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Introduction To The Edwardian Era
By the beginning of the twentieth century, England was a deeply diversified country in terms of social class, financial disposition and therefore housing stock. It was also a period of relative instability and uncertainty. During the 1880’s Britain had been through an economic depression resulting from price changes in American corn. This led to farmers being unable to compete in a competitive market and turning to selling off their land in order to generate money.
At the other end of social order, the poor were also affected by this depression. There was a period of urbanisation as they flocked to surrounding cities and towns in order to find work.
However, it was the rise of the middle classes who contributed the most social change in this period. As the population became better educated, they began to seek new kinds of work, in factories, firms, industry and services. Rows of terrace housing quickly built up, to accommodate the workers, by ambitious builders who saw an opportunity to make a quick pound. As the Edwardian era went on, this spread to the suburbs.
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