Life in Eighteenth Century England

Overview• 1780’s Industrial Revolution• Farming• Rural – urban shift• 1712 importance of steam discovered• Beginning of Empire• 1707 Act of Union

Society

• 1700 population c. 6.5 million, • 1801 c. 9 million plus• Land• Class Society• Half population lived below subsistence level• Alcohol a problem

Towns

• Grew larger• New Industrial Towns• Improvements for some• Slum conditions for others

Agriculture

• New Inventions• Practice of slaughtering livestock• Crop rotation changes• Enclosure developed• Selective breeding developed• Diet

Homes

• Luxury• Country Homes• Robert Adam• Chippendale et al• The poor• The Working Class

Chippendale

Hepplewhite

Sheraton

Clothing

• Men• Women• Fashion Important

Leisure

• Traditional Games• Horse Racing• Theatre• Assembly Rooms• Pleasure Gardens• Cricket• Spa’s and seaside• Reading• Blood sports• Public executions• Grand Tour of Europe

Education

• Charity Schools• Wealthy boys schools• Wealthy girls schools• Protestants

Transport

• Acts of Parliament• Tolls• Canals• Packhorse• Highwaymen• Smuggling

Medicine

• Anatomical knowledge• Surgeons• Scurvy• Smallpox inoculation• Vaccination• Superstition

Art and Science

• Gainsborough and Reynolds• Academy of Arts• Oxygen• Cavendish• Herschel• Telford

Religion

• Church Services• Drop in numbers amongst poor• Whitefield• Wesley• Revival