Daily Life in Victorian Britain

Washing and Hygiene

Victorians did wash, contrary to popular belief, but practiced the "stand-up wash."
Stand-up Wash:
- Requires a bowl, jug, towel (similar to a modern tea towel), hot water (if available), and soap.
- Water was often fetched from a well or pump and left overnight, sometimes freezing in winter.
- Middle-class homes had servants to heat water.
- A flannel (woolen cloth) was used with soap to wash bit by bit.
- Water was changed frequently, with the cleanest water used for hands and face.
- Children often had a "tide line" of dirt on their necks due to incomplete washing.
- Terry Pratchett's Granny Weatherwax quote: "Bath? I don't bath; I wash all of the bits as and when they become available," describes the process well.

Clothes were crucial for warmth and respectability.
Many had very few changes of clothes and struggled to replace worn items.
Lower Class Clothing:
- Wore cast-off rags in poor condition.
- Mug shots provide accurate depictions of real clothing, unlike idealized studio portraits.
- Multiple layers of ill-fitting items were cobbled together for warmth and dryness.
- Clothes were patched, darned, and altered many times.
- Items were repurposed (e.g., a sleeveless coat worn as a waistcoat).
Upper Class Clothing:
- Layering was important for warmth while maintaining appearance.
- A lady's outfit might include a smock (underwear), corset, chest warmer (flannel), and corset cover.
- Corsets were never worn directly against the skin and required a washable layer underneath.
- Averaged about five layers of clothing year-round.
Appearance and Respectability:
- Tidy clothes indicated self-respect, discipline, and understanding of social order.
- Appearance was crucial for job interviews and social standing.
- Effort was put into maintaining a tidy appearance despite poverty and laundry difficulties.

Typical diets consisted mainly of potatoes and bread, with regional variations.
Potatoes vs. Bread:
- Potatoes were more common in the North (influenced by Irish immigrants), while bread was favored in the South.
- Potatoes were initially sneered at in the South and considered animal food.
- Example of a workhouse riot when bread rations were replaced with potatoes.
Nutritional Differences:
- Potatoes contain Vitamin C, which prevents scurvy, while bread does not.
- Factory workers in the North were slightly better fed due to potato consumption.
- Vitamin
  e C is essential for preventing scurvy.
Wealthier people might have jam with bread.
Northerners had more access to oats, consumed as porridge or oatcakes (e.g., in Staffordshire).
Fresh vegetables like carrots were rare and expensive, mainly consumed by the wealthy with walled gardens.
The allotment movement later allowed ordinary people to grow their own vegetables.
The diet for most was starch-based, with occasional meat and milk.
Potato Recipes:
- Boiled and mashed potatoes were common.
- Chips were more accessible through chip shops (micro-businesses selling from their homes).
- Baked potatoes were common street food in northern cities, later spreading to London, sold with butter and salt.
- Potatoes boiled in milk were considered nutritious for children.
- Examples of traditional soups include leek and potato, and Cullen skink.

Overcrowded conditions were common, particularly in one-up, one-down back-to-back houses.
These small houses consisted of just two rooms, one stacked on top of the other.
Families of eight or more lived in these houses, such as a mother, father, and six children.
Lack of floor space meant some children slept downstairs on mats.
Privacy was a major issue, especially for parents.
Sunday school was used to get children out of the house for a couple of hours.
Ventilation:
- Victorians were obsessed with ventilation due to concerns about germs and carbon dioxide.
- Belief that carbon dioxide could poison people in their sleep.
- The story of a canary dying overnight in a four-poster bed due to carbon dioxide poisoning.
- Windows were often left open all night, making sleeping conditions cold.