HISTORY RESOURCES FOR LOCAL AND FAMILY HISTORIANS, STUDENTS, VISITORS TO THE UK AND THE CURIOUS

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Eyewitness to nineteenth century British history

Want to know what life was really like in Georgian and Victorian Britain? First-hand accounts from the 19th century can give you a real feel for history. Find out what eyewitnesses experienced.

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS
A murderer is hanged at Lewes jail, 1881 The Daily Telegraph's special reporter witnesses the execution of Victorian railway murderer Percy Lefroy.

Charles Dickens survives a train crash, 1865 The Victorian novelist recounts his narrow escape from death in the Staplehurst rail disaster.

On a pub crawl with Karl Marx, 1850s As an exile in London, the political economist and communist theoretician managed a 19th century social life that would not look out of place today.

Charlotte Bronte visits the Great Exhibition, 1851 But was she impressed? Find out what she thought of the Crystal Palace erected at Hyde Park.

Police foil a Chartist uprising, 1848 With no democratic route for their political cause, some Chartists turned to guns and pikes to effect change. But a police raid caught them at the last minute.

Inside the offices of the Anti Corn Law League, 1843 The 19th century campaign for free trade was well resourced and well run. A visitor to the League's offices experienced the buzz.

Hanging as popular entertainment, mid-19th century A public hanging was cause for a day out, with food, drink and tabloid-style broadsheets to commemorate the event.

Children's work in a Warrington pin factory, 1842 Children as young as 10 were expected to earn their living. Here, the young workers, their mothers and the authorities give their perspective.

London's climate and the English temperament, 1839 Cold, wet and thick with the smoke of Victorian industry, the capital was an univiting place for French visitor Flora Tristan.

Charles Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle, 1831-36 The naturalist's journeys provided material for an entire career and the development of a theory of evolution and natural selection.

The Peterloo Massacre, 1819 Samuel Bamford was one of the lucky survivors when the Manchester militia cut down radical protestors at St Peter's Fields.

Battle of Waterloo, 1815 Captain Gronow of the Grenadier Guards describes the battle that finally ended the career of Napoleon Bonaparte and brought peace to Europe.

An operation without anaesthetic, 1811 Fanny Burney recounts the horrors of major surgery in an era before pain control.

The death of Nelson at Trafalgar, 1805 HMS Victory's ship's surgeon, Dr William Beatty recalls the death of Britain's naval hero in battle against the French.

RESEARCH GUIDES
Visiting a records office for the first time (Also in PDF)
Christmas through history
How do I get an RSS feed of mytimemachine.co.uk?
Chartist Ancestors
Trade Union Ancestors

RECORDS OFFICES, HISTORY SOCIETIES ETC
Specialist and local records offices in England and Wales
Specialist and local records offices in Scotland
Local and family history societies

TIMELINES
Scientific Thought
British Empire
Scottish History
Money
Famous Economists
Mathematicians
Industrial Revolution
Military History
Capital Punishment
Trade Unions
Chartism
Electricity
Slavery
Medicine
Mental Health
Waste and Rubbish

Go to the Contents page to find more eyewitness history or use the Radical Roots Search box below to find more history focused on radical causes and the lives of ordinary people.

HISTORY RESOURCES FOR LOCAL AND FAMILY HISTORIANS, STUDENTS, VISITORS TO THE UK AND THE CURIOUS

CONTENTS IN FULL

RECORDS OFFICES

HISTORY BLOGS

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

HISTORIC DOCUMENTS

TIMELINES

FULL-TEXT BOOKS

MAPS

Eyewitness to nineteenth century British history