A look at Wolverhampton’s Victorian past
The Victorian period (1837 – 1901) was a time of great change for Britain and the world. Great technological and industrial advancements meant that the world would no longer be the same again. It was a very decadent and wealthy era, but it was also a period of extreme poverty, where there was a significant divide between the rich and the poor.
Due to the expansion of the colony, people living in Britian had a taste for the exotic and this influenced styles of the time. A good example of this is Japanned Ware, developed as a cheap alternative to expensive Laquer Ware from China. Wolverhampton became one of the few places to create Japanned Ware and soon it became highly desirable in its own right.
Image © Wolverhampton Arts and Museums
These highly decorative and glossy products became the must-have of every Victorian home. Examples of Japanned Ware can be viewed at The Victorian Galleries and also on Wolverhampton Arts and Museums’ website.
The town of Wolverhampton itself, was going through some very important changes during the Victorian era. Many of the city’s key buildings were built in the 19th Century, some areas were incredibly deprived and overcrowded leading to diseases which killed hundreds.
A part of town full of slums developed the name ‘Caribee Island’, this negelcted area (which is now the city centre) was so overcrowded that it was not uncommon for several families to be living under one roof. An enquiry called the Chadwick Report was published in 1844, it looked at the sanitary conditions of towns in Great Britain. Wolverhampton was also included in this report, a local medical practitioner called James Gatis tells of the number of fever and typhus cases he had examined. He believed that they all related to the unsanitary living conditions, many of these being near the centre of town in Caribee Island.
The slums in Wolverhampton, including Caribee Island were cleared to make way for beautiful and grand buildings. This didn’t stop outbreaks of disease and illness, but it did reduce it once the problem of overcrowding had been addressed.
It wasn’t all gloom and doom, on the positive side Wolverhampton became well known for its trades. Steel making, iron, brass, lockmaking, enamels, manufactering of culinery utensils,coal mining, breweries, trap making and bicycle making were all important trades of the town.
Bicycle from Wolverhampton History and Heritage, Chubb Locks from Wolverhampton Archives. Enameled box and steel jewellery © Wolverhampton Arts and Museums.
The Wednesfield area of Wolverhampton was renowned as being the centre for British trap making. Traps of all sizes and designs for animals such as rabbits, dogs,cats, beavers, lions, kangaroos and birds, which were exported to Asia, North America, India, Africa and Australia.
During the early part of the 19th century, these traps would have been made by hand but later on, presses were used to cut metal into the various shapes.
In Victorian Wolverhampton, most working class children over the age of 8 were working full time. They worked up to 13 hours a day, with Sunday being their only day off.
Religion was a very important part of Victorian child’s life and on Sundays, they would attend Sunday school. Working class families couldn’t afford to give their children the beautiful toys which were made by Sidney Cartwright’s Wolverhampton toy factory, instead children would often play with homemade toys or simple dolls.
However, leisure time for wealthy children was quite a different story. They would have nurseries filled with toys and a nanny to ensure that they had plenty of time to play. It was also only wealthy families who could afford to send their children to school.
Poorer children could attend schools run by local churches or charities, but schooling was not made compulsory until 1870. In the same year, The Wolverhampton School Board was established. By 1896, the board controlled 7 schools in the town.
Images © Wolverhampton Arts + Museums
The children were taught how to read and write, but it was only boys who were taught practical subjects such as woodwork and mathematics.
During the Victorian period, Queen Victoria herself visited the town of Wolverhampton.
Following the death of her husband prince Albert from thyphoid aged just 42 in 1866, the Queen came to Wolverhampton to unveil a statue of of the late Prince.
During the Queen’s period of mourning, the Mayor of Wolverhampton at the time suggested that the people of Wolverhampton help to raise funds in order to erect a statue in Prince Albert’s memory.
It was agreed by the Queen that the statue would be of Albert mounted on his favourite horse dressed in the uniform of a field marshall.
Queen Victoria from bfeedme, Prince Albert from Cameron Freeman, The Queen and Prince from the Royal collection, Wolverhampton taken from Wolverhampton Archives.
Queen Victoria from bfeedme, Prince Albert from Cameron Freeman, The Queen and Prince from the Royal collection, Wolverhampton taken from Wolverhampton Archives.
A renowned sculptor called Thomas Thorneycroft made the statue, which was complete in 1866. The Queen agreed that she would come in person to unveil the statue.
This caused great excitement amongst the people of Wolverhampton who adorned their houses and streets with decorations and illuminations to show how proud of their town they were.
For a timeline of events in Victorian times in Wolverhampton visit Wolverhampton’s archives website.
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