Category: Daily Life in the Past

By Tim Lambert Gardening In The Ancient World The earliest gardens were grown for practical reasons. People grew herbs or vegetables. However, when man became civilized an upper class emerged with the leisure to enjoy purely decorative gardens. They also had servants (or slaves) to do the gardening for them. Gardening in Ancient Egypt In… Continue reading A History of Gardening

By Tim Lambert Ancient Gold Human beings have always prized gold. The rich have always used it for jewelry and eating and drinking vessels. Since Ancient Times gold has also been used in dentistry. The earliest evidence of gold comes from 3,600 BC. By about 600 BC people were making gold coins. Our chemical symbol… Continue reading A History of Gold

By Tim Lambert Early Hats People have worn hats since Ancient Times. They protected the head from the elements. But hats also sometimes showed a person’s wealth and status. In Ancient Greece people sometimes wore wide-brimmed hats to shade themselves from the Sun. In Europe in the Middle Ages, men wore hoods or berets. In… Continue reading A History of Hats

By Tim Lambert Basil Basil is native to India but it was known to the Greeks and the Romans. From the 16th century, basil was used to make pesto sauce in Italy. Bay Bay leaves are native to the Mediterranean area. Bay was well known to the Greeks and the Romans, who held it in… Continue reading A History of Herbs

By Tim Lambert Early Hospitals The first hospitals were founded in the Ancient World. There were hospitals in India and Sri Lanka before 200 BC. By the 2nd century AD, the Romans had military hospitals called Valetudinaria. In the late 4th century The Roman Empire split in two, east and west. Meanwhile, Christians believed they… Continue reading A History of Hospitals

By Tim Lambert Housework in Pre-Industrial England In Pre-Industrial Europe housework was much harder work than it is today. Many people simply had hard earth floors, which tended to become dusty and required regular sweeping. Until the 18th century carpets were a luxury and they were often hung over tables rather than put on the… Continue reading A History of Housework

By Tim Lambert Early Immigration Into England About 650 BC a people called the Celts arrived in Britain. Then in 43 AD, the Romans invaded. After they left in the 5th century Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from Germany and Denmark invaded. They gradually conquered what is now England. Finally, in 1066 the Normans conquered England.… Continue reading A History of Immigrants in Britain

By Tim Lambert Knickers in the 19th Century Women did not usually wear knickers until the end of the 18th century. However, after about 1800 women also wore underwear called drawers. Today we still say a pair of knickers. That is because in the early 19th century women’s underwear consisted of two separate legs joined… Continue reading A History of Knickers

By Tim Lambert Several new sports and games were invented during the 19th century. Although a form of tennis was played since the Middle Ages lawn tennis was invented in 1873. Snooker was invented in India in 1875. Volleyball was invented in 1895. In the early 19th century working people had very little leisure time.… Continue reading A History of Leisure in the 19th Century

By Tim Lambert During the 20th century, people had more and more leisure time. In 1900 the average working week was 54 hours. By the 1980s it was 39 hours. Furthermore, in 1900 most people had no paid holidays except bank holidays. In 1939 a new law said that everyone must have one week’s annual… Continue reading A History of Leisure in the 20th Century