LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Victorian England
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Victorian England was a deeply religious country. A great number of people were habitual church-goers, at least once and probably twice, every Sunday. The Bible was frequently and widely read by people of every class; so too were religious stories and allegories. Yet towards the end of Queen Victoria's reign, the hold of organized religion upon the English people began to slacken for several reasons.
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Christmas Cards - Children in Victorian England had the task of writing greetings to their parents in their very best handwriting. Sometimes adults wrote Christmas letters to each other, but this could take up a great deal of time. The printed Christmas card solved the problem. The custom of sending printed cards was started in England by Henry Cole, who did not have time to write letters to each of his relatives. He asked an artist, John Calcott Horsley, to design a card for him. About 1,000 of these cards were printed, and those not used by Sir Henry were sold by the printer for one shilling.
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The Demography of Victorian England and Wales uses the full range of nineteenth-century civil registration material to describe in detail for the first time the changing population history of England and Wales between 1837 and 1914. Its principal focus is the great demographic revolution which occurred during those years, especially the secular decline of fertility and the origins of the modern rise in life expectancy. But Robert Woods ... considers the variable quality of the Victorian registration system; the changing role of what Robert Malthus termed the preventive check; variations in occupational mortality and the development of the twentieth-century class mortality gradient; and the effects of urbanisation associated with the significance of distinctive disease environments. The volume also illustrates the fundamental importance of geographical variations between urban and rural areas. This invaluable reference tool is lavishly illustrated with numerous tables, figures and maps, many of which are reproduced in full colour.
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In Victorian England, a household's inventory of silver serving pieces clearly indicated one's wealth and status. Silver was the main source of revenue for England's royalty for centuries, and as early as the 1300s, a standardized system for hallmarking silverwork had developed in England, consisting of five hallmarks. The first hallmark was the maker's mark, followed by the county and city marks, the date letter in an oval, and finally, the sovereign's head. The most valuable pieces were called Sterling signifying that their content was at least 925 parts fine silver per 1000. Three wonderful examples of Sterling silver pieces are the wine tasting cups (or quaichs) shown below.
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In Victorian England, numerous balls could be held in one evening. In general, guests could have as many as six invitations beckoning their attendance. The goal of the hostess was to have her guests arrive and stay late into the evening. This evidenced that her ball was the socially significant affair over those of her peers.
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By the time the CD Acts were repealed in 1886, Victorian England had been completely transformed. This era, which at its outset looked no different from the century before it, would end resembling much more the era that would follow.
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Victorian England