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I read Maud Pember Reeves' book "Round About A Pound A Week" many years ago. The people to be admired the most in this book were the poor and overworked housewives who performed little more than miracles to feed and clothe their large families. It enraged me to think that at a time when Britain was the richest country in the world with the largest empire that had ever existed, many of her people lived in bad housing and were forced to eat inadequate food. These rich and charitable ladies, although meaning well, were absolutely clueless about the reasons why families were compelled to live as they did.
I think Maud Pember Reeves and the other women who researched this book did actually understand why these people lived the way they did. They weren’t Victorian do-gooders, but genuine activists for social change. The book contains a lot more information on work and housing conditions. The Fabian Society was instrumental in the formation of the Labour Party and its subsequent welfare reforms.
GREAT program! Here in the US South in the early 1900s many people existed on very limited diets and many suffered real nutritional deficiencies, such as pellagra. I will say this, though, for my farming ancestors: however poor they were, at LEAST they had a certain amount of milk, buttermilk, and butter available for the children; as well as turnip, mustard, or collard greens; blackeyed or purple hull peas with some type of pork for flavor, and eggs when the chickens were laying. (Chicken itself was rather a luxury food, reserved for times when a chicken grew too old to lay and was then stewed with dumplings, or when the preacher was coming to visit.) Fish and game (including American opossums, squirrels, rabbits, etc.) helped vary the diet. Some farmers also made their own syrup, often "sorghum syrup" or "black strap molasses." They commonly ate cornbread or fried corn fritters, but the comfortable farmer also had wheat bread or wheat biscuits on the table. A biscuit or cornbread spread with the molasses or with bacon grease was a common lunch item, especially for children. All of these were coarse foods looked down upon by the elite, but some were actually surprisingly nutritious.
My mama's daddy was born in 1911. I've heard him say, more than once, that if it wasn't for collard greens there were years they'd have starved to death..
Speaking about Lambeth is instantly taking me back to my Aussie '60's childhood with my very British Grandmother teaching me a song called the 'Lambeth Walk'. I can still hear her singing it 55 years later.
My granny had 15 children, 3 died young in infancy. She was married at 15. Her husbent died after the last child was concived. She was left to bring them up with only her mother to help. These were barefoot days winter and summer. The church did nothing to help, they only ever encouraged women to have more children. Not how to feed or cloth them. My father his brothers and sisters knew poverty..Most knew poverty up until the eighties and Nineties in Ireland. 🇮🇪
The church did plenty to help. There were many church based charities working amongst the poor in Ireland as well as other countries including SVP. Widows were given particular help though granted it it was never enough. I know this since I am a historian and have studied charities in this period. To say the church did nothing to help is untrue. Perhaps some people were too proud to take the help offered. I agree it was not enough but it was still offered.
I am 63 and come from a large family. I still like a slice of bread with bacon grease and a little salt. The way you present the videos is great. And with that beautiful lively voice of the presenter it almost becomes real. Thank you.
This is such a wonderfully educational Channel, without being stuffy or boring. You manage to bring the history of working people to life. Very many thanks! 🥰
My 1920 born father used to enjoy bread and dripping, and couldn't understand how I didn't. People user to consume more fat because it was cheap. The reason people didn't put on weight is that they really didn't have much to eat and worked off what they did.
In his last years my grandfather whom was Irish by birth lived with as he straight up refused to go to a old age home. He taught me alot about old school cooking with limited ingredients as that was his job in some places as a indentured servant by any other name... still, a good recipe is a good recipe.
My dad gree up in the 30's and there were 12 people in the family. They were very poor farm folks. He lucky if he got meat on a good day. The only good thing that came from this is that he can make a great meal out of anything!!
The families mentioned in this video had meat in their diets, but they were working. It seems it was one of the first things to disappear from the household budget in times of financial hardship along with 'relishes.' It's interesting how important bread was as a staple. Thank you for your comment.
They eat better then I do! I live in Lambeth on the poverty line, because im a nurse and were payed penuts. This is my third day without food so i can feed the children. I wonder if there will be another documentary about our working class Elizabethan age in 100 years. I wonder if history continues in our broken system.
@Hello-Its_Me-X Are you merely speaking as though you are living in Edwardian times - a little game? Because if you ARE are speaking of modern times you are speaking untruthfully. I was a nurse and now in my 85th year. Qualified nurses now earn a very good wage and an excellent pension. You most certainly are NOT paid peanuts. Stop pretending! Your minimum wage - even unqualified - if working 36 hours a week, is £315 gross. If you have no ' other half ' you receive benefits and free school meals for your children. Universal Credit ( reducing with size of income ) is payable up to more than £40,000 per annum ( gross ), a single parent gets a 25% reduction in Council Tax plus reduction based on income and such a reduction would also warrant a rent reduction; and you'd get Winter Fuel payment and quite likely Warm Home discount on energy. AND you get London Weighting.
Donald Hoult you don't know what you're talking about! How dare you accuse the original responder of lying, when your concept of living on a single wage in 21st century London is so out of touch. A nurses wage is NOT enough to pay the exorbitant rents, energy bills, and general living costs in London today. Free school meals are now only available to those whose household income is £12.5k or below. At 85 you lived in a golden era of social housing, a well funded NHS and pre-marketisation of education. Notwithstanding rationing, and the hardships of war, the years of your early adulthood were a boom time for Britain. Even mortgages only took into consideration the male wage, meaning that many mothers could choose to stay in the home. Your reasoning is out dated and flawed. I'm not saying that many didn't have it hard, I know they did, but please don't rant/accuse somebody without first apprising yourself of the facts.
Finley I can check off the last thing on my to do list for the weekend. I love your video's and the old pictures you show. Please keep up the great work!!
One thing that we are not used to in the United States is the smaller flats or apartments that we see in Europe. Not to mention your extremely small kitchen and dining areas with what we consider a hotel-size refrigerator. It is entirely a different way of life in Americans have to adjust to if visiting Europe. We had foreign exchange students from Germany and Japan and they all were amazed at the size of our houses and our refrigerators and everything else which was extra large in comparison.
I grew up in the sixties and i did go to bed hungry many times. My father worked like a dog, my mother ... not. Peoples would have looked down on married working women. We had weeks where we survived by my little brothers's baby mush with water, because we couldn't afford milk.
Thanks for doing an Edwardian post. I couldn't live on that food I don't think. Typical of do gooders that they give suggestions for optimum foods and drinks not taking into account the cost of them for a regular family budget. I really can't imagine eating so much bread and potatoes so much especially because they weren't being mashed to give some variety. You get used to anything if that is all you know.
You're welcome. It seems they at least were able to vary the bread, which was the staple, with butter, margarine or condensed milk. Sweet bread. Thank you for your comment.
In that book was the sentence: "First you condemn a family to live on twenty shillings a week and then you have the impertinence to walk into their homes and tell them how to spend it". Just about sums up everything don't you think?
Don't know why they don't just make their own bread. I just make bread with salt, baking powder and water. Then I make them into flatbreads to be fried on stove. Its fresher bread then can be had any eny bakery and for less then 1shillings for a few.
@@reverendbluejeans1748 They could not cook the bread at home, they had no ovens, and used the fire to cook things on, as the video stated they usually only had one saucepan to do all their cooking on. They also probably had no access to flour to make bread. They needed the stodge in the bread to fill them up.
I like Cream of Wheat which I think is a porridge, (forgive my ignorance) I make it with milk, a bit of real butter and a touch of brown sugar. Those ingredients are a MUST. I could not imagine making it in a pot that had fish made in it. 😭 I feel gloriously spoiled when I watch these videos. 💕 But also I feel much sympathy for the always-hungry, exhausted and existing-without-hope, people of the past.
my dad was a hard workering man but when they were really young and down on their luck the only ones who helped them out was the catholic church. the other churches didn't care if they starved.
Imagine all the deficiency diseases that must have been embedded in society: thyroid issues, rickets scurvy to name a few because of the restricted diet and the hard labour, no wonder the lifespan was so short. Another insightful video thank you
My late grandma grew up in this period, though not in Britain. She was privileged, being one of 2 daughters born 12 years apart and her father having a good position. Many families in this era had large families which added to the expense of feeding all the young ones. Myself, I'm not keen on potatoes so don't know how I would have fared!
Bread might be sold by weight and it might have to be accurately weighed, but the use of inedible fillers to bulk out the wheat flour in poor areas was rife! The loaf will be heavier and cost less to make and buy, but who knows what you're actually eating....
Laws were brought in to prevent the adulteration of foods in the Victorian era. In the 1870s we saw the second, and finally effective, Health Act which forced councils to provide clean drinking water, sanitation and licensing/inspections of food producers.
I am humbled by hearing what poverty and hunger was suffered by so many in the United Kingdom during these decades. The only thing Americans can liken to it would be the Great Depression. My parents were born during the Depression, but they didn’t know hunger on this scale. They lived in the countryside and had gardens, pork and chicken. They didn’t have extravagant meals, but healthy basic meals. What an education your videos are. Thank you for sharing. 😊
Thank you so much for this information and for the nice narration which makes it more enjoyable and entertaining to watch. Although it is heart-wrenching to understand what these people endure. What was deemed acceptable is unbelievably unacceptable. It makes you thankful for what you have and makes you worry about what you have to look forward to in the years to come. In those times they were prepared to live in that way we are relying upon electricity and upon other means of heating and so on. I can't imagine having to share the same stairwell that leads right into your living quarters which is your living room bedroom kitchen and everything else with some neighbor walking in and out of your residence all crammed into one damp dank place without indoor plumbing. Unbelievable. Now I can only imagine the upheaval and the wave in which people would behave if all of our modern conveniences suddenly shut off. Oh, what chaos would ensue!😱☠A fan from the United States of America.
It is very hard to imagine oneself living in such conditions, though I know they had no idea about the comforts we enjoy today, it doesn't change the fact that it was a hard life of constant work and worry. Thank you for your comment and it's great to know you enjoy the content.
Love the videos, using them as dinner company. To think we as a spicies ever survived til today if listening solely to this video, is beyond my comprehension! 😆
My Great Grandfather was a Journeyman Baker in London’s East End up until his death in 1935 by Suicide. He started as a “Baker’s Man” at the age of 14 around 1890.
Fascinating! I think food availability and costs depend on climate and geography. Fruits, vegetables, and seafood are food for the poor in warm, coastal climates like Vietnam.
I got this book out of the library as a teenager, and have reread it many times in the years since. I credit it with starting my lifelong socialism. It is so readable, funny in places and yet does not romanticise the poor in the way some did in this era. I so wish they had named the people in it (I realise why they could not at the time, of course) because with the release of the 1921 census this year it would have been possible to trace what happened to them. Sadly many of the young men described would have gone on the fight in the First World War. I wonder if the Fabian Society still has records?
It certainly is fascinating and, as you say, deals with some difficult issues with a touch of humour in places. I don't know if the Fabian Society hold any additional records of the group's research. It would be interesting. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
How sickening and sad that such basics like meat and other foods are considered luxuries no society should deem FOOD a privilege or luxury no people should be so poor
Yaa....no matter how empty my food is at home I think " at least I can eat more then bread' ...eating spaghetti, eggs and potatoes and peanut butter sandwiches ...peanut butter EVERYTHING in this house lol...but that seems " bad enough " but I could only imagine living like people back in the day:(
@ A Meemur. NOT the poor of those times. I eat quite well on a budget ( averaged out ) of never more than £1 to £1.50 a day. If, like me, you are single then you can do the same.
You try being married and not having 20 children when you have no access to birth control...and your husband still wants sex as one of the few pleasures in life.
When I lived in lower Clapton many moons ago, we would go swimming in hackney marshes when the weather was good. It was full of fish - carp mostly, and a few notorious pike! I often wondered if the working poor back then might have fished the ponds - if not considered poaching, or if the fish in the rivers was in enough quantity and of quality. Anyone know? I also wonder if it was even remotely possible to keep a chicken - i wonder if anyone ever tried to incubate an egg, or if the simple fact chickens need tending to and feeding/keeping adequately made it impossible. I wonder if they ever attempted to grow carrots or onions in what limited space/time/ability they had. I know the idea of "self sustenance" is such a luxury, given the time and expense involved, but it would be fabulous to have a video that might shed some light on whether or not victorian and edwardian poor folk were able to grow certain foods from seed/leftovers like potato peels etc. I guess even nutrient rich soil was relatively scarce to come by, let alone having any yard space (if at all) to create a tiny plot.
Foe some reason my brain chose watching videos like this as one of my favorite hobbies ...I'm just like " bro let's watch a video of how victorian people brushed their teeth" ....investing to know and really humbles you into being thankful for hoe easy we got it now. Watching hours and hours of videos on old plumbing or pre plumbing makes me thank the gods for my toilet and toilet paper ect.
How are you doing actually victorian era was really misery and poverty Edwardian era is far better as iread right now thank you for your wonderful cultural documentary as always iam gathering main points about topics you mentioned briefly here it’s Edwardian era is referred to time between 1900 and 1910 the advent of king Edward v11 brought many significant changes in live masses such as art fashion or education everything victorian era was formal and conservative the Edwardian era seemed to be just opposite bold fresh ideologies became unique characteristics of this era Edwardian food was both rich and yummy for taste buds some often Edwardian food was rich to extent indigestion carbohydrates intake child was higher than of fresh fruit and healthy eating habits was incorporated in year 1920
I'm glad you found this documentary interesting. There was much technological advancement in the Edwardian era, though the lives of the working classes and poor didn't change all that much from the decade before. Thank you for your comment.
I need help knowing what value of a shilling, a pence or even a pound in those days would mean in today’s money. Not understanding the values of how much things cost in relation to income.
They have so many children to help with the work and cuz kids die so easy but ...I feel like having 2 kids vs 6....you will raise 2 healthier kids vs 6 staving kids no??? Like seems like they would realize.....best as possible to have less kids
Actually, this whole video forgets the Charles Booth surveys in London and Seebohm Rowntree's study of York in 1901 were the influence for Pember-Reves. Rowntree's research into poverty established the minimum 21/- threshold: for those falling below this were deemed to be in "absolute" poverty. Clearly, such a video has little understanding of the task undertaken by Booth or Rowntree and their corresponding researcher to ascertain the data. Clearly, this video does not understand the subtle aspects of British Social Policy in the late nineteen and early twentieth centuries.
I think it does. However, the reality of life is that political policy does little to change the lives of the impoverished. Booth and Rowntree's research was invaluable, welfare policies were introduced, poverty persisted. It is only with electoral reform in the 20s that we begin to see government policy make genuine change to the working classes, as those in the Houses must now try to appeal to a new kind of voter.
I make porridge with water and a little salt,once cooked I put into a bowl with some cold milk pored over it,it's cheaper than making it with milk and sugar,but am a Scot🤷
My grandmother grew up in a small town in the American Midwest during the Great Depression. She was the third of nine siblings. Growing up, she and her siblings looked quite ragged, but they always had plenty to eat because their father owned the town grocery store.
My wife always made sure that we either had bread, pasta, rice or Potatoes to help stretch out a meal. It filled the belly and we slept well at night. Oats were always a good, cheap belly filler. Dried beans and peas were good too
I work a full time job at the same place, for 15 plus years now. Now more than ever I have to be careful what I buy. Everything has continued getting higher. I used to fill up my car every time. Now I don't because I have other obligations. So, I either purchase something cheaper or do with out it. Stores like the 99 cent and Dollar Tree your money goes farther, but many of their items are not a dollar anymore. But, I thank the good Lord. I have a roof over my head, a car to get me from A to B. Fresh water to drink and clothes on my back. I don't wanna gripe about what I don't have, but grateful for what I do have.
I'm amazed anyone survived and didn't slowly starve. It's not mentioned that the bread was corrupted with nonfood materials to increase the weight. Wonder what the average birth weight was of infants
@ Mac Raghnaill Which equates to a little over £492 a month, which is - up north where it is said rents are low - some £60 to £200 a month common rent demand. So, starvation wages. Yes?
I came in just after this time. It was my father's time and he started to get Ricketts although he came from a deprived middle class family. I heard stories of the Edwardian period like the father was given a boiled egg. He would cut off the top and bottom for two of his children and eat the rest. My young life was llived through WWII and food was scarce and rationed. My mother said they went very hungry in the first world war.
I'm in the States and I assume the canned milk mentioned is what we call sweetened, condensed milk? When I was growing up we had very little to eat and my mother was a terrible cook 🤣, I became an excellent cook but I never learned to eat enough.
Nothing better than poridge cooked with salt and a little cream from the top of the milk bottle I'm a Scott and as a bairn often ate poridge for breakfast
Unfortunately the writer failed to cover the issue of adulterated foods, and spoiled or disease contaminated foods. The poor had to be aware of bread that had been adulterated with chalk or other things to make the white flour go further and the profit increased. Then there was the issue of spoilt milk and meat being adulterated with things to "improve" the taste or shelf life. Milk was also an issue as rheumatic fever is spread in milk from diseased cows.
these videos might be much improved by contextualizing the sums of money mentioned. how much does six shillings buy in the edwardian period? the victorian?
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I can live on a pound a week. That's until the 20p Lidl essentials paster disappeared.
I read Maud Pember Reeves' book "Round About A Pound A Week" many years ago. The people to be admired the most in this book were the poor and overworked housewives who performed little more than miracles to feed and clothe their large families. It enraged me to think that at a time when Britain was the richest country in the world with the largest empire that had ever existed, many of her people lived in bad housing and were forced to eat inadequate food. These rich and charitable ladies, although meaning well, were absolutely clueless about the reasons why families were compelled to live as they did.
I think Maud Pember Reeves and the other women who researched this book did actually understand why these people lived the way they did. They weren’t Victorian do-gooders, but genuine activists for social change. The book contains a lot more information on work and housing conditions. The Fabian Society was instrumental in the formation of the Labour Party and its subsequent welfare reforms.
@@lunarubyjon594 Unfortunately the Fabian Society is not now what it was then.
GREAT program! Here in the US South in the early 1900s many people existed on very limited diets and many suffered real nutritional deficiencies, such as pellagra. I will say this, though, for my farming ancestors: however poor they were, at LEAST they had a certain amount of milk, buttermilk, and butter available for the children; as well as turnip, mustard, or collard greens; blackeyed or purple hull peas with some type of pork for flavor, and eggs when the chickens were laying. (Chicken itself was rather a luxury food, reserved for times when a chicken grew too old to lay and was then stewed with dumplings, or when the preacher was coming to visit.) Fish and game (including American opossums, squirrels, rabbits, etc.) helped vary the diet. Some farmers also made their own syrup, often "sorghum syrup" or "black strap molasses." They commonly ate cornbread or fried corn fritters, but the comfortable farmer also had wheat bread or wheat biscuits on the table. A biscuit or cornbread spread with the molasses or with bacon grease was a common lunch item, especially for children. All of these were coarse foods looked down upon by the elite, but some were actually surprisingly nutritious.
My mama's daddy was born in 1911. I've heard him say, more than once, that if it wasn't for collard greens there were years they'd have starved to death..
We're from south Georgia btw
Brilliant. Thanks for the information.
Yes 🙌🏾 take me back!! We ate GOOD
Now modern science says collards and other dark leafy greens have calcium. The pot liquor was drank as well.
Speaking about Lambeth is instantly taking me back to my Aussie '60's childhood with my very British Grandmother teaching me a song called the 'Lambeth Walk'. I can still hear her singing it 55 years later.
My granny had 15 children, 3 died young in infancy. She was married at 15. Her husbent died after the last child was concived. She was left to bring them up with only her mother to help. These were barefoot days winter and summer. The church did nothing to help, they only ever encouraged women to have more children. Not how to feed or cloth them. My father his brothers and sisters knew poverty..Most knew poverty up until the eighties and Nineties in Ireland. 🇮🇪
Very similar in quebec/Canada untill the silent revolution where church was kicked out of gouverment/hospitals and schools...
The church did plenty to help. There were many church based charities working amongst the poor in Ireland as well as other countries including SVP. Widows were given particular help though granted it it was never enough. I know this since I am a historian and have studied charities in this period. To say the church did nothing to help is untrue. Perhaps some people were too proud to take the help offered. I agree it was not enough but it was still offered.
@samanthaturner4589 Typical anti christian hate speech reply
I am 63 and come from a large family. I still like a slice of bread with bacon grease and a little salt.
The way you present the videos is great. And with that beautiful lively voice of the presenter it almost becomes real. Thank you.
I’m glad you enjoyed the presentation and you think it was a fitting atmosphere for the content. Thank you for your comment!
Bread and dripping made from the fat off a joint roast would tide you over till your next meal when I was a kid.
The voice is very clearly AI generated
@@JS-wp4gsIts not, Its a real guys voice. He's a voice actor
My mum used to like a bit of bread and dripping, there was always a bowl in the fridge
The daily grind of searching for food for oneself is horrific enough feeding a family would be a living nightmare
A husband finding himself out of work or a widow struggling with so many children must have been desperate times.
@@FactFeast desperate is probably putting it lightly
This is such a wonderfully educational Channel, without being stuffy or boring. You manage to bring the history of working people to life. Very many thanks! 🥰
It's great you think so, thank you! The channel aims to bring life to the past.
@@FactFeast You are a blessing and achieve your aims completely. I have recommended your channel on FB and will continue to do so. 😉
My 1920 born father used to enjoy bread and dripping, and couldn't understand how I didn't. People user to consume more fat because it was cheap. The reason people didn't put on weight is that they really didn't have much to eat and worked off what they did.
As you say, work was generally labour intensive. Waking to get to a job and physically demanding when working. Thank you for your comment.
In his last years my grandfather whom was Irish by birth lived with as he straight up refused to go to a old age home.
He taught me alot about old school cooking with limited ingredients as that was his job in some places as a indentured servant by any other name... still, a good recipe is a good recipe.
My mum was born 1939, and there was always a bowl of dripping in the fridge. I was grossed out at the mere thought and never tried it
My dad gree up in the 30's and there were 12 people in the family. They were very poor farm folks. He lucky if he got meat on a good day. The only good thing that came from this is that he can make a great meal out of anything!!
The families mentioned in this video had meat in their diets, but they were working. It seems it was one of the first things to disappear from the household budget in times of financial hardship along with 'relishes.' It's interesting how important bread was as a staple. Thank you for your comment.
They eat better then I do! I live in Lambeth on the poverty line, because im a nurse and were payed penuts. This is my third day without food so i can feed the children. I wonder if there will be another documentary about our working class Elizabethan age in 100 years. I wonder if history continues in our broken system.
@Hello-Its_Me-X Are you merely speaking as though you are living in Edwardian times - a little game? Because if you ARE are speaking of modern times you are speaking untruthfully. I was a nurse and now in my 85th year. Qualified nurses now earn a very good wage and an excellent pension. You most certainly are NOT paid peanuts. Stop pretending!
Your minimum wage - even unqualified - if working 36 hours a week, is £315 gross. If you have no ' other half ' you receive benefits and free school meals for your children. Universal Credit ( reducing with size of income ) is payable up to more than £40,000 per annum ( gross ), a single parent gets a 25% reduction in Council Tax plus reduction based on income and such a reduction would also warrant a rent reduction; and you'd get Winter Fuel payment and quite likely Warm Home discount on energy.
AND you get London Weighting.
Donald Hoult you don't know what you're talking about! How dare you accuse the original responder of lying, when your concept of living on a single wage in 21st century London is so out of touch.
A nurses wage is NOT enough to pay the exorbitant rents, energy bills, and general living costs in London today. Free school meals are now only available to those whose household income is £12.5k or below. At 85 you lived in a golden era of social housing, a well funded NHS and pre-marketisation of education. Notwithstanding rationing, and the hardships of war, the years of your early adulthood were a boom time for Britain. Even mortgages only took into consideration the male wage, meaning that many mothers could choose to stay in the home.
Your reasoning is out dated and flawed.
I'm not saying that many didn't have it hard, I know they did, but please don't rant/accuse somebody without first apprising yourself of the facts.
@@donaldhoult7713 well said
@@danismell82 I am sorry but my brother is a nurse and they are well paid.
It would be interesting as well to compare people's diets who lived in the country vs. city. Good show.
Country people often had access to wild rabbits.
Finley I can check off the last thing on my to do list for the weekend. I love your video's and the old pictures you show. Please keep up the great work!!
Thank you for enjoying the presentation! Your comment is much appreciated.
One thing that we are not used to in the United States is the smaller flats or apartments that we see in Europe. Not to mention your extremely small kitchen and dining areas with what we consider a hotel-size refrigerator. It is entirely a different way of life in Americans have to adjust to if visiting Europe. We had foreign exchange students from Germany and Japan and they all were amazed at the size of our houses and our refrigerators and everything else which was extra large in comparison.
I've seen on U-tube American basements that are bigger then my apartment
Loved this video! It’s amazing any of us are here alive right now really. This video did make me hungry for some toast. 🤣🍞
There was a lot of bread on the table in those days! Thank you for your comment. It's much appreciated.
Just discovered your channel and really loving it
That's fantastic! Welcome to the channel and I hope you enjoy looking through the content here for you. Lots more to come.
@@FactFeast currently binge watching… looking forward to more😊
Times never really change between the rich and the poor. 100s even a thousand years later nothing has change really
I grew up in the sixties and i did go to bed hungry many times.
My father worked like a dog, my mother ... not.
Peoples would have looked down on married working women.
We had weeks where we survived by my little brothers's baby mush with
water, because we couldn't afford milk.
Thanks for doing an Edwardian post. I couldn't live on that food I don't think. Typical of do gooders that they give suggestions for optimum foods and drinks not taking into account the cost of them for a regular family budget. I really can't imagine eating so much bread and potatoes so much especially because they weren't being mashed to give some variety. You get used to anything if that is all you know.
You're welcome. It seems they at least were able to vary the bread, which was the staple, with butter, margarine or condensed milk. Sweet bread. Thank you for your comment.
In that book was the sentence: "First you condemn a family to live on twenty shillings a week and then you have the impertinence to walk into their homes and tell them how to spend it". Just about sums up everything don't you think?
Don't know why they don't just make their own bread. I just make bread with salt, baking powder and water. Then I make them into flatbreads to be fried on stove. Its fresher bread then can be had any eny bakery and for less then 1shillings for a few.
@@reverendbluejeans1748 They could not cook the bread at home, they had no ovens, and used the fire to cook things on, as the video stated they usually only had one saucepan to do all their cooking on. They also probably had no access to flour to make bread. They needed the stodge in the bread to fill them up.
Easily one of the best channels
I’m glad you enjoy the content! Thank you.
Sunday dinner the only time vitamins are introduced. Food today is extremely better even for the most poor
I like Cream of Wheat which I think is a porridge, (forgive my ignorance) I make it with milk, a bit of real butter and a touch of brown sugar. Those ingredients are a MUST. I could not imagine making it in a pot that had fish made in it. 😭 I feel gloriously spoiled when I watch these videos. 💕 But also I feel much sympathy for the always-hungry, exhausted and existing-without-hope, people of the past.
It looks like a type of porridge. A rich taste with butter and sugar I imagine.
That sounds pretty tasty, and filling
Really really enjoying your channel! Thank you from North Yorkshire 😁👌🇬🇧
That’s fantastic! I’m glad you enjoy the social history content here. Thank you for your comment and support.
my dad was a hard workering man but when they were really young and down on their luck the only ones who helped them out was the catholic church. the other churches didn't care if they starved.
Then again that RC church always was by far the very wealthiest most powerful organisation in the world, and it still is.
Imagine all the deficiency diseases that must have been embedded in society: thyroid issues, rickets scurvy to name a few because of the restricted diet and the hard labour, no wonder the lifespan was so short.
Another insightful video thank you
Indeed, I thought the same. That plus contagious diseases, affecting both children and adults.
Auto immune illnesses that pass on to younger generations.
My late grandma grew up in this period, though not in Britain. She was privileged, being one of 2 daughters born 12 years apart and her father having a good position. Many families in this era had large families which added to the expense of feeding all the young ones. Myself, I'm not keen on potatoes so don't know how I would have fared!
Bread might be sold by weight and it might have to be accurately weighed, but the use of inedible fillers to bulk out the wheat flour in poor areas was rife! The loaf will be heavier and cost less to make and buy, but who knows what you're actually eating....
Laws were brought in to prevent the adulteration of foods in the Victorian era. In the 1870s we saw the second, and finally effective, Health Act which forced councils to provide clean drinking water, sanitation and licensing/inspections of food producers.
Yet again great story's I love the way you tell them thank you so much
You are very welcome! Thank you for your support.
I just discovered your channel yesterday. I am loving your videos. Thank you very much.
Your voice makes the stories awesome . Cheers!
Great! It's so nice that you enjoyed the narration. I really appreciate your comment.
@@FactFeast i could and do listen to you for hours.
@@FactFeast im from canada so your accent strikes and awesome chord
That's much appreciated! Perhaps I've mentioned them before, but there are playlisted for long watching/listening.
@@FactFeast oh yes. I am oll over those.
Great video, very informative and so well presented.
I'm glad you found this good to watch. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Amazing video as always!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the journey back in time to Edwardian London.
Quaker Oats has been around a long time. I have a canister of it in my cupboard. it's good stuff with sugar and maple syrup.
It is tasty, but bread seems to have been preferred. Money and time ruled the kitchen for these families.
Yes.
I have eaten only oatmeal at points and only bread at some points for a few days. I prefer bread 100%. Not sure what it is but its more filling.
Your content is always well researched and well presented. Thank you .
Peace , Be Free .
I appreciate that, very much!
I am humbled by hearing what poverty and hunger was suffered by so many in the United Kingdom during these decades. The only thing Americans can liken to it would be the Great Depression. My parents were born during the Depression, but they didn’t know hunger on this scale. They lived in the countryside and had gardens, pork and chicken. They didn’t have extravagant meals, but healthy basic meals. What an education your videos are. Thank you for sharing. 😊
I SO enjoy your channel!!
Thank you so much! I appreciate your support. I'm glad you like the history content.
Thank you so much for this information and for the nice narration which makes it more enjoyable and entertaining to watch. Although it is heart-wrenching to understand what these people endure. What was deemed acceptable is unbelievably unacceptable. It makes you thankful for what you have and makes you worry about what you have to look forward to in the years to come. In those times they were prepared to live in that way we are relying upon electricity and upon other means of heating and so on. I can't imagine having to share the same stairwell that leads right into your living quarters which is your living room bedroom kitchen and everything else with some neighbor walking in and out of your residence all crammed into one damp dank place without indoor plumbing. Unbelievable. Now I can only imagine the upheaval and the wave in which people would behave if all of our modern conveniences suddenly shut off. Oh, what chaos would ensue!😱☠A fan from the United States of America.
It is very hard to imagine oneself living in such conditions, though I know they had no idea about the comforts we enjoy today, it doesn't change the fact that it was a hard life of constant work and worry. Thank you for your comment and it's great to know you enjoy the content.
I grew up on dinners of meat and potatoes. I have to say, these meals don't sound all that bad!
But they were doing hard physical work 12-14 hours a day on meagre rations, they wouldn't be eating the size of meals we eat today.
Okay, but we now know better about nutrition. Try a vegetable with color.
You had potatoes ? 👍
but he said they barely had any meat
Excellent video. Love your channel ❤️
Thanks for such great support! I'm glad you enjoy the content.
Love your videos…..brilliant,thankyou👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks for watching! It's nice to know you find the history content here interesting.
Thank you. This was so interesting and such and eye opener. 🙏🏻
Nice to know you found this interesting and revealing. Thank you for your comment!
When you read I can just imagine them all your a great story teller
I'm glad you think the narration set the right atmosphere for the Edwardians. Thank you for your comment!
Love the videos, using them as dinner company. To think we as a spicies ever survived til today if listening solely to this video, is beyond my comprehension! 😆
Cheers! A great way to listen 😊
My Great Grandfather was a Journeyman Baker in London’s East End up until his death in 1935 by Suicide. He started as a “Baker’s Man” at the age of 14 around 1890.
That picture of the five laddies made me happy.
I used to heavily romanticised the Edwardian period (1901-1914) from watching reruns of Upstairs, Downstairs (1971-1975) when I was young.
Fascinating! I think food availability and costs depend on climate and geography. Fruits, vegetables, and seafood are food for the poor in warm, coastal climates like Vietnam.
This is post Victorian Britain 5 years before ww1 .Nothing much had changed for the poor. Britain was a class system where the majority were poor.
@@chrisholland7367 it still is.
I got this book out of the library as a teenager, and have reread it many times in the years since. I credit it with starting my lifelong socialism. It is so readable, funny in places and yet does not romanticise the poor in the way some did in this era. I so wish they had named the people in it (I realise why they could not at the time, of course) because with the release of the 1921 census this year it would have been possible to trace what happened to them. Sadly many of the young men described would have gone on the fight in the First World War. I wonder if the Fabian Society still has records?
It certainly is fascinating and, as you say, deals with some difficult issues with a touch of humour in places. I don't know if the Fabian Society hold any additional records of the group's research. It would be interesting. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
How sickening and sad that such basics like meat and other foods are considered luxuries no society should deem FOOD a privilege or luxury no people should be so poor
Yaa....no matter how empty my food is at home I think " at least I can eat more then bread' ...eating spaghetti, eggs and potatoes and peanut butter sandwiches ...peanut butter EVERYTHING in this house lol...but that seems " bad enough " but I could only imagine living like people back in the day:(
I wish i lived back then
Honestly
Sounds a lot like my home in the 60s. Both my parents were born in the 20s.
It's comforting to know that the Lambeth housekeeper got a joint on Sundays. That had to help after a long hard week 😉💨
Alas, some of these families eat better than me these days.
Atomic Shrimp and TheWolfePit have some good vids on budget recipes and meals. Good stuff from them
@ A Meemur. NOT the poor of those times. I eat quite well on a budget ( averaged out ) of never more than £1 to £1.50 a day. If, like me, you are single then you can do the same.
We’re broke and hungry…. I know, let’s have 20 children, that’ll help 😂
You try being married and not having 20 children when you have no access to birth control...and your husband still wants sex as one of the few pleasures in life.
There was no contraception to help them limit their family size.
Must of been so hard but they didn't eat sweets and junk food like we do, I wouldn't of survived I love good food
They had condensed milk and treacle, but they weren't a staple. Thank you for your comment.
Thank You For This Fantastic Video Stay Safe From Blue
Thanks, you too! I appreciate your comment.
Stay safe from Blue?
No wonder why ALLERGIES are a NEW PHENOMENON!!! Back then, the folks were never exposed to new and fancy foods of today!
Surprised that turnips are not mentioned
It's the same for the modern day poor
And here we are a hundred or so years later with poor people being dependent on food banks. What's changed?
The rich have got richer
When I lived in lower Clapton many moons ago, we would go swimming in hackney marshes when the weather was good. It was full of fish - carp mostly, and a few notorious pike! I often wondered if the working poor back then might have fished the ponds - if not considered poaching, or if the fish in the rivers was in enough quantity and of quality. Anyone know? I also wonder if it was even remotely possible to keep a chicken - i wonder if anyone ever tried to incubate an egg, or if the simple fact chickens need tending to and feeding/keeping adequately made it impossible. I wonder if they ever attempted to grow carrots or onions in what limited space/time/ability they had. I know the idea of "self sustenance" is such a luxury, given the time and expense involved, but it would be fabulous to have a video that might shed some light on whether or not victorian and edwardian poor folk were able to grow certain foods from seed/leftovers like potato peels etc. I guess even nutrient rich soil was relatively scarce to come by, let alone having any yard space (if at all) to create a tiny plot.
I need to make my husband watch this! Women made food their children loved instead of fighting with them.... hhmmm. 😂❤
Thanks for the upload. I'm not well so I appreciate the distraction.
If it helped a little, I’m glad. Get well soon!
really do not understand if one was so poor then why have so many children if you are starving. The man should have spilled his seed.
I don't know why YT wants me to see this so bad, but fine! You win! I'm watching it.
Thank you for choosing to watch. I hope it was interesting!
Foe some reason my brain chose watching videos like this as one of my favorite hobbies ...I'm just like " bro let's watch a video of how victorian people brushed their teeth" ....investing to know and really humbles you into being thankful for hoe easy we got it now. Watching hours and hours of videos on old plumbing or pre plumbing makes me thank the gods for my toilet and toilet paper ect.
Pity they didn't have access to the Wolffpit channel so they could have used the advice on how to eat on a tight budget.
Ghastly how they had no refrigeration. Must have shopped daily for meat and eaten all in one meal sitting.
How are you doing actually victorian era was really misery and poverty Edwardian era is far better as iread right now thank you for your wonderful cultural documentary as always iam gathering main points about topics you mentioned briefly here it’s Edwardian era is referred to time between 1900 and 1910 the advent of king Edward v11 brought many significant changes in live masses such as art fashion or education everything victorian era was formal and conservative the Edwardian era seemed to be just opposite bold fresh ideologies became unique characteristics of this era Edwardian food was both rich and yummy for taste buds some often Edwardian food was rich to extent indigestion carbohydrates intake child was higher than of fresh fruit and healthy eating habits was incorporated in year 1920
I'm glad you found this documentary interesting. There was much technological advancement in the Edwardian era, though the lives of the working classes and poor didn't change all that much from the decade before. Thank you for your comment.
I would not have children I could not look after
No mutton for you!
I need help knowing what value of a shilling, a pence or even a pound in those days would mean in today’s money. Not understanding the values of how much things cost in relation to income.
P. S. Loved the presentation.
Deep breath at last we have managed to return to edwardian society.
i can tell you porridge is no where near as bad las lambs fry
They have so many children to help with the work and cuz kids die so easy but ...I feel like having 2 kids vs 6....you will raise 2 healthier kids vs 6 staving kids no??? Like seems like they would realize.....best as possible to have less kids
There was no contraception back in those days, women were unable to 'choose' the amount of kids they had.
Actually, this whole video forgets the Charles Booth surveys in London and Seebohm Rowntree's study of York in 1901 were the influence for Pember-Reves. Rowntree's research into poverty established the minimum 21/- threshold: for those falling below this were deemed to be in "absolute" poverty. Clearly, such a video has little understanding of the task undertaken by Booth or Rowntree and their corresponding researcher to ascertain the data. Clearly, this video does not understand the subtle aspects of British Social Policy in the late nineteen and early twentieth centuries.
I think it does. However, the reality of life is that political policy does little to change the lives of the impoverished. Booth and Rowntree's research was invaluable, welfare policies were introduced, poverty persisted. It is only with electoral reform in the 20s that we begin to see government policy make genuine change to the working classes, as those in the Houses must now try to appeal to a new kind of voter.
I make porridge with water and a little salt,once cooked I put into a bowl with some cold milk pored over it,it's cheaper than making it with milk and sugar,but am a Scot🤷
My grandmother grew up in a small town in the American Midwest during the Great Depression. She was the third of nine siblings. Growing up, she and her siblings looked quite ragged, but they always had plenty to eat because their father owned the town grocery store.
My wife always made sure that we either had bread, pasta, rice or Potatoes to help stretch out a meal. It filled the belly and we slept well at night. Oats were always a good, cheap belly filler. Dried beans and peas were good too
I work a full time job at the same place, for 15 plus years now. Now more than ever I have to be careful what I buy. Everything has continued getting higher. I used to fill up my car every time. Now I don't because I have other obligations. So, I either purchase something cheaper or do with out it. Stores like the 99 cent and Dollar Tree your money goes farther, but many of their items are not a dollar anymore. But, I thank the good Lord. I have a roof over my head, a car to get me from A to B. Fresh water to drink and clothes on my back. I don't wanna gripe about what I don't have, but grateful for what I do have.
I wholeheartedly agree. These are hard times
Wow I’d have to have lived in the country and not in the city. Grow my own greens and have a cow for milk and butter. Bake my own bread.
Bread, meat, and potatoes after rent. Sounds pert near like the average person in today's world.
Fascinating horrifying and humbling as always , Thanks for the constant quality content
My pleasure! I'm glad you found the lives of these Edwardians interesting. Thank you for your comment.
@@FactFeast sad fact is the poorest now still have so many parallels , Keep up the good work Boss 👍
I'm amazed anyone survived and didn't slowly starve. It's not mentioned that the bread was corrupted with nonfood materials to increase the weight. Wonder what the average birth weight was of infants
That £1 per week would now be £123.19 per week
@ Mac Raghnaill Which equates to a little over £492 a month, which is - up north
where it is said rents are low - some £60 to £200 a month common rent demand.
So, starvation wages. Yes?
Sad to think nothing much has changed, the rich are still rich and the poor are still poor.
I came in just after this time. It was my father's time and he started to get Ricketts although he came from a deprived middle class family. I heard stories of the Edwardian period like the father was given a boiled egg. He would cut off the top and bottom for two of his children and eat the rest. My young life was llived through WWII and food was scarce and rationed. My mother said they went very hungry in the first world war.
Fact Feast…my faithful Sunday night friend 💖😌
Fantastic! Glad to be so. Thank you.
I'm in the States and I assume the canned milk mentioned is what we call sweetened, condensed milk?
When I was growing up we had very little to eat and my mother was a terrible cook 🤣, I became an excellent cook but I never learned to eat enough.
No it wasn’t condensed milk, more like Evaporated milk, which some still use to have in Tea.
Heartbreaking.
Nothing better than poridge cooked with salt and a little cream from the top of the milk bottle I'm a Scott and as a bairn often ate poridge for breakfast
Do what you can with what you have. It's sad these people had to live in this way but they did what they were excellent at, survival
The amount of hard labor these folks did would require more calories than they probably could get
Yes, most of these men would have been employed in manual labour of some description.
Love this channel, can't get enough. What an awful diet, I'd be in that class if I lived then and I think I'd feel famished all the time.
That's kind of you to say. Thank you very much for being a regular viewer!
I am having potatoes today. Soaked first then roasted in Olive Oil. Got fresh garlic cloves and meat free sausages and cabbage.
😮😮😮🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
This is keeping my spirits up that i won't die if I can't afford fruits and vegetables these next couple months.
Unfortunately the writer failed to cover the issue of adulterated foods, and spoiled or disease contaminated foods. The poor had to be aware of bread that had been adulterated with chalk or other things to make the white flour go further and the profit increased. Then there was the issue of spoilt milk and meat being adulterated with things to "improve" the taste or shelf life. Milk was also an issue as rheumatic fever is spread in milk from diseased cows.
Why is this commentator unable to pronounce such words as “pudding,” “porridge” and “sugar,” as well as many others?
no contraception obviously.
@ james wye. Condoms were quite expensive and possibly made of animal skin - in which case I'd have been more likely to eat rather than use it.
One of my favorite channels 🥰
Wow, thank you! I really appreciate your support.
these videos might be much improved by contextualizing the sums of money mentioned. how much does six shillings buy in the edwardian period? the victorian?