Page 14 - ASSESSMENT OF ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

hovels and shacks well into the 20th century. In towns poor people lived in

back-to-back houses called terraced houses.

Terraced Houses

Rich Victorians favoured villas ( not the same as Roman
villas), whilst the emerging middle classes of Victorian

England lived in superior terraces with gardens back

and front and a room for servants in the attic.

Typical Characteristics of Victorian houses

 Bay windows
 Iron Railings

 Flemish brick bonding
 Patterns in the brickwork

 Stained glass in doorways and windows
 Decorations on the walls

 Roofs made of slate
Villa

Was There Much Difference Between the Homes of the Victorian Rich

and Poor?

Homes for the Poor

During the 19th Century more people moved into the towns and cities to find work in
factories. Cities filled to overflowing and London was particularly bad. At the start of
the 19th Century about 20% of Britain’s population lived there, but by 1851 half the

population of the country had set up home in London. London, like most cities, was not
prepared for this great increase in people. People crowd into already crowded
houses. Rooms were rented to whole families or perhaps several families. If there
were no rooms to rent, people stayed in lodging houses.

Land-owners or factory owners often built houses for their workers. Unfortunately,

this did not always make standards better. The houses were cheap, most had
between 2-4 rooms - one or two rooms downstairs, and one or two rooms upstairs.
But Victorian families were big with perhaps 4-5 children. There was no water, and no

(Victorians) 12