26

26. Briefly discuss the rise of the middle class in Victorian Britain.

There had been a “middle class” in Britain for hundreds of years. It was a small class of merchants, traders and small farmers

In the second half of the eighteen century it had increased with the rise of industrialists and factory owners

In the nineteenth century, however, the middle class grew more quickly than ever before and included greater differences of wealth, social position and kinds of work

It included those who worked in the professions, such as the Church, the law, medicine, the civil service, the diplomatic service, merchant banking and the army and the navy

It also included the commercial classes who were the real creators of wealth in the country.

Industrialists were often “self-made” men who came from poor beginnings

They believed in hard work, a regular style of life and being careful with money

This class included both the very successful and rich industrialists and the small shopkeepers and office workers of the growing towns and suburbs

In spite of the idea of “class”, the Victorian age was a time of great social movement

The children of the first generation of factory owners often preferred commerce and banking to industry

While their fathers remained Nonconformist and Liberal, some children became Anglican and Tory

Some went into the professions. They very successful received knighthoods or became lords and joined the ranks of the upper classes

Those of the middle class who could afford it sent their sons to fee-paying “public” schools

These schools aimed not only to give boys a good education, but to train them in leadership by taking them away from home and making their living conditions hard

These public schools provided many of the officers for the armed forces, the colonial administration and the civil service.