Victorian Leisure

A selection of images showing Victorian people enjoying a variety of leisure activities. Check out our Teaching Activity Were the Victorians like us?

Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Racing at Ascot, Berkshire The famous racecourse at Ascot is pictured here in the late 19th century. To the left of the picture is a camera on a tripod; taking pictures of the race goers has always been as much a part of Ascot as the race itself. In the background the pavilion is packed with people hoping to get lucky on the horses. A picture of the racecourse today may well show nearly as many top hats as seen here.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, Greater London Sharks and rays on display in the fish section in the Piscatorial Court. The collection was originally displayed in the British Museum.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, Brompton, Greater London A perspective view of the Natural History Museum from the road with horse-drawn vehicles. The building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and built in 1881.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR The Green, Witney, Oxfordshire People milling around at the Feast Fair held in early September, with merry-go-rounds and stalls beyond. The tall narrow board in the foreground is the back of a hammer-hitting challenge, with a marker that ascends toward a bell.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Regatta, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire The Grand Challenge Cup race, on the River Thames during the regatta, watched by spectators on the bank and on boats.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Skating near Oxford, Oxfordshire People skating and playing ice-hockey on the River Cherwell during one of the coldest winters on record. During February of this year most of the rivers around Oxford were blocked by ice flows.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR The Chequers, Headington, Oxford, Oxfordshire The Headington Quarry Morris Men outside the Chequers pub with a fiddle player at the centre.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of Oxfordshire County Council Pleasure boat at Nuneham Park, Nuneham Courtenay, Oxfordshire A large pleasure boat moored at the banks of the river Thames at Nuneham Courtney, the seat of Lord Harcourt. The area was a favourite place for picnics and river jaunts, and parties were allowed to land on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the season.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of Oxfordshire County Council Market Square, Bampton, Oxfordshire The local hunt mustering hounds outside the Talbot Hotel in the village. A crowd of villagers have gathered to watch them set off.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Cyclists in Hyde Park, Westminster, London A view of male and female cyclists in Hyde Park with spectators lining the route.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Rotten Row, Hyde Park, Westminster, London Riding in Rotten Row, Hyde Park, is still a popular recreation today. Here, other people have taken to walking and carriage rides for amusement. The fashions are those of circa 1900.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Crystal Palace, Sydenham, Greater London A view of the Palace from the south-east with the gardens in the foreground. Designed for the Great Exhibition of 1851 and moved to Sydenham in 1854, the building was made from 4,000 tons of iron and 400 tons of glass. It burnt down in 1936.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Zoological Gardens, Regents Park, Westminster, London This stereo view of the Zoological Gardens in Regents Park shows members of the public mounting an elephant for a ride.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR The Oxford Music Hall, Oxford Street, Westminster, London The Oxford Music Hall on the north side of Oxford Street between A. E. Mills (the Hatter) and Goldstein's Chemical Diamonds was demolished in 1926. It was opened in 1861 by Charles Morton and converted into a theatre in 1917.