Factories in Britain during Victorian times
I can describe how factories changed Britain during Victorian times, using some paintings from the period as evidence.
Factories in Britain during Victorian times
I can describe how factories changed Britain during Victorian times, using some paintings from the period as evidence.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- During Victorian times, Britain changed a lot as people left the countryside to work in new factories in towns.
- Some people thought these changes were good; this can be seen in William Wyld's painting 'Manchester from Kersal Moor'.
- He makes the factory chimneys look pretty by putting them next to church spires, and painting golden sunlight on them.
- But these cities and towns were not nice places to live, with lots of crowding, pollution and poor health.
- These poor conditions can be seen in Gustave Doré's engraving 'Over London - By Rail'.
Keywords
Factories - large buildings full of machines where people work making things are called factories
Chimney - chimneys extend out of the roof of a building, they carry smoke from a fire inside the building and allow it to be released into the sky
Spire - a spire is a tall, narrow, pointed structure usually on top of a church tower
Common misconception
Pupils may think that only adults worked at jobs in factories in Victorian times.
In Victorian times, there were no laws stopping children working. Children had to earn money to live, so many of them worked in factories. Since they were young and small, children were useful for getting into tight spaces to clean or fix machines.
To help you plan your year 2 history lesson on: Factories in Britain during Victorian times, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 2 history lesson on: Factories in Britain during Victorian times, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
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Explore more key stage 1 history lessons from the Queen Victoria: how did Britain change during her lifetime? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
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Adult supervision recommended
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
large buildings full of machines where people work to make things
carries smoke from a fire inside a building upwards and out to the sky
a tall, narrow, point, usually on top of a church