Victorian Facts For Kids | Age Of Happiness and Progress In Britain

The Victorian era was a period in the British Empire in which Queen Victoria ruled over Britain from June 20, 1837 to January 22, 1901. It was a period of great happiness and peace in Britain. Let’s take a brief look at Victorian facts for kids.

Victorian Facts For Kids

Name Of British Monarch: Queen Victoria

Starting Date Of Victorian Era: June 20, 1837

Ending Date Of Victorian Era: January 22, 1901

Reign: 63 years, 6 months, 22 days

Architecture

1. During Victorian rule, England saw great progress in architecture particularly the style of architecture known as Victorian Gothic. It is known as Gothic Revival in which there was a great interest in reviving medieval architecture.
2. The Palace of Westminster was renovated on medieval-style architecture by Sir Charles Barry.
3. In 1851, an exhibition was conducted in the London’s Hyde Park and known as The Great Exhibition. The exhibition displayed some of the fantastic creations of the 19th century. It continued for more than 5 months. Among many other famous personalities, Charles Darwin was also there to attend this exhibition. It is also called Crystal Palace Exhibition.
4. The Great Exhibition was conducted in a palace built of glass known as The Crystal Palace. At the time, this palace was the only building that had maximum glass-work on it.
5. The Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol was also built in Victorian period.

Victorian Era was the age of great happiness and progress in Britain. One of the greatest works during this era was London sewerage system. It was built in 1858 by one of the finest British civil engineers of the 19th century named Sir Joseph William Bazalgette.

Famous Personalities

1. The most famous music composer and violinist during Victorian era was Michael William Balfe. He was an Irish and his best opera was ‘The Bohemian Girl’.
2. The two most popular persons of Victorian era who made a famous musical theatre during 1871 to 1896 were Gilbert and Sullivan. They built 14 comic operas in partnership.
3. The most famous performer in circus during Victorian age was Pablo Fanque. He was the first black performer of England too.
4. During Victorian era, one of the pioneers of photography named Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre also flourished. He was a French photographer. In addition to photography, he was also a famous artist of his time. He invented a photographic method known as daguerreotype in 1839.
5. A British photographer named William Henry Fox Talbot also lived in Victorian period. He is also one of the pioneers of photography who invented talbotype method in photography in 1841. This is a photographic process and is also known as Calotype.

Want to read more? Just have a look at: Queen Victoria Facts For Kids

Arts and Music

1. It was in Victorian era when the Brass Band group (a British-style music company) gained its popularity during the 19th century.
2. A small structure was also designed for music bands allowing them to perform on stage became famous in Victorian period. This structure is known as ‘Bandstand’.
3. Circus reached its high point during Victorian period.
4. The most famous amphitheatre for the British circus was Astley’s Amphitheatre in London.
5. One of the aspects of Victorian period was the progress in communications network like improved railway service, steam ships, stagecoaches and the like.

Sports

1. The Tennis game was invented in Birmingham during early 1860s.
2. In 1877, the tennis tournament named ‘Wimbledon’ had its first ever championship matches played in London. Today, this tournament is by far the oldest tennis championship around the world.
3. In 1888, the very first league of football was made.
4. The British football club known as Aston Villa Football Club was established in 1874. They founded The Football League.
5. Some of the famous sports that were commonly played during Victorian period was cricket, horseback riding, bicycling and roller skating.

More Victorian Facts For Kids

1. The Victorian period came to an end with the death of Queen Victoria on January 22, 1901.
2. In 1831, the population of Britain was 13.9 million. However in 1901, the population increased to 32.5 million people. Thus there was a total increase of about 18.6 million people in 70 years of Victorian rule.
3. A small village known as Saltaire in the West Yorkshire was also constructed.
4. The revolutionary book on natural history by Charles Darwin was also published in 1859. The name of this book was ‘On the Origin of Species’.
5. The incandescent gas mantle was invented during 1890s. A gas mantle is illuminated as it heats up through gas flame.