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Industrial
Revolution: 11 to 14 years
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The Industrial Revolution: From boiling a kettle to working in an office, much of the modern world is shaped by the achievements of the Industrial Revolution. This six-part Open University/BBC series presented by Dan Cruickshank uncovers the scientific, technological and political changes of the 19th century that continue to impact on our lives today. From the world's first jigsaw portraying the infant Empire, to Stephenson's Rocket, to the making of modern medicine, urban living and the innovations of war, the series shows how - from 1760 to 1840 - the key ideas, principles and technologies which drive the modern world were developed. Through the stories of men and women who made it happen, the programmes uncover the inventive power, the sweeping vision and the astonishing ingenuity of this heroic and pioneering age. You can explore how the Industrial Revolution changed the landscape of Britain with the website's interactive Changing Landscape.
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.
The Industrial Revolution: The Industrial revolution examined in detail. Discover what factors led to industrial growth, how this affected the lives of ordinary people and find out how working conditions were changed forever by the quick succession of inventions and pieces of legislation.
Women in the Industrial Revolution: The Industrial Revolution in part was fueled by the economic necessity of many women, single and married, to find waged work outside their home. Women mostly found jobs in domestic service, textile factories, and piece work shops. They also worked in the coal mines. For some, the Industrial Revolution provided independent wages, mobility and a better standard of living. For the majority, however, factory work in the early years of the 19th century resulted in a life of hardship. This lesson, produced by Lyn Reese, concentrates on the testimonies collected by Parliamentary commissions who began to investigate the industrial employment of women and children in the early 1840s.
The Cotton Times: The Industrial Revolution was arguably the most significant single event in history. Almost overnight, a tide of change swept away the old order and altered the world forever. Britain abandoned her rural, agricultural economy and plunged headlong into the unknown, creating the world's first industrial society. It was a process driven forward at breakneck speed by the textile industry, masterminded by the inventors and entrepreneurs who sprang into action in the hitherto backwater county of Lancashire from the mid-18th century. This site describes how it happened. It tells of the men whose machines made it possible, those who exploited the inventions, and the politicians, reformers and medical scientists who battled to contain the worst of the inevitable social fall-out. Sadly, it also tells of those who paid the price of progress with their health and often their lives.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Chartism Encyclopaedia : The People's Charter was drawn up by William Lovett and Francis Place in 1838 and included a political programme of six points: universal male suffrage, no property qualifications for Members of Parliament; annual parliaments; constituencies of equal size, payment of MPs; and vote by secret ballot. This website is an account of the most important working-class political movement in Britain in the nineteenth century and includes sections on Chartist Biographies, Chartist Tactics, Chartist Newspapers and Parliamentary Reform Acts.
Chartism: The People's Charter, drafted in 1838 by William Lovett, was at the heart of a radical campaign for reform in Britain. This website produced by Glenn Everett, Associate Professor of English at the University of Tennessee, and part of the Victorian Web Project, provides an overview of the Chartist movement and a list of links to other useful websites on the subject.
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."
Oral History Archive: The East Midlands Oral History Archive is a lottery funded project dedicated to encouraging the use of oral history by community groups and schools. The East Midlands group has recently opened an online exhibition on the hosiery industry in Leicestershire. There are sections on Yarn Preparation, Knitting, Making Up, Finishing, Homeworking and Industrial Relations.
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.
Coalmining in Castlecomer: This website is the culmination of two years work by a small Primary School in researching and presenting an area of Local History that has captured the imagination and interest of people for decades. An integral part of the project was the use of Information Technology and to demonstrate how such technology, can not just be used in the classroom, but can enhance the delivery of the curriculum and in particular make it more interesting for the children. The project resulted in the production of a Website, a Compact Disc and a 320 page Book on Coalmining in the locality. Coalmining, of course, was a way of life for so many for so long in this area. A large model of one of the mines was also constructed.
Coal Mining History Resource: Ian Winstanley's excellent website includes the National Database of Mining Deaths and Injuries in Great Britain. At present it contains over 90,000 names from 1850 to 1914. It also includes the complete transcript of the 1842 Royal Comission Report, on the working conditions of children and young persons in the coalfields of Great Britain. The website also has details of over 1,000 indidual mining disasters in which five or more lives have been lost (1640 to 1978).
Durham Miner Project: Funded by the Durham County Council, the New Opportunities Fund, the Learning and Skills Council, European Social Fund, and the North East Museums Libraries & Archives Council, this project involves groups of local people researching their local mining history. As the project progresses, research collected will be added to the website. The Durham Miner Project is in the process of setting up research groups all over the county. If you would like to develop a group in your area, or just want to find out where your local groups are, please contact the Durham Miner Project website.
Durham Mining Museum: This website contains a collection of teaching materials on the mining industry in Durham. This includes extensive materials from The Victoria History of the Counties of England - Durham (1907) and The History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham (1894). There are also colliery maps and several articles including those on Safety Lamps, Sinking Machines, Coal - Its Origin, Mining Occupations and the 1838 Huskar Disaster.
British Trade Unions: An encyclopedia of the British Trade Union movement in Britain between 1700 and 1945. The website includes entries on important events and issues (8), labour journals and newspapers (16), major trade unions (8), trade union legislation (12) and biographies of trade union leaders (42). The text within each entry is linked 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 hyper-linked so the student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper and organization that produced the material.
Peterloo Massacre: After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, the government introduced legislation - the 'Corn Laws' - to limit the amount of cheap wheat that could be imported, so that the price of cereals and bread would be kept artificially high and so protect farmers' profits. In 1816, a bad harvest pushed prices so high that there were strikes and food riots all over the country. The Corn Laws fuelled the clamour for parliamentary reform. Again, rather than make any concessions, the authorities tried to suppress the anger of those who had no legitimate way of making their demands. The Corn Laws and electoral reform were the main issues to be discussed at a meeting organised at St Peter's Field in Manchester on 16 August 1819. This website supports Channel 4's documentary on what became known as the Peterloo Massacre.
Robert Owen Museum: Robert Owen, the son of a saddler and ironmonger, became one of the most successful mill owners of the Industrial Revolution with a reputation as the producer of fine cotton. However, it was not as a successful and respected businessman that he left his mark on history, but as one of the most prominent social reformers of the period, a pioneer of modern British socialism and a source of inspiration to the co-operative and trade union movements. The Robert Owen Museum includes a detailed biography of this remarkable man.
Revolutionary Players: This project, supported by the New Opportunities Fund focusing on the history of the Industrial Revolution in the West Midlands in Britain between the years 1700 and 1830. The region became internationally significant for achievements in science, industry, art and culture. The website contains images of many resources from museums, archives end libraries representing the history of the period. There are four main ways of accessing this material: Time, Place, People and Theme. You can also read Articles on historical subjects, enter the Digital Library of primary sources, explore a Gallery of images and create your own Album of items from the site.
19th Century City: Phillip Mallett is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of St Andrews. He is also the creator of an impressive website on the 19th Century City. The material is organized under the headings: Population, Railways & Transport, the Great Exhibition, Housing & Health, Work, Education, Law & Order, Fashion, Architecture, Women, Wives and Widows.
Red Clydeside: During the period between 1910 and 1932 the city of Glasgow was witness to an unparalleled wave of working class protest and political agitation which challenged the forces of capitalism and also, on occasion, directly challenged the state itself. The events and people who shaped this period forged an enduring legacy which still remains part of the political and social fabric of the city to the present day, and which is known quite simply as Red Clydeside. This turbulent period of industrial, social and political upheaval reinforced Glasgow's reputation as the centre of working class struggle in Britain in the early years of the twentieth century. This website provides access to digital copies of original source materials from the Red Clydeside period, as one of the digital collections of the Glasgow Digital Library.
Welsh Political Archive: This website presents social and political campaigning in Wales during the twentieth century through the use of digitised images of original documents, photographs and sound and video files. The campaigns voice the rights of various groups, for example the right of women to vote, or the right of miners and quarrymen to fair wages and decent working conditions. The material has been selected from various collections in the National Library of Wales. The material can be accessed directly from the site map, the search facility, or the time-line. It is also possible to access the material thematically. The site is divided into six themes - The Ballot Box, Labour Struggles, War and Peace, The Welsh Language, Devolution and The Water Industry.
Economic History Services: This website includes a collection of essays on twentieth-century economic history. The purpose of these essays has been to survey the works that have had the most influence on the field of economic history and to highlight the intellectual accomplishments of twentieth-century economic historians. Each review essay outlines the work's argument and findings, discusses the author's methods and sources, and examines the impact that the work has had since its publication. Other features on this website includes "What Was the Interest Rate Then?" that looks at the short and long-term annual interest rate series for the United Kingdom and the United States from as far back as the 18th century. Here is a place where you can ask questions of comparative values covering purchasing power, interest rate, and other variables between the past and today.
Tribute to the Rhondda: This website provides a short socio-economic history of the Rhondda Valleys during the period 1800 to 1950 when Coal was King. The material is organized under the following headings: Facts & Figures, General Items, Living Conditions, Miners' Diseases, Photographs, Pit Ponies, Tonypandy Riots, Transport, Visitors and Working Conditions.
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Educational Websites
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