Homes Long Ago - Norfolk Museums Service

CROMER MUSEUM
Cromer Museum
Teachers’ Pack
Homes Long Ago
A Key Stage 1 Resource
CONTENTS
Page 2
Contents
1. Teachers’ Notes
Background information on the Victorian rooms and displays at Cromer Museum
2. Pre-visit activities
Activity ideas for classroom based work prior to a visit to the museum
3. Museum activities
Activity ideas and resources to use during your visit
4. Follow-up ideas
Some suggestions for activities to do back in the classroom, with accompanying
resources
5. Resource sheet: Memories of home life in the past
These quotations may provide a useful starting point for a discussion about how
homes have changed
TEACHERS’ NOTES
Page 3
THE VICTORIAN COTTAGE: The Kitchen
The kitchen is set out as it might have been at the turn of the century. The range
was the most important object in the room. It would not only heat the room but also
make hot water and, of course, was used for cooking. It would have to be lit
everyday (after it had been cleaned out from the night before) and it would take a
while before it was hot enough to provide water for washing or cooking the
breakfast. In a fisherman's cottage like this wet clothes would be draped round the
range throughout the autumn, winter and spring months and on wet summer days.
Note the size of the cooking pots, no doubt reflecting the size of meals a fisherman's
wife would have to prepare. It was not unknown for families of 8 or more children to
be brought up in two-up, two-down cottages like this one. Much of the food would
have been heated up on top of the range. Fisherfolk were not rich and relied heavily
on vegetable stews with a few bones and dumplings. A fisherman's wife would not
necessarily know when her husband would return from crabbing or other fishing
activities. If he had gone out before breakfast to lay down the crab pots she could
expect him home any time between 7 and 10 am. Likewise lunch could be anytime
between 12 and 4. Consequently most fishermen's wives cooked meals such as
stews and soups, which could be kept hot for hours. The range also provided heat
for irons (washing was done in the outhouse).
The kitchen illustrates
several important aspects of
a late Victorian working
class home. By this time
mass factory production had
put several non-essential
articles such as ornaments
within the buying power of
the working classes.
Pictures, a clock, even a
piano, indicate that this
family was not poor
compared with many. The
harmonium might have
been bought in a bountiful
year or from the profits of a
salvage job. Nevertheless
the furnishings remain relatively simple. Floor coverings, for example, were hand
made (rag rugs) or cheap matting. Partly this reflects the hard wear and tear such a
floor would receive. The fisherman and his sons would walk straight into this room
with all their dripping wet clothes and dirty boots. In early times it was not
uncommon to spread fresh sand on some floors. One fisherman, known as Dirty
George Kirby, who lived in this cottage round about this time, is known to have
TEACHERS’ NOTES
Page 4
spread a sail across the inside of the door to keep the drafts out. Some food
preparation was done directly in front of the range, with consequent spillages.
There was a small scullery in this cottage (now used as a geology store) where
some food preparation could take place. Note the lack of mass produced foodstuffs.
Flour and other basics were bought loose. Meat would have been bought on the day
it was to be eaten, as there was no refrigeration. If the cottage had no range or
oven, joints of meat were taken to the baker's. Cooking utensils were basic.
Gas lighting was a labour-saving development in late Victorian homes. It was
probably introduced here in the 1890s or early 1900s. It supplemented the candle,
rush lights and oil lamps previously used and certainly reduced the amount of time
spent cleaning lamps, trimming wicks and so on.
Victorian homes were not all hard work.
There is evidence here of leisure pursuits.
The ship model in the window and the
miniature crab pot were probably made
during the winter months. Books in the
corner hint at a fairly high level of literacy
and some spare reading time. (There was
a Fisherman's Reading Room in Cromer.)
The kitchen was the living room and thus
housed the piano, which would provide
entertainment in the evenings. However,
the small size of the house generally, and
the large sized families which tended to
inhabit such cottages, meant that many of
the menfolk would spend a considerable
amount of their leisure time outside. In the
winter they would sometimes go to the
local public house, which would act as a
club. In the summer, when they were not
busy net and crab pot mending,
overhauling boats and working generally,
they would sit outside and gossip. They
would gather everyday just to watch the
sea. Women had less leisure time. Whenever they were not working they would visit
neighbours and usually knit as they talked. Children often had to help around the
house or their fathers with jobs such as net mending. There is no sign in this room of
the types of leisure pursuits available to children today.
TEACHERS’ NOTES
Page 5
THE VICTORIAN COTTAGE: The Bedroom
The bedroom illustrates several important aspects of a late Victorian working class
home. The metal bedstead with its brass fittings was another product of the factory
age and was designed to be `bug proof``. Alas the feather mattress was not and
constant checks would have to be made to ensure that the little creatures had not
established themselves there.
Floor coverings once again are homemade, as is the `crazy` patchwork bedspread.
This is an unusual type of patchwork to be found in a fisherman's cottage as it has
been made up of rich materials. Nevertheless it serves to remind us that materials
were hard to come by, and recycling was an everyday working class Victorian
practice.
Note the small fireplace and the
lamps and candlestick, along with
the gas light. The fire was only
ever lit if someone was ill and
bed-ridden. The slop pail, jug and
basin would have been emptied
and cleaned everyday. With no
inside running water and
sanitation this was yet another
inconvenience that was taken for
granted. The sheds in the yard
opposite the line of cottages
included dry closets (toilets)
emptied at night by the dry soil
man.
Clothes were kept in a cupboard at the top of the stairs and coal was stored under
the stairs. (Note: there was a smaller bedroom at the top of the stairs, which is now
used as a museum store.)
Many seaside families let their cottages to visitors in the summer months and the
trunks are reminders of this. The original inhabitants of the cottage would go and
stay with friends or with other family members during the season. Some took a chest
bed out to the shed and lived there in the summer. All this was no doubt
inconvenient, but to the fisher folk whose livelihood was so uncertain, this extra
income was welcome. Indeed revenue from such sources may help to explain why
there are one or two luxury items in the cottage.
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES
Page 6
Looking at modern homes
Before your visit it would be useful to have done some of the following activities
•
Take the children to look at modern houses near to the school and discuss
the external features, including:
Doors
Windows
Chimneys and roofs
Building materials
•
Discuss with the children some of the internal features of their own homes
and what these are used for. E.g.
Cooker
Fridge-freezer
Washing machine
Tumble drier
Dishwasher
Fitted carpets
TV & DVD player
Double-glazing
Radiators
•
Look at some photos of modern homes and get children to name external and
internal features – they could label the features on copies of the photos.
•
Discuss the concept of new/modern and old: ask if any of the children live in
‘old’ houses built many years ago – show some pictures of Tudor, Georgian
or Victorian homes, explaining that these homes were built a long time ago –
more than one hundred years ago.
MUSEUM ACTIVITIES
Page 7
Looking at the cottage buildings
•
Take the children into the yard and ask them to look at the outside of the
cottages. Explain to the children that these were the homes of fishermen and
were built over 100 years ago (c. 1875).
•
Ask the children to look along the row or terrace of cottages – get them to
count up the number of doors and windows along the row.
- How many separate cottages make up the row?
(There are five cottages in this terrace)
•
Ask the children how many people do they
think would have lived in one of these
cottages.
(In the census of 1891, one of the cottages was home
to a family of 9, 2 parents and 7 children).
•
Ask the children what materials have been
used for the:
Walls
Roofs
Window and door frames
Gutters
•
Ask the children to look for a source of water for the cottages – why do they
think they needed a water pump?
(NB: this pump wasn’t originally located with the cottages, but water pumps, for use
by several houses, were found in Cromer. Historians tell us that most of the town’s
water supply came from wells, and during recent developments to the museum, a
well was found on this site.)
MUSEUM ACTIVITIES
Page 8
Looking at the Victorian kitchen and wash house
•
Look at the displays in the Victorian kitchen and in the washhouse across the
yard. Discuss with the children the features inside these Victorian rooms
compared to a modern kitchen.
•
Ask the children to point out the features and objects used for the following
tasks:
Cooking food
Washing clothes
Ironing clothes
Heating the room
Lighting the room
•
For each of the tasks above, ask what we use now in our homes.
•
When the children have identified the objects used for the above tasks, ask
them to label them on the pictures below.
MUSEUM ACTIVITIES
Page 9
Looking at the Victorian bedroom
•
Look at the displays in the Victorian bedroom. Discuss with the children the
features inside this Victorian room compared to a modern bedroom and
bathroom.
•
Ask the children to point out the features and objects used for the following
tasks:
Washing your face and hands
Heating the room
Lighting the room
Going to the toilet
Keeping us warm in bed
•
For each of the tasks above, ask what we use now in our homes.
•
When the children have identified the objects used for the above tasks, ask
them to label them on the picture below.
FOLLOW-UP IDEAS
Page 10
Follow-up Ideas
Comparing homes from long ago
After a visit to the museum, these follow-up ideas will help the children to cement the
knowledge they have gained from their trip and enable you to build on what they
have learnt.
Please see the photo resource sheet to complete these activities.
•
Look again at the activity sheets from the museum trip – ask the children if
they think these rooms would be the home of a rich person or a poor person.
Get them to explain their answers.
•
Look at the photos on the resource sheet - ask the children if they think these
rooms would be the home of a rich person or a poor person. Get them to
explain their answers.
•
Children could now look at the exterior photos of the fishermen’s cottages
and then describe what the exterior of the house containing the rooms shown
on the resource sheet would look like. They could do their own drawing of this
after some general discussion.
(The rooms shown on the resource sheet are the dining room and drawing room
at Northrepps Hall, photographed in 1872).
PHOTO RESOURCE SHEET
Page 11
Comparing homes from long ago: Photo resource sheet
RESOURCE SHEET
Page 12
Resource sheet: Memories of home life in the past
These memories have been provided by residents of Benjamin Court in Cromer,
during reminiscence sessions held there in the spring of 2006.
The goffering iron is similar to curling irons used for the Marcelle Wave (a type of
hair style). The goffering iron is used to iron the frills around pillowcases and
pinafores. They were sometimes starched and goffered. The goffering iron was ten
to twelve inches long and not too heavy in weight.
Kitty Pearson (April 2006)
There were no sewers when I was a girl. The toilet was in a small shed at the back
of the house. The toilet consisted of a wooden bench across a bucket, with a hole
cut in top. When the bucket was full I carried it to the bottom of the garden and
buried the contents, then scrubbed the bucket with Jeyes fluid. I then disinfected the
whole shed.
I also had to sit and cut newspaper into squares, put a meat skewer through the
middle and then tie the papers together with string. This I hung on a nail – this was
what was used for toilet paper. Cutting the newspapers into squares was a Sunday
job.
José Bandick (April 2006)
I remember using oil lamps and candles. We used black lead on our kitchen range
and emery paper to clean the steal on the front of the range. We used Brasso to
clean the band that retained the window curtains.
Anonymous (April 2006)
I used to make butter to sell to the farm workers. It cost 1 shilling a pat. The weight
depended on how much cream I had to use.
Anonymous (April 2006)
(During the 2nd World War)
After a bomb had gone off on the street, I remember coming downstairs to find
mother had swept up all the soot that had come down onto the stove, had blacked it
and 'whited' the hearth – and all the time the soot was still coming down the
chimney!
May (April 2006)