History Teacher Notes The Literacy Key

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HOMEPAGE    HISTORY    GEOGRAPHY    R.E.

Victorian Houses

1. Grand Victorian houses were made out of red brick and wood.

2. The houses of rich Victorians had features such as towers, bay windows and balconies.

3. The Victorian houses had steep roofs, stained glass windows and iron railings.

4. The insides of Victorian houses were very opulent, with heavy curtains and wallpaper.

5. Rich, dark colours were popular with Victorians.

6. The Victorians had carpets or rugs in most rooms.

7. The rooms were filled with well-made, over-stuffed furniture.

8. The Victorians were very fond of having photos and nic-nacs around the house.

9. The houses had running water and gas lighting.

10. Victorian terrace housing was usually two up, two down.

11. The houses had front and back entrances.

12. They could have an inside or an outside toilet.

13. The largest room was the front parlour, which was used for guests.

14. The family used the back parlour for everyday living.

15. Poor Victorian families lived in cramped conditions in run down houses or slums.

16. Often they would just have one room in a building for the whole family.

17. Sometimes, more than one family shared a single room.

18. These Victorian properties were shoddily built.

19. They were owned by unscrupulous landlords who charged high rents, but did few repairs.

20. They had no running water, sharing an outside water pump and outside toilets.

21. Many of these houses were back-to-backs with no windows at the front and no back yards.

22. They were cramped together in narrow streets.

23. Rubbish was thrown into the streets and often open sewers ran down the middle.

24. Huge numbers of houses were built in Victorian times because the population was growing so rapidly.