- abacus
- This was a wooden frame with beads on it. It was used to help children with counting sums.
- agricultural gang
- This was a group of workers in the countryside, doing jobs like weeding, sowing seeds, and harvesting crops. Often these gangs would include young children.
- barrel organ
- A musical instrument which was taken round the streets. It played music when the handle was turned. Often the owners of barrel organs had tame monkeys.
- Band of Hope
- Temperance organization which tried to stop people, especially children, from drinking alcohol.
- boarding school
- A school where children live during term time, coming home for the holidays.
- Boys' Brigade
- Youth organization started in 1883 in Glasgow.
- British Empire
- Countries ruled by Britain; later became the Commonwealth.
- cane
- Thin stick used by teachers to beat children who misbehaved.
- census
- This is the record of people living at a certain time. It records how many people there are, where people live, their age and what they do.
- coal mine
- A place where coal is dug from under the ground.
- coal
- Remains of prehistoric trees, burned in fires. In Victorian times, coal heated homes and provided steam power for machines, trains and ships.
- contraception
- Another term for birth control, or stopping unwanted pregnancies.
- cotton
- Comes from a plant. It is spun into thread then woven to make cloth.
- dame school
- A school run in her home by an elderly woman, known as a dame, where children were taught basic reading and writing.
- diphtheria
- Infectious throat disease that killed many children.
- emigrated
- To emigrate is to leave your own country to go and live in another.
- empress
- The female ruler of an empire, or the wife of an emperor.
- factory
- Building with machines for producing goods in large numbers.
- factory commission
- A group of men who travelled around Britain to investigate the working conditions of children in both factories and mines.
- fire grate
- The metal part of a fire and fireplace.
- globe
- A map of the world drawn on a sphere, useful in geography lessons.
- governess
- A woman who taught rich girls and young boys in their homes, as a paid, live-in servant.
- grammar school
- Boys' schools, started in the Middle Ages as an alternative to Church schools and giving free education to some boys.
- hokey-pokey man
- Icecream-seller, originally usually Italian.
- hopscotch
- A hopping game played in the street or playground.
- hurdy-gurdy
- A mechanical violin, played by a street musician.
- industrial Revolution
- The era of rapid and great change in industry and manufacturing with the growth of factories, beginning in the late 1700s.
- ink well
- A small pot for ink, used by school children.
- logbook
- Diary or record book of events.
- magic lantern
- A slide projector for showing pictures on a screen.
- maypole
- Tall pole with long ribbons, for dancing around on May Day.
- moral
- A lesson often in a story, about right and wrong.
- music hall
- Popular Victorian theatre with variety acts such as singers, dancers and comedians.
- nanny
- servant who cared for rich young children in their nursery at home.
- nursery
- A room or several rooms where rich children would play and sleep.
- orphan
- Child with no living parents.
- parliament
- Law-making body made up of elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and non-elected Lords.
- piecer
- A child who worked in a mill joining pieces of thread together.
- population
- The number of people in a country or city.
- public schools
- Fee-charging schools for children from richer families.
- Punch and Judy show
- A hand-puppet show which features Mr Punch and his wife Judy. Common at the seaside in Victorian times.
- ragged school
- A school for poor children in the early 19th century.
- reformer
- Person who seeks change for the better, to help others.
- reign
- The length of time a king or queen rules.
- school board
- A group of people who were responsible for the running of their local school after 1870.
- scullery
- Small room with a sink, for washing up.
- shaft
- Deep vertical hole leading down to the tunnels and underground workings of a coal mine.
- slates
- These were pieces of slate (like a flat stone), sometimes set inside a wooden frame, used for writing - with a special slate pencil. At the end of the lesson the slates were wiped clean with an old cloth.
- smallpox
- Disease causing fever and, in those who did not die from it, leaving 'pockmarks' on the skin.
- steam engine
- Engine driven by steam from water heated in a boiler, used to drive machinery.
- slum
- An area of bad housing, with poor hygiene and sanitation.
- Sunday School
- School to teach Christianity: the National Sunday School Union was founded in 1803.
- wages
- Workers' pay.
- wool
- Comes from sheep. It is spun into thread then woven to make cloth.
- workhouse
- Place where people without means of support (usually the very poor, young and elderly) were sent to live; they got a food and a bed in return for work. Most Victorian towns had a workhouse.
