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InterpNEWS
Victorian Mourning Interpretation For Historic Homes By Amanda Sedlak-Hevener mandyhevener@gmail.com (reprinted from interpNEWS July 2017)
Victorian mourning rituals permeated the 19th century. They transformed a formerly simple act of mourning the dead into something elaborate. An entire industry sprang up around mourning rituals, with manufacturers creating specific clothing, bakeries making mourning biscuits and other foods, and even artisans designing jewelry made from the hair of dead loved ones. Books on proper mourning etiquette were produced and sold both in the U.S. and in England. The mourning process started when Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert died of what is believed to be typhoid fever in 1861. They were apparently very much in love, and had a total of nine children together during their 21 year marriage. The dual loss of her mother, in March 1861, as well as her husband in December of that same year, caused Victoria to mourn deeply. She wore black clothing for the remainder of her life (even to her children’s weddings), and people dubbed her “the widow of Windsor.” This is where Victorian mourning customs come from - Queen Victoria’s actions. These customs spread across the pond and became the “only” way to mourn the loss of a loved one in America during the time period. After Prince Albert’s death, Queen Victoria only used black-bordered stationary and refused to allow her daughters and aides to wear any jewelry other than jet beaded necklaces. (For the record, jet is considered a “minor gemstone” and its chemical makeup is similar to that of coal. It’s basically made of pressurized, decayed wood that has been smoothed and made shiny and turned into beads.) She memorialized him with public statuary, including an equestrian statue in Wolverhampton, in 1866, and a seated version of him covered in gilt located in Hyde Park that was put into place in 1877. Not to mention her creation of Royal Albert Hall. Even though Royal Albert Hall was his idea, construction of it did not begin until 1867, 6 years after his death. Victorian mourning etiquette dictated how the deceased would be displayed, prior to burial. The body of the deceased was placed in the parlor or front room of his or her home in a coffin, which was sitting on top of sawhorses or simple wooden chairs. In most cases, the dead was embalmed (although not always). Flowers were placed in the room in order show that the deceased was loved, but also to mask the smell. Parlors were used because they were typically the best decorated rooms in the house. Houses of this time period were built with extra wide doors to allow the coffins to horizontally pass through them. The body was never left alone in the house. No matter what, the widow/widower/children/servants/someone was always there with it. A 24 hour vigil was the most common period for wakes, but some lasted 3 to 4 days, depending on the distance mourners had to travel.
