Explore life in Victorian Britain — an era of industry, invention and great inequality.
The Victorian era takes its name from Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901 — one of the longest reigns in British history. During this period, Britain was transformed by the Industrial Revolution. New machines, factories and railways changed how people worked and lived. Cities grew rapidly as people moved from the countryside to find factory work. Life was very different depending on whether you were rich or poor. Wealthy Victorians lived in large houses with servants, while working-class families often lived in cramped, overcrowded slums with little sanitation. Children from poor families frequently had to work — in coal mines, textile factories, or as chimney sweeps — often in dangerous conditions. Reformers and campaigners gradually improved conditions, banning child labour and making school compulsory in 1880. Victorian Britain also saw great advances in science, medicine, engineering and literature.
