Did you know?

  • In old parish registers, Mr or Mrs before someone's name means they were gentry.
  • Headstones weren't used in churchyards until the 17th century.
  • Wealthy folk were often buried inside the church.
  • The oldest headstones are found nearest the church, usually on the south side.
  • By 1852, burials at most urban churchyards were forbidden for public health reasons.
  • It was the custom in Victorian times to cover all the mirrors in the house when someone died.
  • An Act of Parliament in 1795 levied an annual tax of one guinea on the use of hair powder.
  • Between 1777 and 1852 in Britain, there was a tax on households that employed male servants.
  • Gin was one of the most popular drinks in the 17th century and it's estimated that Britons were consuming 8,000,000 gallons a year.
  • Around 20 per cent of Americans can trace their ancestral roots back to England, and around 16 per cent can trace theirs back to Ireland.
  • Until the 1840s, children didn't have to attend school.
  • In 1864, a new law forbad boys less than ten years of age from working as chimney sweeps.
  • Children in the workhouse were required to have a minimum of three hours schooling a day.
  • The first workhouses were set up in the late 1600s.
  • After 1834, families in the workhouse were segregated.
  • Before dedicated asylums were set up in the 19th century, the mentally ill were sent to the workhouses.
  • A bride adopting her husband's surname became the custom in the 15th century.
  • The word 'bridegroom' is a corruption of the Old English word 'brydguma' (bride man).
  • The formal adoption of children came into force in 1927.
  • Before 1882, a wife could only make a will with her husband's written consent.
  • Over a quarter of a million under-age boys enlisted before 1916. The minimum age was 18 (19 for service abroad).
  • During the 1914-18 war, more than 700,000 women worked in the munitions industry.
  • By 1917, more than 260,000 women were working as farm labourers.
  • No census was taken in 1941, when Britain was at war.
  • Around 30,000 children were sent to the British colonies and the US at the beginning of WW2, to ensure their safety.
  • Transportation of criminals formally ended in 1868.
  • More than half a million people in the UK have the surname 'Smith'.