SOCIAL CONDITIONS

DEATH

In Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria, people usually died in their homes and the corpse stayed in the house until the burial. Children were not spared from the viewing the deceased and in poor homes would have shared the room or possibly even the bed with a dying sister or brother.

The determination to secure a `decent` burial for family members was characteristic of all classes in Victorian Society, even it meant hardship for the surviving family members. The ultimate disgrace was to be given a pauper’s grave.

After the death of Prince Albert in 1861, Queen Victoria went into deep mourning, increasing the public demand for formal mourning attire such as black crepe clothing and jet jewellery. Mourners including children and servants were expected to observe long mourning periods. Widows were expected to mourn for two years and were allowed to wear grey and lavender only in the last six months of half mourning. Children in middle class families were required to wear full black mourning clothes for one year after the death of a parent or sibling.