Leisure in the Victorian era
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Help students explore the changing nature of life in the Victorian era for different groups of people with this supportive set of resources.
What's included?
- Detailed lesson PowerPoint (subscribers only)
- Free PDF information sheet on leisure in the Victorian era (editable version available to subscribers)
A complete lesson on leisure in the Victorian era
The PowerPoint details all of the leisure, sport and lifestyle changes that occurred during the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian period for working class people and those that were wealthier, too.
Accompanying the Leisure in the Victorian era lesson is an information sheet which helps students identify the various leisure pastimes enjoyed by people in the Victorian era. Students can use this information to explore their understanding of lifestyle changes during this time.
Students can record their growing knowledge about Victorian leisure pastimes and entertainment using the relevant table from the Leisure in the Victorian era PowerPoint lesson. This will help them build confidence in their understanding of the changes happening in society at this time and how these changes affected the lives of people across the class spectrum.
Looking for more resources like this?
Try the The Victorian tea room or True or false: Victorian women.
Discover more Industrial Revolution resources in the Industry and Empire collection.
A sample extract from the resource:
A trip to the theatre
There were theatres to watch plays or opera houses that the upper classes would visit. However, there were cheaper ones where people could watch a melodrama (musical plays with dramatic plots and exaggerated emotions). The audience were encouraged to boo at the villain and cheer for the hero.
Music halls grew in this period; cheaper than the inexpensive theatres, they offered a wide variety of acts and became very popular in the mid-1800s. The first one, The Canterbury, opened in London in 1851 and soon there were many all over the country. Acts included singers, comedians, acrobats, musicians and magicians. The audience sang along with songs they recognised and shouted rude comments at performers they didn’t like. Some performers became the superstars of their day; Marie Lloyd was mobbed when she appeared in public and even famous film stars like Charlie Chaplin started their career in music halls.
