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Leisure time
Working people had very little leisure time in the early 19th century. Things improved by the end of the century because the Bank Holiday Act gave workers a few paid holidays each year in 1871. In the early 19th century everyone had Sunday off and in the 1890s most workers had gained half day holiday on Saturday. This is the way how the weekend was born. During the 19th century sports became organized. The first written rules for rugby were drawn up in 1845 and in 1863 the London Football Association wrote the rules of football.
The first international football match was held between England and Scotland. Several new sports and games were invented during the 19th century such as lawn tennis, volleyball and snooker. At the end of the 19th century bicycling became a popular sport and bicycling clubs became common in the Netherlands.
Middle class people were often found in the theater or at music evenings where they gathered around a piano and sang. In the late 19th century there were music halls where a variety of acts were performed.
A well-known game during the 19th century was ………….. (in Dutch ‘kaatsen’). This is usually played on a big lawn but sometimes also on the street. A game is usually played between two ‘’parties’’, which consists of three people. The scoring is similar to that of tennis but instead of 15, 30, 40, they count 2, 4, 6. The party that has managed to reach the 6 as first, has won the game.
The steam driven printing press was invented in the beginning of the 19th century, which allowed newspapers to become more known. However, newspapers did not really become popular until the end of the 19th century. In 1896 the Daily Mail appeared which was written in a different style to attract readers with little education.
In the late 19th century town councils laid out public parks for recreation and the first children’s playground was built in Manchester in 1959. A new hobby was photography. Henry Fox Talbot took the first photograph in 1835. However, photography was more than just a way to pass the time. The first cheap camera was invented by George Eastman in 1888. After this, photography became a popular hobby.