The week-ends in England in 19 century

Real holidays did not come into the workers minds until the factory act from 1833 came into action. It gave people to the age of 18, 8,5 days holiday every year. The holidays were of course not paid and most of the workers could not afford them, but those who could use them. Bank Holidays were also a big step towards a society with the possibility of some free time. A man, Sir John Lubbock introduced a bill into the parliament in 1871. It asked for all banks to be closed on Easter Monday, Whit Monday, first Monday of August and the Boxing Day.

Only a few people attended the parliament and the passed.

Not until after that people realized that no business could be done if the banks are closed, and so everybody used the days chosen by the bank as holidays. From now on holidays were official. Workers who had the money could go and relax. Another important factor making this possible was the growth of faster transport.

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Steam engines became one of the fundamental changes in during the industrial revolution and many miles of railway was put. There was a possibility of fast transport to far locations. This means that people could in a small amount of time get away from the polluted and completely trashed cities.

They could then relax far from the city in small villages feeling the beauty of the nature and fresh air. Sport was another thing coming up in the eighteenth century. Today we can watch or practice a lot of sports but back in those times this was not as common.

Cricket came in 1750, probably the first sport with rules and which was played on grass. Football was not quite a team sport; it was a team war between two sides. In the nineteenth century games got their formal names and rules and could hereafter be called sports. By the 1890s championships were put into action.

That was about twenty years after tennis was invented. Tennis was played completely different than today. It was rather a way for rich people to enjoy their time than a contest. Women clothed in long dresses and long-armed shirts and used stylish black-canvas shoes. Not quite functional. Various other formal sports got to be sport in which you could get challenged: football, rugby, tennis, swimming, golf and athletics. Amateur sports changed into a fast growing form of entertainment, both for males and females. The richer people could go to the theatre which was a rather superior way of entertainment.

In the beginning it was popular in London, but soon the trend spread to other larger cities. Beautiful and humoristic or dead serious spectacles were shown to entertain, or shock people who could let themselves open their wallets more. The middle-class people got their way of entertainment too. They could go to the music-hall, a place where you could listen to music, drink, eat and sing. Upper classes did also perform their own sports. They hunted for animals, foxes or birds. Poaching a fox from another's mans crop was however severely punished. Gambling and other kinds of hazard also opened up. People won and lost lots of money.

Horse races with bets started to shoot off. The society changed drastically, it became more and more as today. All people did now also have the opportunity of going to the pub with their friends, taking a beer and talk. Henry Davenport is a nobleman owning several factories. He probably looks like the "erotic" man on the picture to the right. He is clothed in expensive clothing. You can see that the material is pretty, he has style. He has a suit; a white shirt and a vest with a pattern, on top of that he has the outer clothes. Just standing and wearing the garments he looks powerful. Not only would his clothing be stylish.

His hair would also be properly combed, and his moustache fixed. He would probably use some kind of perfume, an oil extract smelling good. All the upper class people would most likely clothe nearly the same. They all bought the most expensive things and those turned out to be pretty similar. Mr. Davenport would be a man who has style, knows what he clothing he should wear, he would be on top of the line. He would have been brang up with a good sense of manner and touch of a good way of moving and establishing in a group of people. All of this thanks to his parents who would have been the same as he is to become.

A cylinder would be the final touch - the hat looks perfect with the suit. Mr. Davenport would be well educated, either in a private school, boarding school or he would have private lessons at home. I think the last point would be most like to be true. This however is when he has become older, being around 12-15 when he understands how to act and catch information. People would come home to him and teach him the most important subjects. Before that he would probably have a man or woman living at his home taking care of the boy. That person would be like a nurse. The child would learn and develop with help of that person.

She would teach him manners and make sure he grows up as a gentleman. When the boy or girl is around 18 he or she would be ready to study. After completing the middle school in an expensive boarding school located outside London the time would have come for Oxford where the gentleman would achieve his latest and completing education before the stop of becoming an adult who is ready to start his own industry. Their house would probably be a larger residence, if not many. They might have another holiday house, a small castle somewhere outside the city. The house would have high room, at least 3 metres to the ceiling.