Topic summary
Activity - How the poor lived
Using photographs, and extracts from workhouse accounts, an 1850
Board of Health Inquiry, and a contemporary description of
working-class areas, children will learn about housing conditions,
problems caused by poor drainage and sanitation, and life in
Victorian workhouses.
Note
At some stage during the teaching of
these Activity, it would be useful to have a class discussion about
sources. How could we find out about Poverty in our local area in
Victorian times? What sources of information could we use?
Possibilities will include: libraries, museums, and the internet,
especially websites with local content, such as West Sussex Past
Pictures.