Although they have existed in Britain for over a thousand years, it was not until the nineteenth century that prisons became the cornerstone of the penal system. This book looks at the development of prison buildings, life and labour of prisoners, and the position of prison officers.
This illustrated guide explores significant exhibitions throughout history, highlighting events like the 1851 Great Exhibition and the 1951 Festival of Britain. It provides insights into the cultural and social impacts of these showcases, including the exhibitions at London's White City and the Millennium Dome. Richly detailed, the book captures the essence of each exhibition, emphasizing their contributions to art, science, and national identity.
Thousands of Victorians were employed by railway companies, from the locomotive driver on the footplate to the booking clerk in the station. The companies provided work for navvies, signalmen, telegraph operators, station masters, hotel workers, and many other people, including those who worked the fleets of railway-owned ships and horse-drawn vehicles. Trevor May gives a fascinating overview of everyday life for the characters that worked in such varied railway occupations, and the often stringent discipline and hierarchies that meant, for instance, that firemen had to drink in separate bars from engine drivers. Interesting cameos are provided of the men who worked in the great railway factories in places like Crewe, Swindon and Derby, the wheel-tappers who checked the integrity of locomotive and carriage wheels to ensure their safety, the women who worked in the company laundries, and those who worked in scores of other occupations.
Whether it was 'the batille', 'the spike', 'the work'us' or simply 'the house', the Victorian workhouse was the cause of dread and shame for thousands of men, women and children. This book looks at the principles that lay beind the New Poor Law of 1834, at the design and construction of workhouses, and at the lives of those who entered them.
In the Victorian era it was said that a gentleman was one who had been to a public school or who successfully concealed the fact that he had not. Public schools were in the business of producing leaders - in national government, in the Empire, and in the armed forces. Their impact on society was immense, and they provided the vehicle by which the sons of the middle classes could be assimilated into the gentry. Part of the price, however, was a general casting out of the local boys for whom so many of the schools had been established in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This title includes information on school rebellions, the role of the chapel and the prefect system (still found in many private schools of the US today), the impact of the railways, the education of middle class girls and the legacy of the Victorian public school on schools in both Great Britain and North America today.
Exploring the world of smuggling in Britain from the seventeenth to mid-nineteenth century, this book reveals the complex motivations and operations of smugglers, who were often more than just charming rogues. It delves into the use of violence and intimidation, as well as the complicity of various social classes in this illicit trade. The author, Trevor May, provides insights into the smuggling networks and the goods transported, including brandy and tea, highlighting the intricate dynamics between smugglers and authorities.
Military barracks have played an important part in the social as well as the military history of Britain. They have served many purposes, being homes, training establishments and recruitment depots, and were meant to impress (and, at times, to overawe) the local population as well as foreign enemies. Some towns, such as Aldershot and Colchester, were almost defined by the barracks located within them. This book looks at the buildings themselves, from early times to the twentieth century, and describes the life that was led in the barracks by the soldiers (and sailors) and their wives.Trevor May is a professional historian who has written over a dozen books. He is the grandson of a corporal in the East Surrey Regiment who experienced barrack life in India in the 1890s, and the father of a former lieutenant in the Royal Engineers who built barracks in Bosnia for UN troops in the 1990s. Other titles for Shire by this author are: Victorian and Edwardian Horse CabsThe Victorian Domestic ServantThe Victorian Railway WorkerThe Victorian SchoolroomThe Victorian UndertakerThe Victorian Workhouse
During the nineteenth century there was a tremendous expansion of education in England and Wales. A combination of voluntary rffort and government action led to the introduction of a system of elementary education for the working class. This book traces the development of Victorian schools and reveals the evolving role and status of the teacher, and the schoolroom environment itself. Using contemporary sources, Trevor May explores life in the schoolrooms of Victorian England and Wales, the ways in which lessons were planned and taught, and the equipment and teaching resources that were employed.