporting Child Labour, Factory Owners Opposing Child Labour, Campaigners Against Child Labour, Supporters of Child Labour, Doctors Opposing Child Labour, Doctors Supporting Child Labour, Child Workers: Girls and Child Workers: Boys. Each student then used the Internet to discover details of their character and their views on child labour. Each student writes a brief biography of their character and prepares a speech for a debate entitled: "Parliament should pass legislation making it illegal for children under the age of twelve to work in textile factories." See the article, Child Labour in the 19th Century, for an account of how the simulation works in the classroom.
Queen Victoria's Empire: At the time of Queen Victoria's birth in 1819, England was an agrarian society. Within a few short decades, this small island nation would be transformed into an industrial superpower, with an empire spanning the globe. "Queen Victoria's Empire" is both the story of this remarkable time, and an engaging portrait of a queen who ruled over one-fifth of the world's population. The material is organized under four headings: History of a Reign, Her Majesty, The Changing Empire and Secrets of Empire.
Industrial Revolution Sourcework: Designed to help lower ability and special educational needs pupils access sources and concepts related to the Industrial Revolution, the online lesson from School History guides pupils through a basic overview of the Industrial Revolution. Through gap filling exercises pupils go through the basics of source analysis and then analyse two sources from the Industrial Revolution. Extension exercises and quizzes are then available.
Textile Industry: An encyclopedia of the Textile Industry in Britain between 1700 and 1900. The website includes information on the different aspects of the domestic system as well as the woolen, cotton, silk and linen industries. The website also features entries on twelve important textile inventions and biographies of inventors (16) and entrepreneurs (28). There is also a series of lessons available that simulates the debate that took placed in the 19th century on the morality and the economic value of child labour in textile factories.
Railways: A comprehensive encyclopedia of railways in Britain. Each entry contains a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The text within each entry is hypertexted to other relevant pages in the encyclopedia. In this way it is possible to research individual people and events in great detail. The sources are also hypertexted so the student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper, organization, etc., that produced the material. So far there are sections on Railway & Bridge Engineers, Railway Entrepreneurs, Locomotives, Railway Companies, Liverpool & Manchester Railway, Railway Art, Railway Towns and Cities, Historical Developments, Railway Experiences and Railway Stations.
The Rainhill Trials: In October 1829 the directors of the soon to be completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway held a competition to find the most appropriate locomotive to use on their railway. The Rainhill Trials, as the competition came to be known, were held over a number of weeks, grandstands were erected and many people came to watch the events. The correspondent from the weekly Mechanics Magazine, attended these trials and sent detailed verbatim reports of the events. This website contains those articles and illustrations of the five locomotives involved: Novelty, Rocket, Sans Pareil, Cycloped and Perseverance.
UK Heritage Railways: The primary purpose of this website is to provide a guide to the entire heritage railway scene in the UK, including details of special events and operating days for all operating steam railways. However, there is also a comprehensive glossary (over 900 entries) of railway terms, names and abbreviations; pages of diagrams and explanations of the components of steam locomotives and their controls; and a Websites Database with links to over 400 railway related websites (including a category for historical material).
Cotton Times: A broad-based site covering the Industrial Revolution from several angles - the inventors and the entrepreneurs, the radicals, reformers and health pioneers, and most importantly, the workers. All the major developments are covered, but the accent is on the leading role played by the Lancashire cotton industry in driving the revolution forward.
The Workhouse: In the 17th and 18th centuries, the parish workhouse in Britain was a place where - often in return for board and lodging - employment was provided for the destitute. Parish workhouses were often just ordinary local houses, rented for the purpose. This website is devoted to the history of the workhouse and includes sections on the Poor Laws, 1601 Act, 1834 Act, Poor Law Unions, Workhouse Life, Workhouse Memories and a Workhouse Tour.
The Titanic: History on the Net has a new section on the Titanic. This popular topic fits into the national curriculum as part of the modern world and will be written as a resource to answer the question 'Why was the sinking of the Titanic such a memorable event.' The section currently includes an interactive page which looks at the Layout of the Ship and includes a worksheet, a bibliography and a further information section.
Jack the Ripper: Stephen P. Ryder & John A. Piper, the creators of Casebook: Jack the Ripper website, claim that it is the world's largest public repository of Ripper-related information! The website includes sections on Victims, Suspects, Witnesses, Ripper Letters, Police Officials, Official Documents, Press Reports, Timeline and Games & Diversions. The section on Victorian London will be particularly useful for history teachers.
Victorian Dictionary: Lee Jackson's website provides a collection of first-hand descriptions of Victorian London life. Subjects covered include architecture, childhood, clothing, crime, death & dying, disease, education, entertainment, food & drink, health & hygiene, houses & housing, maps, markets, police, politics, prisons, photography, religion, science, transport, weather and women.
The Sheffield Flood: In 1864, and in response to a growing demand for a greatly improved water supply to the expanding town of Sheffield, and the surrounding villages, the Sheffield Waterworks Company devised the ambitious 'Bradfield Scheme': a plan to build four large reservoirs in the hills surrounding Bradfield village - about 8 miles to them north-west of Sheffield. The first was to be the giant Dale Dyke Dam, and construction work commenced on 1st January, 1859. By late February 1864, only a few finishing touches were required to complete the embankment and the reservoir was now almost full. On Friday the 11th. March 1864, shortly before midnight, the newly built dam collapsed unleashing a colossal mountain of water which thundered down on to the unsuspecting population below. Six hundred and fifty million gallons of water roared down the Loxley valley and into Sheffield, wreaking death and destruction on a horrific scale. This website provides a detailed explanation of the Sheffield Flood.
Child Labour: A comprehensive encyclopedia of child labour in Britain. Each entry contains a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The text within each entry is hypertexted to other relevant pages in the encyclopedia. In this way it is possible to research individual people and events in great detail. The sources are also hypertexted so the student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper, organization, etc., that produced the material. There are sections on Life in the Factory (10), Factory Workers (22), Factory Reformers (18), Supporters of Child Labour (26), Tactics & Issues (4), Factory Acts (8) and Statistics (6).
Old Operating Theatre Museum: The Operating Theatre was built in 1822 in the old Herb Garret of St Thomas's Hospital. While the Garret has a charming old world atmosphere of oak beams and bundles of herbs, the Theatre itself is a shocking reminder of the harsh reality of life before modern science and technology. Britain's oldest surviving Operating Theatre has been restored with much original furniture, including a 19th Century operating table. This is an innovative site that gives you a 360 Panoramic Tour of the Operating Theatre and the Herb Garret.
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Educational Websites
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