During the Victorian era (1837 until 1901) Britain experienced a great expansion of wealth, power and culture. Railways were built, towns were built and a new industrial society emerged.

Victorian households
Generally Victorian families of modest income had the money to employ a servant. Working class Victorian girls were restricted in the kinds of jobs that they could do and thus maidservants were easy to find and cheap to employ because the choice of employment for working girls was so limited. Most Victorian working class families were large and inhabited small, cramped houses so parents were relieved to see their eldest daughters safely off their hands and employed in a respectable home. However, the older boys would usually stay at home because they could work on the farm and bring in extra money for the family. Some boys (especially if they were clever and did not want to be farm labourers all their lives) searched for employment in the local town or at the local big house. Jobs were called 'situations' and were usually found through word of mouth. A situation in a big house was considered very fine. Usually the girls would start off working as a maid in a smaller place e.g. in the home of a local doctor and this is where they would be trained in their duties. A clever boy or girl could work their way up the scale until they became butler or housekeeper. These posts carried a lot of responsibility and could be quite secure and profitable. It was more usual for girls to enter domestic service at the age of 14-16 and because of the Education Act, the school system ensured that most could read, write and add up. Domestic service was very popular work in the Victorian era because it offered a safe, alternative home, wages and training which would be useful for housewifery. It also greatly reduced the strain on a family's budget and removed growing daughters from overcrowded households.

However, by the end of the century domestic service decreased in popularity as a career choice - female staff were increasingly older women rather than girls because by this time young Victorian women sought work in the new factories, especially in the towns, as these jobs were usually better paid and also gave more freedom over personal lives as factory conditions improved. Another reason for the decrease in domestic employment was the increase of labour saving devices in the home which meant that less staff were needed to manage the household - they also assisted those who remained in domestic service.

Professions which were open to women during Victorian times included teaching, nursing, medicine, dress making, shop work and typing. As there was an increase in commerce this in turn led to an increase in demand for office workers. At first most clerical work was done by men but the introduction of the typewriter in the 1880s gave more opportunities for women (because typewriting was thought to be similar to piano playing and was therefore regarded as more suited to women's abilities). Women were also considered temperamentally more suited to office work than men and were also paid less than men, making them therefore cheaper to employ although salaries would vary from office to office and from different parts of the country. Very wealthy girls did not work at all but instead they spent their time searching for a suitable husband. The first World War eventually changed the pattern of employment forever because women went into a huge variety of jobs, including nursing, driving, agricultural work and working in ammunition factories.

Education
Before the Education Act education for Victorian children was very sketchy. After the Education Act came into force all Scottish children were required to attend school from the age of 5. The 1872 Education Act set up board schools for all children aged 5-13. These schools were run by committees (boards) rather than by the church - they were elected by members of the community.

Working class families would rise with their father early in the morning and the older children would help to get the younger children ready for the day. If the mother worked on the farm then one of the older children might stay home from school to look after the babies. A great many children would stay off school during busy times such as potato planting or harvesting so that they could work too. However, if children were absent from school too often then the headmaster might report them to the School Board because education was compulsory until the age of 14. Some teachers accepted children as young as 2 or 3 into their classes in order to help out working mothers and also to prevent older children from being kept away from school to look after them. There were no school dinners so the children had to take some food with them - perhaps a baked potato each, cooked overnight in the kitchen fire. The school day began at 9 in the morning and finished at 4. In winter the dinner hour might be shortened so that the children could finish at 3.30 but they would usually still be walking home in the dark. Basic instruction was given in the 3 R's - reading, writing and arithmetic, but religious education and sewing for girls, history and geography might also be given.

Clothing
Underwear for girls was quilted stays with buttons down the front; calico chemise and knickers. Many children wore clothes which had been cut down from older members of the family - cord trousers which were cut off below the knee, jacket, wool stockings/leather gaiters and cap for the boys; a dowdy cloth dress, calico pinafore and dark stockings for the girls. Most children would not go to school when it was raining heavily as they had no waterproof clothes. Sometimes clothes or material for clothes might be given as Christmas presents to the working class families by the local gentry. Boys would always have short hair, girls had long. Water for washing was brought into the cottage in the winter (probably the night before to stop it freezing) but in warmer weather a pail of water was often set on a special stool in the garden. Most children bathed once a week when water was heated on the fire and poured into a metal tub. Hair washing was done less often - most girls had long hair which was difficult to keep clean and tidy. Head lice were a persistent problem in the schools and some mothers cropped their daughters' hair to keep it clean. Others tied it or plaited it out of the way.

Food
Some families would keep a pig or chickens which would provide them with meat and eggs; vegetables would be grown in the garden. Children would be expected to help out in the garden and with the animals. Most families bartered for different foods with their neighbours. Basic foods were: beef, mutton, pork, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread, oatmeal, rice, potatoes, milk, vegetables in season, flour, sugar, treacle, jam and tea. Some mothers would bake scones and puddings and make jam. Dumplings were added to stews to add bulk. Sometimes if there were many children in a family there might not be enough food for them to get proper nourishment. Some families managed well, others badly. The father was usually given the most meat and food because if he could not work then the family might starve. On Sundays most families tried to have a good dinner with meat, vegetables and a pudding - the best meal of the week.

Toys
Cheap wooden dolls were made or bought. Wooden hoops and tops, glass or clay marbles were favourites but most toys were too expensive for the ordinary working class Victorian family to buy. Children living in the country would play with mud, sticks and stones, climb trees, float makeshift boats in streams, catch fish or rabbits, and played the same games as children today such as tig or hide and seek.

Employment
Life in Scotland changed dramatically because of the agricultural and industrial revolutions - on the land new inventions e.g. James Small's swinging plough, Patrick Bell's reaper and Andrew Meikle's threshing machines made farming more efficient.

In 1831 half of Scotland's workforce was employed in an agricultural industry but by 1891 this figure had gone down considerably to only one quarter of the working population. The workforce consisted of 'hinds' hired at the feeing markets or 'hiring feus' and a local pool of skilled and semi skilled rural artisans for activities such as hedging, ditching, dykebuilding and smithing. In the crofting counties of the north west of Scotland the distressing conversion from clanship ties to commercial land-owning which had begun in the eighteenth century resulted in the crofters standing up for their rights on the land and in legislation which ultimately gave legal security and fixed 'fair rents' and compensation for improvements. The Crofters Commission which was set up in 1883 handled approximately 23,000 applications for its first 23 years. Although there were many craftsmen who had been drawn into the workshops of manufacturing industries there were still a huge number of individual and family businesses throughout the Victorian era who supplied the community's needs with their specialist skills. These included shoemakers and tailors, joiners and carpenters, blacksmiths and coopers - whose crafts pre-dated the industrial age. Early industries would often use these rural craftsmen while cottage industries were able to endure alongside heavy industry for a long time. There were those practising historic crafts as well as small, specialised retailers who lived and worked alongside the employees of industry and transport, and white collar workers of all kinds.

In Scotland heavy industry moved to the west with internationally famous undertakings in coal, iron, steel and shipbuilding. The older industry of textiles expanded with improvements in technology. Specialised activities such as slate quarrying and the production of mineral oils boomed as a result of consumer demand. Many family firms in textiles, shipbuilding and iron reached a peak of prosperity at the end of the century. In the earlier nineteenth century domestic industry such as handloom weaving declined and many workers, including women and children left home for the factory and mill. However, the labour of women and children, with its effects on health and home life, was investigated in 1842 and 1862 and as a result of this investigation limitations on the length of their working day and the lower age limit of working children were imposed. But there were areas of employment other than factories which were overlooked - these included the chimney sweeps' climbing boys and the 'sweated labour' of women and young children in their own homes, mainly in the clothing industries. It was not until the end of the century that there were definite improvements in health and safety at work.

Towns and Cities
By the nineteenth century most of Scotland's population lived in cities and towns. Male Scottish workers mostly worked in heavy industry - mining, iron, steel, shipbuilding, engineering. The large factories and new industries brought great wealth to Scotland. However, factory workers were still poorly paid and worked long hours in dangerous conditions and lived mostly in the dirty city slums. Urban expansion boomed during Victorian times - towns were built around the growing industries but town planning was often ignored. A body of public opinion objected to the disappearance green, open spaces in cities. The cities expanded their boundaries, sometimes swallowing up what had often been rural communities or even smaller burghs. On the other hand, many 'public parks' were established and there were also other facilities for the enjoyment of such green areas as botanic gardens, carefully laid out 'river walks' and 'promenades' on the sea fronts of coastal towns. Urban development included replacement of many original Georgian buildings and the appearance of such impressive buildings as banks, immense town halls or city chambers, hotels and department stores.

However, in the industrial areas several aspects were identified by the medical profession and health reformists which contributed to the low standard of public health: these were overcrowding and poor ventilation in the badly maintained tenements which had been built by local authorities, private speculators and industrial owners. Another problem was poor nutrition on a diet of refined, mass produced, badly cooked foods which were made in unhygienic conditions; the awful lack of sanitary provision and drainage which it was felt must become the public authority responsibility. Public wells were still used until the middle of the century even while rubbish from factories polluted the rivers. Infant mortality rates were still high at the end of the century and contagious diseases including small pox were rife. In the tall tenements families shared a single room. There were no toilets or water and no way to improve life - many people died because of illness and disease. Many of those who had moved to the towns could not find work and soon turned to crime.

Leisure
Life became easier - there was more time for relaxation The introduction of the railways meant holiday travel was available to many for the first time. The annual 'Fair' could be spent away from home. In Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the surrounding areas this could mean a trip by steamer. Sport of all types increased in popularity - golf became an organised sport and the first open championship was held in 1860. Football had always been popular but in 1873 the Scottish Football Association was formed. People could travel to see their favourite team play away. Other sports like bowling and curling also became popular. The bicycle brought more freedom to the young generation - cycling clubs were popular. Theatres and music halls were frequented by all classes and even the poorest children might watch a travelling 'peep show' or puppeteer in the street. Villages in the more scenic parts of Scotland, with their railway stations and hotels, welcomed holidaymakers who had been lured there by the railway advertisements. People began to take holidays as it became easier to travel to the coast. Seaside holidays became popular. In 1842 the young Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert visited Scotland. She bought Balmoral Castle and made Scotland the fashionable place for wealthy Victorians to visit. In 1846 Thomas Cook organised the first tours of Scotland.

Biography of Queen Victoria:

• Queen of Great Britain and Ireland 1837 to 1901. Empress of India from 1877 until 1901.

• Born 24 May 1819 - only child of the Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Gotha.

• Father died when she was 8 months old

• Crowned Queen aged 18 years.

• She much admired and relied upon Melbourne but after marrying her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1840 they became inseparable and he replaced Melbourne as her main adviser.

• Her nine children married into many of the great families of Europe and this affected her foreign policy.

• Albert died of typhoid fever in 1861 - Victoria withdrew from public life for more than a decade.

• Disraeli persuaded her to return to public life in the 1870s.

• Became Empress of India in 1877.

• Died at Osborne House, Isle of Wight on 22nd January 1901.

• Prince Consort of Queen Victoria

• Born at Schloss Roseneu

• Younger son of the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

• Educated at Bonn

• Married Victoria, his first cousin, in 1840

• Given the title of Prince Consort in 1857.

• He encouraged high standards in the arts and sciences and masterminded the Great Exhibition in 1851 to celebrate the achievements of Victorian times.

• Died of typhoid fever in 1861 after which the Queen remained in her widow's weeds.