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Houses and homes in Tredegar during the 19th century A Key Stage 2 Educational Resource Pack Part 5—Clothes and looking after them
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How did people wash clothes in the 1800s? Few houses built in the 19th century had running water inside the building. Often the nearest supply of water could be at the end of the street or much further away! In towns, water carriers sold water to houses. This meant that all the water used for cooking, drinking, washing and cleaning in a house had to be brought from the well or water spout or a street seller. The picture on the right shows a common sight from the 19th century even in towns!
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The inhabitants had to carry water, either from Doctor’s spout, or the Quarry spout behind River Row, or from Llyswedog, or Cefngoleu, or Hard Level spout; and indeed, in droughty seasons, the inhabitants of the most remote parts of the town had to carry water from the Crown well! Another method was to purchase water from ‘water carriers,’ who conveyed the fluid in casks placed on rude carriages and drawn by donkeys. These water vendors travelled the streets from dawn of day until dusk, especially in summer seasons, but never announced the article to be sold. Purchasers were always on the threshold waiting the important vendor with his or her long-eared steed to arrive before the door; then modestly placing the pan or pail, jack, or jug under the tap to receive the half-penny worth. Evan Powell, 1884
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Once the water had been brought back to the house, all the washing had to be done by hand as there were no washing machines of course! For washing clothes, the water needed to be heated so it was Washboard first transferred into Carbolic Soap metal containers Scrubbing brush that were then placed on the fire. Once there was enough hot water, any stains or marks on clothes had to be scrubbed with soap using a washboard.
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Clothes were also washed using a tub and washing dolly. Dirty clothes were placed in a washtub with soap and water and then, the dolly was rotated back and forth inside the tub, moving the clothes about in the water. Washing dolly Wash tub
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Look for case number 2 in the museum. Make a list of the names of any objects used for washing clothes. Draw an object used to get stains or dirty marks out of clothes.
Draw an object used to move washing about in a large tub of soapy water.
What materials are these utensils made from? What do we use to do the same job today?
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The type of soap often used for washing clothes in the 19th century was called ‘carbolic’. It contained carbolic acid, which was good for disinfecting and killing germs. It was red in colour but had a very strong and distinctive smell! For washing clothes in a tub, soap was normally grated up to make soap flakes —similar to using a modern cheese grater!
Make a list of the makes of soap that you can see in case 2 in the museum.
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Starch was also added to the ‘wash’ to help clothes keep their shape and to give them a smooth and stiff finish when they were ironed. It became fashionable for white clothes to have a ‘blue-white’ finish so a type of starch called ‘blue’ was very popular. Right: 19th century advertising picture for Reckitt’s Paris Blue Starch!
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How were clothes dried in the 1800s? Today’s washing machines spin dry clothes after the end of the washing cycle. When clothes come out of the machine, most of the water has been driven out. In the 19th century, clothes had to be wrung by hand before they were hung outside to dry. There was also a hand-powered machine called a mangle, which is shown in the picture on the right, that helped to remove some of the water from washed clothes. Find the 2 mangles in the museum.
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Find 2 mangles in the museum —both have parts missing so you will need to compare the two to work out what a complete one looked like! 1. What materials are both mangles made from? ______________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 2. The job of a mangle was to squeeze the water out of wet clothes. Explain how you think it worked. _____________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 3. Why might mangles have damaged buttons on clothes? _____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 4. What dangers might there been to very small children when a mangle was being used? __________________________ __________________________________________________________
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How were clothes ironed in the 1800s? In the 19th century there was no electricity to heat irons as today! In the 1800s, irons would be heated up but putting them in direct contact with a hot metal surface such as a metal stove or range that contained a fire.
Right: Look for a group of flat irons heating up on the stove. Why was this done when only one iron could be used at any one time?
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Here is a close-up view of 2 flat irons. They were made in different sizes and weights but the basic shape remained the same, as do modern electric irons. What is different about the design of the handle of the iron on the left? Why do you think this design may have made the iron easier to use?
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Why is the woman holding the flat iron with a cloth?
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Look carefully inside cases numbered 2 and 7 in the museum. Make a list of the names of any objects used for ironing clothes. Draw an iron that was heated by gas.
Draw a flat iron that was heated by contact with a hot surface.
How did the gas iron work? Who may have used the flat irons in case 7? How are the irons that we use today different to the ones in the museum?
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What clothes did people wear in the 19th century? Cameras were expensive to use in the 19th century so most old photos that exist tend to be those taken at special occasions and of people dressed in their ‘Sunday best’ outfits rather than clothes they would have worn every day. In this picture, taken at a photographer’s studio in Tredegar in 1905, we can see parents, Albert & Rose Rendell, with their baby son, Albert Henry. Photos showing people in everyday or working clothes are much rarer but fortunately some do exist.
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Children at Red Lion Square, Tredegar about 1900
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Around 1865, the Tredegar photographer, William Clayton produced a large number of portraits of working men and women. It seems that William Clayton thought that he might be able to sell the photos as curiosities to rich people at the time.
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Although the photographs were taken in a studio, it seems likely that the people were wearing their own working clothes. Most of the people that were photographed were women. About 50 photos or portraits are known to exist.
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Unfortunately, we don’t know who the people were but it seems likely that they were from Tredegar. Some are seen with tools or lamps or food and drinking flasks. William Clayton’s studio was situated in Tredegar.
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Report from the Children’s Employment Inquiry 1842 Look carefully inside case number 1 in the museum. Most of the items that you can see are about 100 years old and would have been worn on special occasions or as part of a ‘Sunday-best’ outfit. Find the 2 babies’ christening gowns and make a quick sketch of one of them in the box opposite.