The palatial and ornate Manhattan homes depicted on the hit HBO series ‘The Gilded Age’ once existed, but almost all have been demolished

The Workhouse was built for the poor and needy, and intended to be so harsh and hostile that only the truly destitute would seek refuge there. It was hoped it would solve the problem of poverty as many rich people believed people were poor because they avoided work, but for many, this simply wasn’t the case. For example, a family could be surviving very well until the head of the house died suddenly possibly in a work-related instance such as a pit accident, some other injury or illness. The mother and children might well end up in the workhouse as there were too many mouths to feed and they couldn’t survive off the parish. Once there, the whole family would be kept apart from one another, sorted into the following categories. Men infirm through age or illness Women infirm through age or illness Able-bodied men over 15 years Able-bodied women over 15 years Boys between 7 and 15 Girls between 7 and 15 Children under the age of 7 The idea behind this was so that people didn’t breed, even the elderly were segregated. Each section had its own exercise yard and there were separate boys and girls schools. The buildings themselves were stark, foreboding places, undecorated and very much like prisons. High walls encompassed the workhouse cutting inmates off from the outside world. Workhouses contained dormitories, washrooms, workrooms, a 'refractory ward' which was for solitary confinement, a mortuary, bake-house, receiving wards, dining halls and a chapel. Any sick or old person housed on the upper floors would be become a prisoner in the ward because he or she might not be able to manage the stairs. Space was to a premium. Too many people were crammed into the smallest space possible: for example, eight beds could be put into a narrow dormitory only sixteen feet long; thirty-two men were put into a dormitory 20 feet long; ten children and their attendants were put into a room 10 feet by 15 feet. The hospital ward took in all cases, so at any one time there may have been patients suffering from any variety of complaints ranging from dysentery to diphtheria, and let us not forget there were several outbreaks of cholera up and down the land during the Victorian era. But sometimes people were better off in the workhouse if they were ill than if they were outside of it as they may not be able to afford good medical care otherwise. Furniture was basic: cheap wooden beds, flock-filled palliasses as mattresses, only two or three blankets would be provided and pillows considered a luxury, sheets were not provided. Most inmates shared beds. There were no comfy chairs just wooden benches, tables and stools. Seats were not upholstered. Walls were bare apart from lists of rules and regulations and various Bible passages were displayed. The day began early at 5.00 am with the tolling of the bell. Prayers and breakfast were between 6.00 am and 7.00 am. The inmates were expected to work between 7.00 am and 6.00 pm but they were allowed an hour’s break for lunch between midday and 1.00 pm. Prayers were said between 6 and 7.00 pm. Supper took place between 7 and 8.00 pm and then they were expected to go to bed and sleep, when the whole rota began again with the toll of the bell at 5.00 am the following morning. The sort of work the men were expected to undertake was: bone crushing , stone breaking, oakum picking [which was untying threads from ropes used on ships etc’,] and sometimes working in the corn mill or on vegetable plots at the workhouse. For women, it often involved domestic duties such as working in the laundry, scrubbing floors, blacking leading fire grates, etc. On admission, the inmates own clothing was removed and sanitised. They were searched and washed and made to wear a uniform and their hair cropped to prevent infestation of head lice. Women wore a shapeless dress which reached ankle length, long stockings and knee length drawers and a poke bonnet. Men wore striped shirts and ill-fitting trousers that were made shorter by tying pieces of string at the knee, thick vest, woollen drawers and socks and a neckerchief and, in wintertime, a coarse jacket. Meals lacked nutrition for the inmates and often the Board of Guardians got to dine like kings and queens whilst the inmates made do with a thin watery gruel for breakfast, and at other times a thin vegetable soup and piece of bread. Sometimes they had meat but it was very sparse. Children were sometimes educated inside the workhouse where there was a boys’ school and a girls’ school, so in that respect, workhouse children might be better educated than those who received no education at all in the community. When children got older they learned new skills and became apprenticed to learn crafts such as carpentry or midwifery. And some workhouses had industrial schools where children learned such skills. PART TWO COMING SOON! Lynette's book, The Workhouse Waif is now available from Amazon UK Readers: https://tinyurl.com/zxy7jpl US Readers: https://tinyurl.com/jk3wyxg

In 1915 Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouts movement, published his DIY guide to espionage, My Adventures as a Spy. Mark Kaufman explores how the book's ideas to utilise such natural objects as butterflies, moths and leaves, worked to mythologize British resourcefulness and promote a certain 'weaponization of the pastoral'. Upon the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, the fifty-seven-year-old Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Baden-Powell, K.C.B., contacted Lord Kitchener and offered to come out of retirement to serve Britain in its hour of need. The War Secretary, however, believed that the veteran officer had a far more crucial part

Just a glance at the calendar tells us that summer is almost gone. “Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ― Henry Ja…

Get into Victorian character for Synchronicity's In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) by Sarah Ruhl.

Old abandoned houses tell a story. Even if the story is not documented in history, each abandoned home gives us a glimpse into a life once lived.

What are the most common Gypsy surnames and first names, and how can you tell if you have Gypsy ancestry? Find out with our guide

Talk about an incredible photo opportunity.

She was born Mary Frances Moss on 20 July 1826 in Winchester, England. She married John Taylor on 8 April 1844 at St. Martin’s in the Field, England. Two daughters were born of the marriage…

To animate the image scroll down to the first comment below or view original size. Details and History The Wikimedia Commons website offers a multitude of historical images with no restrictions on use. This William Notman branded stereoview titled Broadway on a rainy day is from the Instantaneous Views of New York series. Though Notman (1826-1891) was a prominent 19th century photographer renowned for his innovative photography, he may have merely published this. The same image appears at www.common-place.org/vol-10/no-04/lessons/ attributed to E & H T Anthony, Anthony's instantaneous views no. 188 (1859), and in a similarly attributed image in the NYPL digital gallery.. Copyright Advisory This item is indicated as being in the public domain on its Wikimedia page: secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/wiki/File:Broadway... . This image is also available with bibliographic notes from the New York Public Library's Digital Library under the digital ID digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?G91F183_067F . Technical trivia The source PNG file was enhanced in HSL colorspace (Picturewindow Pro) by adjusting the luminance channel color curve. Regions of insignificant intensity were cut then the remaining data was expanded to fill the window. Aggressive noise reduction (Noiseware pro) smoothed dark areas by eliminating white dust and specks. Subsequent image manipulations and animated gif generation done with StereoPhotoMaker, a freeware program by Masuji Suto & David Sykes.

While modern folk are more than familiar with the archetype of the serial killer, the Whitechapel murders of 1888 were unlike anything the Metropolitan Police had ever seen before. With the help of hundreds of movies and the work of FBI profilers, we have become accustomed to the idea of the lone murderer, hiding in plain sight, with a compulsive and animalistic bloodlust. In 1888, however, the term “serial killer” had not even been coined yet. Crime was rampant in Whitechapel, and the bulk of murders were carried out by street gangs or in the form of domestic violence. Even

Aerial photographs of Britain and America taken between the two world wars by Alfred G Buckham.

This mansion is now being offered for sale on eBay. The grand home, built in 1890, features no less than 22 rooms (not counting many bathrooms) , 8 fireplaces, and 16,000 square feet of living space (yes, that’s 16 thousand). The beginning minimum bid was apparently set at just $100,000. At the time of this posting, with less than 10 days to go in the auction, there was only one further bid — which raised the sale price to $100,100. Sure, the house has apparently been divided into apartments and certainly must need some restoration & updates, but the price seems very fair for such a grand, story-book abode.From the write-up on the eBay listing: “This beautiful Victorian Stone Mansion has lots of potential. Most recently was six apartments but is better suited for other uses historichouseblog.com/2011/04/29/richardsonian-mansion-in...

On 17th September 1862, 27-year-old tailor Denis Barry from Dunmanway in West Co. Cork ventured into Antietam’s West Woods with the 19th Massachusetts Infantry. He never came out again. One o…

Collection Name: LAMAS Glass Slide Collection Photo Reference Code: LAMAS/B1238 Original Held By: Bishopsgate Library Institution: Bishopsgate Institute Location: London, UK Contact Us: [email protected]

The Budva Old Town, a typical walled city with a maze of streets, sits on the Adriatic Coast and has become the destination for the Eastern European jetset.

CHAPTER XXIV.CHAPERONS AND THEIR DUTIES. Next Section || Previous Section || Table of Contents Page 214 { page image viewer } It is strange that the Americans, so prone to imitate British customs, …

Help your children to discover this fascinating period of History with our Victorians Pack! It includes a HUGE eBook that can be used for shared reading and independent research, along with a bumper collection of teaching, activity and classroom display resources.

Investing in real estate can be both rewarding and very stressful. If you are thinking about being a landlord please read ahead about my experiences of being a landlord for that past 12 years.

The iron industry started slowly in Britain, but the Industrial Revolution turned the country into a powerful iron exporter.

A metro line is a great equalizer. It breaks down barriers between poor and affluent neighborhoods by allowing the easy movement of all citizens. The Whitechapel metro station was opened in 1876 and connected that beleaguered area to the City of London. For the detectives of Ripper Street, the construction of the new metro line is the scene of a double murder. The only witness is in a state of shock and cannot help them. Thus, Inspector Reid, Drake, and Captain Jackson have to rely instead upon their powers of deduction. We first meet Lucy, a beautiful young woman in an expensive looking white dress, when she visits Long Susan and asks for a job. She is refused. Shortly after, the police find her wandering the street covered in blood and insensible. Shockingly, people stare at her, but nobody stops to help. She tells the police where she’s been and Reid, Drake and Jackson rush to the scene of the crime. Watching 19th century police work is always interesting. There are no rubber gloves and no taped off areas. Jackson and Reid piece together the logistics of the murder of Lucy’s mother and a rent collector by examining the blood splatter, bullet holes, and wound trajectory. They determine the rent collector killed the mother, but that a fourth person killed him while Lucy watched. When they find a bullet that ricocheted through this fourth person, you wish they had DNA technology to help solve the crime. But, through old fashioned detective work, they reach the same result that modern technology might have given them. However, their examination of the crime scene by crawling on hands and knees with knives to scrape things is horrifying by modern standards. Reid eventually determines that Long Susan is the murderer and had killed the man to protect Lucy. In a wonderfully tense moment, Reid sits before Long Susan and conducts a slow pat down. This situation could have been played as a sensual or aggressive confrontation. It was neither. That’s not how we would want to see Reid. Right now, he is quite proper in his demeanor and there is no sense that he can be tempted by anything. The scene plays out without any eroticism or violence and Reid arrests Long Susan. The discovery, though, of her connection to the crime sends Reid into a rage. READ MORE: http://www.tvequals.com/2013/02/10/ripper-street-season-1-review-the-good-of-this-city/

Jet off to Europe and explore one of the most romantic places in the world — the South of France

Beneath the lake of a once lavish Victorian estate built by a flamboyant mining tycoon, a secret awaits... (c) Forgotten Heritage At murkey water's edge, a stone structure being overtaken by greenery hides a locked door. If you happen to have the right key, it will lead you down a spiral stai