Upper Class Victorian Homes

615 Words2 Pages

Upper Class Victorian Homes The Victorian era was a time of ornate decorum, and grandiose homes for the upper classes. Wealth was not to be concealed, but displayed in all aspects possible, most importantly in the home. The structure of an upper class home often had at least a few levels. The top and bottom floors, or basement and attic, generally reserved for the servants of the household. Food preparation, and laundry activities were common of the basements, whereas the attic often served as housing for those that tended the household. Beyond these reserved spaces however, the splendor of wealth could be found in every room, on every wall, of every floor. The credo of the time could appropriately be stated as "if you got it, flaunt it," as the upper classes most assuredly did. Expensive floral carpets, lavish furniture, and heavy curtains were accents of almost every upper class home. According to the Bytown Museum, "A lack of clutter was to be considered "in bad taste." Consequently, the parlours and hallways were often littered with any number of pictures, mirrors, tables, ...

Show More
Related

  • House Of Vizcaya

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    And with good reason! The sheer luxury of the property is overwhelming. The mansion has 34 beautifully decorated rooms that boast 15th through 19th century art and furnishings. While blending together harmoniously, there is nothing subtle about the elaborately carved furniture, voluminous drapes, ornate carvings, and the richly colored tiles. The intent is to convey the excesses of wealth, which it does, albeit with grace and elegance.

    Read More

  • Exploring Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in 'A New England Nun'

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    For example, Louisa spends a great amount of her time simply arranging her maiden possessions, such as her books, which are sorted in a specific order, as well as having all of her sewing tools in a specific place and order in her work-basket. A scholarly article analyzing the character of Louisa reaffirms this notion by stating, “Louisa had almost the enthusiasm of an artist over the mere order and cleanliness of her solitary home. She had throbs of genuine triumph at the sight of the window panes which she had polished until they shone like jewels. She gloated gently over her orderly bureau-drawers, with their exquisitely folded contents redolent with lavender and sweet clover and very pure” (Harris 27).

    Read More

  • Crisis of the 1890s

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    In America, the late 19th Century was known as the Victorian Era. It was a time when pro-private upper class culture dominated the nation, a time of liberation from the burden of the past and a time when the development of science and technology flourished. The Victorians believed that the advancement in science and technology served as a mean for protection, and could bring in an abundant of wealth and power, something they desired. The middle-class admired those from the upper-class, as they imitated the lives of the wealthy families. It was a period of competition and the survival of the fitness for the Victorians. While these neighbors, friends and families competed against each other for wealth, there was competition between workers and machineries in the cities, as labor was gradually being replaced by modern technology.

    Read More

  • Overcrowding and Housing in Nineteenth-Century London

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    From 1801 to 1851, the population of London grew from under 1 million inhabitants to 2.25 million. This was due in large part to immigration, both from other countries and from the countryside of England. Hundreds of thousands of people were moving to the newly industrialized cities and towns to find work, having been squeezed off the land because of the enclosure of farms. There was also displacement of the working-class within the city of London because of a number of construction projects. There were street improvement schemes in which tenements were razed in order to widen the passages. The transformation of part of the city into a non-residential district devoted to finance and commerce destroyed whole neighborhoods. Finally, in 1820 the construction of the London Docks meant the destruction of 1,300 houses, followed in 1828 by the construction of St. Catherine's Dock resulting in the loss of a further 1,033 residences.

    Read More

  • London's Social Class in Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    One Victorian sentiment was that a civilized individual could be determined by her/his appearance. This notion was readily adopted by the upper classes and, among other things, helped shape their views of the lower classes, who certainly appeared inferior to them. In regards to social mobility, members of the upper classes may have (through personal tragedy or loss) often moved to a lower-class status, but rarely did one see an individual move up from the abysmal lower class. Although poverty could be found almost anywhere in Victorian London (one could walk along a street of an affluent neighborhood, turn the corner, and find oneself in an area of depravity and decay), most upper-class Londoners, who tended to dwell in the West End, associated the East End with the lower class.

    Read More

  • The Edwardian Era Exposed in An Inspector Calls

    1872 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theatres, musicals, proms concerts and films entertained the growing population. The upper classes led such a lavish life of luxury that the Edwardian era is now infamous for its elegance, ostentation, extravagance and sexual license. However despite the illusions of these secure times this epoch was full of hypocrisy, prejudice and exploitation. There was a huge divide between the upper and lower classes and the difference between the affluent lifestyle the wealthy lived compared to the downtrodden existence of the poor was remarkable.

    Read More

  • Jekyll and Hyde Duality essay

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Victorian society there is a rift between the extravagant upperclass, doctors, lawyers, and rich

    Read More

  • The Nouveaux Riche of Victorian England

    488 Words  | 1 Pages

    of the structure itself. This class "took immense pride in their homes which they saw as a reflection of status" ("BBC Homes"). The styles were excessively ornamental and took their influence from Gothic styles, rococo, styles, the Orient, and developments from their own industrialization. With owning such ornately decorated residences they had to show them off; this was done so through dinner parties and balls. People of course could not be outmatched by the rich styles of their houses and therefore doled out large amounts of money for clothes and transportation.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Elizabethan Architecture

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Elizabethans valued bragging rights above all else, they strived to be able to show off. No matter how uncomfortable it may force them to live their lives. If you really look at the homes of nobles you’ll see that, none of it actually looks like something worth living in. That’s because living in it wasn’t it’s main purpose, it was meant to look better than everybody elses, much like most every aspect of their lives, be i...

    Read More

  • The Impact of Social Class Divisions on the Women of Victorian England

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    The highest social class in Victorian England was the Nobility or Gentry class. The members of this class were those who inherited their land, titles, and wealth . Popular opinion at the time asserted that the noble class women led lives of lavish luxury and wedded bliss. "Ladies were ladies in those days; they did not do things themselves, they told others what to do and how to do it."

    Read More

  • Occupations in the Victorian Era by Class

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    Men in the upper class had jobs of high ranks and involved less manual work. Occupations of these high ranks would be in the possession of men that were considered Gentlemen. In the Victorian Era, jobs of high skill or importance would qualify men to be a gentlemen. (Victorian Web.) David Cody, in “The Gentlemen” specifies that some of these jobs would be clergymen for the church, parliament members and army officers.

    Read More

  • Queen Elizabeth

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... viewing; they often depicted very intimate personal things, like a lover or mistress. Architecture became a expression of wealth or status. Tall houses or towers or example accented by gardens or stables.

    Read More

  • Roaring Twenties And The Great Gatsby

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    The upper class represented themselves with rich, opulent and luxurious surroundings. They had large mansions, fast cars and modern technology which they showed off at large, elaborate parties.

    Read More

  • Class Structure Depictions in The Great Gatsby

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    The class structure during the 1920s had three primary levels: upper-class, middle-class, and lower-class – each having unique aspects about them. The upper-class lived extravagant lifestyles and could afford anything they wanted without working very often. For instance, when describing Gatsby’s mansion, Nick explains, “with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (Fitzgerald 7). In this quote, Nick is describing Gatsby’s house to the reader in order to show how wealthy the upper-class is. The middle-class was comprised of people who had to work to earn acceptable salaries, but had to be wise with how to spend their income because it was not enough to wastefully spend. As illustrated, when Nick brings up what his house looks like, he says, “My own house is an eye-sore, but it is a small eye-sore, and it has been overlooked, so I have a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor’s lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires—all for eighty dollars a month” (Fitzgerald 7-8). As Nick describes the appearance of

    Read More

  • The Victorian Age

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair” (Dickens n. pag.). These words by Charles Dickens, one of the most famous writers of the Victorian Period, were intended to show the connections between the French Revolution and the decline of Dickens’s own time, the Victorian Era (“About” n.pag.). Dickens wanted to show how the trends of his time were following a tragic path that had already played out and not ended well in France. According to an article about this historical period, the Victorian Era was “a time of change, a time of great upheaval, but also a time of great literature” (“Victorian” n.pag.). The Victorian Period reflects the great changes in the social, political, and economical shifts of the time.

    Read More

More about Upper Class Victorian Homes

Open Document