Victorians At Work

A selection of images showing Victorian people at work and the clothes that they wore.

Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Royal Cafe, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, Merseyside The interior of the dining room with the staff. All the staff have posed for the camera. It is possible to identify the manager and manageress, waitresses and kitchen staff. The young boy in the uniform looks like a messenger boy.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Two servants, Byfield, Northamptonshire Before the liberating 1960s a career for many women meant making the choice between secretarial work, healthcare or service. These two maids were photographed in a house in Byfield, Northamptonshire, sometime between 1896 and 1920.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Fruit seller at Castle Green, Kenilworth, Warwickshire A view of Mrs Sarah Lee selling fruit from a table on the green. The type of bonnet she is wearing would generally have been worn by an older working class woman or a woman from a rural area.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company Limited, Alma Street, Coventry, West Midlands The interior of the carriage tyre shop showing employees at work. All the workers are dressed in their everyday clothes and wearing aprons to protect them. These jobs were skilled, indoor jobs rather than manual labour and this is reflected in the clothing.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Post lady, Kerrier, Cornwall This woman, working as a post lady, is emptying a post box at an unidentified location in Kerrier, Cornwall. She is wearing a dress and coat with a uniform cap. Although it was relatively unusual for women to hold positions such as this at the time, it was not unknown. Many women were starting to campaign for equality through movements such as the suffragettes. Women over 21 achieved the vote in 1928, 27 years after this picture was taken.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Workers making hay, Cornwall A general view of people making hay in Kerrier or Penwith districts. The men and boys are wearing typical workmen's clothing that changed very little throughout the Victorian period and right up to World War One.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Fisher Row, Oxford, Oxfordshire Osier peeling taking place in April alongside the river. The willow wands were made into a range of objects, such as eel traps shown in the picture next to a foreman. The working people are all wearing hats. The foreman in charge is wearing a jacket and a bowler hat as a sign of his higher status.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Tootal, Broadhurst & Lee Warehouse, Oxford Road, Manchester These people are workers in Tootal, Broadhurst & Lee's pattern shop. They are making templates from drawings on paper to be used for making clothes. At this time men were often employed as machine operators leaving women to perform more mundane tasks. All the workers are smartly dressed and wearing aprons to protect their clothes. These jobs were skilled, indoor jobs rather than manual labour and this is reflected in the clothing.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR The Field Offices, Breams Buildings, City of London This is the compositors' room in the office of "The Field" magazine in 1891. This is where the typesetters worked. Notice the young apprentice at work. All the workers are smartly dressed and wearing aprons to protect their clothes. These jobs were skilled, indoor jobs rather than manual labour and this is reflected in the clothing.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Frank Cooper's Works, Victoria Buildings, Park End Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire This is the interior of Frank Cooper's marmalade factory. This was his new factory where the company continued production and sales of marmalade after 1900. The photograph shows women and girls shredding fruit. They are wearing aprons over their everyday clothes. Some of them are also wearing removeable sleeves to protect their clothes. Coopers marmalade was previously sold from Frank Cooper's High Street shop and made at the back of the shop. The marmalade recipe was based upon his wife Sarah's recipe.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Early Blanket Factory, Witney, Oxfordshire Women machinists sewing and folding blankets at the Witney Blanket Factory, in the 19th century. The women are wearing aprons over their everyday clothes. Most of them are wearing smart looking hats. At this time everybody wore hats out of doors. It is possible that these ladies would not normally have worn their hats while working but have put them on to have their photograph taken.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Packing fish, Scarborough, North Yorkshire A group of middle class people watch from the harbour wall as fish are gutted and packed into barrels. This work seems to be performed exclusively by women although the supervisor is a man. Herring were gutted and packed by teams of migrant workers, mostly Scottish fisher girls. The tourists are wearing very different clothes from the workers. The workers are wearing clogs on their feet. Clogs were hardwearing and good protection from water and mud. This photograph was taken at the old pier, Scarborough
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Fishermen on the Shore at Deal, Kent At some time before the First World War these three unknown fishermen were photographed on the shore, in Deal, Kent. They are wearing Sou'wester type waterproofs, which differ little from ones worn until recently.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Pembroke College, Oxford, Oxfordshire A group of domestic servants posing outside one of the college buildings. The housekeeper is wearing a dark coloured dress. The two young maids are wearing a unifrom dress with a collar plus a cap and apron. The manservant is wearing a suit and the boy a uniform. These clothes would have been typical everyday wear for servants in most houses. Servants working for the most wealthy people may have also had special uniforms for grand occasions.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Tower Bridge Hotel, Tower Bridge Road, Southwark, London The busy kitchen at the Tower Bridge Hotel in Southwark. A chef stands at the cast-iron range while his assistants cut bread and peel potatoes. The women are wearing clothes similar to those worn by domestic servants at the time.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR King Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire These are the foundrymen of James Hews the Ironmongers. They are standing in the yard of their work premises with various iron pipes in the background and some of the tools of their trade. The men are wearing different clothes and hats that give clues to their jobs and status. The boss, office workers or possibly shop assistants are wearing a jacket, collar and tie. The workers and apprentices have flat caps and leather aprons. The men wearing bowler hats would have been overmen (foremen).
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR C J Kino, 164 Fenchurch Street, City of London The demolition team pose for the camera during the demolition of the shopfront of Charles Julius Kino, tailor. The reason for this presumed remodelling is not known. This sort of work was done by hand and needed large teams of labourers. The workers are all wearing hats. Some of the men are wearing bowler hats as a sign of their higher status. They would have been overmen or foremen, in charge of a small gang of men.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Workers at Charwelton, Northamptonshire The workers at the ironstone quarry near the village have a large steam engine for power and a small makeshift hut for shelter. The men and boys are wearing typical workmen's clothing that changed very little throughout the Victorian period and right up to World War One.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Barges at Brigg, North Lincolnshire The Ancholme River was first canalised in 1635, connecting several small waterways via Brigg to the Humber at South Ferriby. The Ancholme Navigation was very busy from 1767 onwards. Agricultural products and coal were the main cargoes carried on this route. The men and boys are wearing typical workmen's clothing that changed very little throughout the Victorian period and right up to World War One.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Charwelton Station, Northamptonshire Passengers, station staff and construction workers are pictured here on Charwelton Station in 1900. The station master and porter can be identified by their uniforms. A group of labourers are lined up with their foreman on the platform behind. The passengers are all well dressed. The station had only been open a year when it was photographed. The station was closed in 1963.