Life in 1901 England



That date was some 111 years ago which seems quite a long time ago, but very possibility you have close relatives on the family tree who lived during that time. My father was born in England in 1905, so certainly his parents would have been a part of that year. The online site, ‘Living At The Time of the Census‘ refers to the United Kingdom official census of 1901. They have done a national census every ten years since 1841 which is invaluable resource for family historians.

Now even if you did not have any ancestors living in the United Kingdom in 1901 this site can still offer some great insights to the life, times and events of people in the United States and Canada since there are many similarities between these three countries. The site provides many different sources to help transform you back in time to the regular people, their work, house life and methods of entertainment for the beginning of the 20th century.


There is a section titled ‘People and Places of 1901’ where some ordinary people’s history is traced such as a soldier, a female typist and a dock worker to give you a clearer picture of their life. Another section titled ‘Living in 1901’ covers about living conditions, food, schooling, entertainment and work for a cross section of people in 1901. Again the focus is the United Kingdom with England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but much of the same things apply in other countries.
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Just click on any of the different oval buttons for that section. Within each section are sub-sections to select from. There is a good deal of information, along with photos and advertisements to illustrate what is covered.


The section on Living in 1901 has a sub-section titled ‘Time Out’ which has about entertainment, sports and fashions. However, one of the main section not to be overlooked is titled ‘Cinema’. Here the British Film Institute has provided clips of movie film of some of the events and people in 1901. Shots of Queen Victoria, the ruler in 1901 are fascinating to view. Even more interesting is a movie film, about 20 seconds in length of London streets with all the people and vehicles (especially horses and carts) traveling the roadways. That film was from about 1902. Those same kind of scenes could be found in New York, Chicago, San Francisco or any large city. Another great film image is of men, women and even children leaving a factory after a day’s work. Those also would have been scenes from many places across the United States.


So well worth your checking this site to better understand everyday life of our grandparents.

Photo: The children of Whitechapel neighborhood in London in 1901.

< Return To Blog I have a problem with the ovralel premise of your article but I still think its really informative. I really like your other posts. Keep up the great work. If you can add more video and pictures can be much better. Because they help much clear understanding. thanks
Juan 22/09/12




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