Category: Articles

By Tim Lambert Society in 18th Century Britain In the late 18th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform life in Britain. Until then, most people lived in the countryside and made their living from farming. By the mid 19th century, most people in Britain lived in towns and made their living from mining or… Continue reading Life in England in the 18th Century

By Tim Lambert British Society in the 21st Century In the 21st century, people in Britain enjoyed a higher standard of living than ever before in history. In 1998 only 27% of the population had a mobile phone. By 2008 79% of the population did. By 2018 the figure had risen to 95%. In 2001… Continue reading Life in the 21st Century

By Tim Lambert When the Second World War began on 3 September 1939 it was feared that the Germans would bomb British cities causing great loss of life. So children from British cities were evacuated to the countryside. Altogether 827,000 schoolchildren with 103,000 teachers and helpers left the big cities. Furthermore, 524,000 children below school… Continue reading Life in Britain During the Second World War

By Tim Lambert Society in 1930s Britain The 1930s are remembered for mass unemployment. However, there was already mass unemployment in the 1920s in Britain. For most of the decade, it hovered between 10% and 12%. Then, in the early 1930s, the economy was struck by depression. By the start of 1933 unemployment in Britain… Continue reading Life In Britain in the 1930s

By Tim Lambert Work in Pre-Industrial Britain Before the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century and 19th century, most people worked as farmers. Only a small minority of people worked in industry. Most of the Celts, who lived in Britain from 650 BC onward were farmers although were also many skilled craftsmen. Some Celts… Continue reading A History of Work

By Tim Lambert Women’s Jobs in the Ancient World Women’s Jobs in Ancient Egypt In Ancient Egypt, women had a good deal of freedom. They could come and go as they pleased. They could own property, and they could sign contracts. However, most women worked in the home. There was a great deal of work… Continue reading A Brief History of Women’s Jobs

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 Prehistoric Furniture When people learned to farm and lived in permanent settlements they began to make furniture. In Europe, some of the earliest known furniture comes from a stone-age village at Sara Brae in the Orkney Islands in Scotland about 2,000 BCE. The Stone Age farmers lived in stone huts with roofs… Continue reading A History of Furniture

By Tim Lambert Who Invented Electricity? No single person invented electricity. Many people made discoveries and inventions. However, in 1819, a Dane, Hans Christian Oersted discovered that an electric current in a wire caused a nearby compass needle to move. The Englishman Michael Faraday (1791-1867) showed that a magnet can produce electricity. In 1831 Faraday… Continue reading A History of Electricity