What Life Was Like- A Pre Visit Resource UFM

What Life Was Like

Tell you what to expect from your visit

Help you learn about life in the past

Explain what the museum is about

Give you things to look out for!

This session will...

Our museums look at a time when most houses did not have running water, plumbing or electricity. 

People got around locally on foot or horse drawn vehicles for longer distances.

The way of life was very different to what we know now.

Look carefully at this image. What is different about how the family members were dressed in this time?

What do you notice about what they're wearing? What does this tell us?

This is why our staff wear costume. 

It matches how people would have dressed in the past. 

How many can you name? Imagine your house at home to help you!

What types of rooms do
we have in our homes today?

Bathroom- the family would share one tub of water and bathe in front of the fire, one by one. How do you think they heated the water?

Play room/living room- in the evening, when work was done, the family could gather by the fire to share stories or entertain each other, and enjoy company. 

Bedroom- in very small houses, the whole family may have slept in the same main room as the fire. Why was this a good place to sleep?

Kitchen- the only source of heat for cooking was over the fire. All hot meals were prepared here. 

Dining room- the family and any visitors for dinner would gather in the main room on the floor or some chairs to share their meals. 

In the past, some houses only had one or two rooms. In this example,  one room had to serve many functions. Click in to learn more. 

Toilet- houses like this did not have a plumbed or flushing toilet. A chamber pot would be kept under the bed, and was emptied outside in the morning. 

We have many houses like this at our museum. They may be smaller and darker than you are used to, but they help us understand how families in the past lived. 

Do you like the sound of live in past? Would you rather live then, or now?

In the past

In the present day