Life in Victorian Britain

What was daily life like for people in the Victorian era? From the slums of 19th-century London and life in the workhouse to the court of Queen Victoria and the revolution of the railways, we bring you the facts

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Women inmates hanging out washing at a British workhouse, circa 1880.

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Victorian wedding, circa 1900: A wedding group poses in the garden, 1900. (Photo by F J Mortimer/Getty Images)

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The characters Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, from Charles Dickens's work 'A Christmas Carol'

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Photograph of Mrs Beeton bracing herself against a chair while wearing a long, dark-coloured gown

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Residents of a London workhouse drinking beer at rows of tables

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At dinner, St Marylebone Workhouse, London, c1901 (1903)

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The Irregulars. From left to right: Prince Leopold (Harrison Osterfield), Jessie (Darci Shaw), Bea(Thaddea Graham), Spike (McKell David), and Billy (Jojo Macari)

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The 'Iron Duke' steam locomotive with railway workers

The history of railways in Britain: from the first steam trains to the rail revolution

Victorian surgeon Robert Liston during an operation

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Charles Dickens used his novels as a platform from which to attack the injustices that he believed blighted 19th-century Britain. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

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Workers repair Fleet sewer in 1854. London’s creaking sewer network sparked anxieties over what lay beneath the sprawling capital. (Photo by Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

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