Idyllic Vintage Photographs Capture the Rustic Rural Life in Victorian England, 1857

   
rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Window Call.”

These idyllic photographs, taken by William Morris Grundy, capture the rural life in England during the Victorian era.

Born in Birmingham in 1806, Grundy took up photography in 1855 and made dozens of stereoscopic photos, primarily posed genre scenes of rustic pursuits such as hunting, fishing, and farming.

The London Stereoscopic Company bought about 200 of his negatives, and individual stereographs still exist.

However, Grundy’s work is best known for the twenty original albumen prints based into the anthology Sunshine in the Country, A Book of Rural Poetry Embellished with Photographs from Nature (London, 1861).

Despite the growth of the towns, certain features of Victorian Britain remained resolutely rural.

The land-owning aristocracy lived in considerable comfort, served by their domestic staff, on their country estates and those who made money from industry of commerce were usually quick to invest it in land.

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Gamekeepers.”

Family life, epitomized by the young Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their nine children, was enthusiastically idealized.

Yet, for the desperately poor it was nothing more than a pipe dream as social inequality became more marked and entrenched.

Industrialization brought about rapid changes in everyday life that affected all classes and as a consequence, Victorian society was full of extremes and startling contrasts.

In cities, new building work and affluent development went hand in hand with overcrowded slums where people lived in appalling poor housing conditions, worked long hours and died prematurely.

In the countryside, wages for farm laborers were low and as the workers increasingly lost jobs to machinery, they swelled the ever-growing movement from rural areas to towns.

Ideologically, the Victorian era witnessed resistance to the rationalism that defined the Georgian period and an increasing turn towards romanticism and even mysticism with regard to religion, social values, and arts.

Technologically, this era saw a staggering amount of innovations that proved key to Britain’s power and prosperity.

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Garden Astronomy.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Over the Gate.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Gleaners.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Family Picnic.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Road Repairs.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Lay Victorians.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“A Moment’s Rest.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Stone Steps.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Fishing Trip.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Lake Fishing.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Shared Solitude.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Country Gentlemen.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Boy’s Best Friends.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Crooked Path.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Marching Band.”

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“Spring Blossoms.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Nap in the Sun.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Boys in the Wood.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Going Fishing.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Cows Grazing.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Sitting on Fence.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Poor Family.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Safe Crossing.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Fisherman Seated.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Pot Shot.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Old Forge.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Cemetery Kids.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“William’s Well.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“A Wintry Walk.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“After the Storm.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Gent for Sale.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Pumping Water.”

rural victorian england photos william grundy

“Knife Grinders.”

(Photo credit: William Grundy / London Stereoscopic Company / Getty Images).