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The stand up bath, is what we call a sponge bath as that is the kind of bath you give yourself in hospital. You start from your face and work your way down. Sometimes people are known just to wash “just the essentials “
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
Imagine if teachers at school had been as entertaining and enthusiastic as Ruth. Some of us may have done well and really enjoyed it! Ruth's a national treasure!
I had an amazing history teacher...we rarely opened a book in her class... she talked and took you there in your imagination..... encouraging discussion and questioning and the curiosity to find out more. I'm greatgrandma now and still have a huge interest in history. Thank you Mrs O'Neill
She doesn't make it too long either i remember all the times some teachers just went on and on and every time i just tuned out and didn't care i was so bored. She gives more details than anyone else but leaves it up to our imaginations to find out more too like that's how it should be done. I love how she says things like we should care about their level of social standards too lol.
teacher.s are allways obcessed with teaching about the stone age or the iron age or tudor time.s or the romans, or the battle of hastings, etc, non of which really interested me, i was more interested in people that lived from around 1850s up until the late 1970s, cos in the late 70s etc we still had people that were brought up in victorian era, & still lived like that up until they died, they obvs.ly lived through the war year,s. So they knew how to make lovely dinner,s etc etc, with next to nothing, & not a scrap of food was wasted, & in summer etc, free food was allways taken advantage of, allsorts of wild berrys & mushrooms & kept a few hens for eggs. & made & baked everything, they were the greatest generation that ever lived, but we hear very little about them, its maybe cos they haven,t been gone long enough like the romans or stone age people etc etc.
I’ve just discovered this channel. What a joy!!!! Wonderful Ruth, what a knowledgeable and lively presenter bringing Victorian England back to life. I love the little ‘looks’ that sometimes tell us more than words can say 🙏 ❤
My great aunt lived her whole life with a stand up wash.......she died in the same home she was born in 98 yrs prior...........no running hot water..........and no electricity until 1970...............she also worked hard all her life...........she died in 1998 - i miss her so much......loved listening to her storys of the past.
My late gramma called it sponge bathing, with an old rag and sink. She felt it was wasteful of water and heat to take a bath more than once a week, often had it less often. I am GenX and really do not fit in today in a lot of ways because I have old Cornish ways of the 1800s poor.
This woman is truly remarkable. As a historian with extraordinary storytelling skills, she weaves tales of humanity that are utterly captivating. I was utterly absorbed by her work in 'Tudor, Edwardian, Victorian, and Wartime Farm.' When she speaks, time seems to stand still; you find yourself drawn in, forgetting everything else around you. It's like settling down by the fire with a warm blanket and a steaming cup of tea, completely lost in her enchanting narratives. I do hope she graces us with more living history stories. I could listen to her for hours on end, wrapped in the comfort of her words.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
@honeygarden2222 What a great comment about this video with Ruth Goodman! I agree 100% with everything you said!! Ruth’s videos are totally captivating from beginning to end!!
She's a fantastic writer too. I highly recommend her books on life in various eras as her wealth of personal experience of say, spinning or brewing ale really comes through in her prose which gives her a unique voice among historians
You are getting a dopamine hit by the soothing voice in my opinion, it helps that the info is fascinating as well. I also have adhd and love certain videos on you tube due to the voice. Do you like Bob Ross kind of chill?
It’s so refreshing to see working class history like this. So often we focus on kings, queens, popes, emperors, commanders, and tyrants, when actually it’s far more interesting to see how most of us would’ve lived. The factory worker, the miner, the craftsman, the merchant, the farmer, the teacher. Fascinating.
My first house in the late 70s had no hot water system & a toilet in a brick outhouse. At night I took a bucket upstairs. I used a tin bath in the kitchen & heated water in a gas fired wash boiler. I wasn't unique.
Once had to do a whole house re-pipe, no hot water for over 2 weeks. Used an electric kettle or heated water on the stove and did the standing wash. In part, wanted to see if I could do it. Many people worldwide still lack hot running water
@pattyamato8758 I had to go without hot water for a couple of weeks, too. It's not that bad. You suffer the first 3 days, and then you get used to it. Lol 😆
I grew up in the suburb of a city in France. We didn't use a basin and ewer as the flat had hot and cold running water but washed bit by bit in the handbasin in the bathroom and had a bath once a week.
I wear victorian-inspired undergarments (excluding the corset) I have thigh-high stockings, chemise and drawers, an underskirt, and a petticoat. Then I wear my outergarmets. This is my daily outdoor clothing. All my outdoor clothing is cotton and it's surprisingly cool in the summer, and for winter I have a winter I have wool stockings, a wool petticoat, and a wool top. That is enough to stay warm.
@@asiyaheibhlin May I ask why skip the corset? I've worn a ton of period kit over the years, all time periods and even fantasy, days and even weeks at a time for work (living history, strolling actor, stunt work - in period and fantasy clothes - and the like.) even had periods where I had to stay in character almost all the time, even sleeping at the events and it's the layers that always killed me (I just had to refuse working in Italian and French court clothing eventually, it's harder to move in those dresses than it is in full plate armor. And more uncomfortable) and often the corsets were what kept me sane and at least moderately comfortable. Almost every eras version of a corset, historical and fantasy, has been vital for wearing everything else in comfort. They give structure and distribute the heft of clothing and more or less keeps everything together. I'm sadly highly busty, so perhaps it's not the same for folks not so stupidly top stacked. (I'm a 28F, it's ridiculous. Only thing that keeps me from tipping forward is being 6'2) Even tightlacing is more comfortable if everything is secure and I remember to breathe correctly than going without. So is it just an aesthetic you don't care for, doesn't fit your life or the thing too darn uncomfortable?
@Magpiebard I skip the corset for many reasons: -I want a tailored one, so I need to save up for such; non-tailored corsets have caused me issues in the past, no matter how well they were made. I will be getting one now thay I have two herniated discs on my lower back that are too low for a back brace to help with. -I don't wear period outergarments, so there's no need to have a silhouette. -I use the undergarments as a barrier between my body and the polyester clothing I wear, and to keep my outerwear cleaner for more than one use. This saves time, money, and makes the garments last longer. I will do this even when I have the time to sew my own natural fiber versions of my clothes. I wear a "butterfly abaya" (a VERY loose Islamic outergarment (I am a convert)). Polyester and wool is all they seem to ever make them in. I have nothing against corsetry. I love it. But I haven't the funds nor the aesthetic need for one.
I’m off sick at home and this is the perfect thing to watch. Nestled in my blankets, hot tea, and realising I should be grateful for what I have instead of being grumpy that I’m ill.
Flannels and a sink full of water was my childhood, baths once a week and this was the 80s, it's fascinating to see it relate to the Victorian era. I love to sleep with a window open even in winter ❄️🥶😅
OMG!! RUTH!! Where have you BEEN, woman?!? Haven't seen you since the farm shows!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 So glad to see you again! Please do more farm shows, pleeeeease? We here in the USA really need as much peaceful, enjoyable education as we can get, especially lately.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
As a fellow American, do you know how melodramatic you sound? My life is as peaceful and lovely as it has always been. I'm a pro-choice bi-sexual female btw. If your life isn't feeling peaceful, perhaps you need to look inside yourself. Some people are just never happy. They go looking for things to be dissatisfied with. If your life isn't peaceful, perhaps it's because you are creating upheaval. If you go looking for trouble, guess what you're probably going to find it. Or it will find you. I've had a perfectly lovely week. I delivered food to an elderly bed bound couple twice this week. Hosted two poker games this week, met up with an old friend for lunch and I'm planning my Thanksgiving feast. I'm hosting 13 people this year. Ranging in ages 26 - 91 years old. No family members of mine either. Just a group of friends I've made along my (peaceful) way of living life. You can choose to let inconsequential nonsense spoil your life and be miserable. But please don't speak for all Americans when you do so. Plenty of us are quite happy and satisfied with our lives. If it wasn't the election, I'm sure you'd find something else to moan and complain about
When I was 10, we moved house. Our new home had a proper bathroom ! Previously Dad had built a shower room in the root cellar, out the door, and round the corner, of our 360 year old timber (log cabin style) house. Dad had also built a new outhouse. Inside his large carpenter's work shed. The stand up baths were still mandatory, both in the morning, and before bedtime, even in our new place... The big difference was the loo/WC, and the wash basin, with both hot and cold water, and a plug. I never tired of watching the used water just swirl and gurgle down that drain, and be gone ! No more stood shivering by the kitchen table, on a small stool, in a chill kitchen. Our new bathroom also had a bath tub with shower, and underfloor heating.... What utter luxury ! Love from Norway 😊❤
My granddaughter was very fortunate to meet Ruth whilst she was filming in Manchester for victorian Britain series. Ruth was very kind and offered guests a glass of Champagne from 1846 and then presented each lady at the event with a bouquet of roses to mark the anniversary of her being the first woman permitted to drive a horse and carriage without a livestock permit. Ruth then proceeded to give a demonstration on how women should be seen to drink a cup of coffee elegantly whilst driving a horse and carriage and how to politely and discretely empty the horses defecation holster. What a fantastic day and Ruth even signed a copy of her Victorian cookery book for each guest! ❤
Yes, as much Ruth Goodman as possible please. And go back and watch the Farm series (Tudor Monastery Farm, Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, and my favorite, Wartime Farm.
I love Ruth's enthusiasm for history - she has such empathy for the people of the past, and there is nothing dull and dusty about her history lessons. Her dry and cheeky sense of humour is the icing on the cake!
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
i once met Ruth Goodman in a past job. She was absoloutely lovely. Embarrased to say I didn't recognise her right away but when I did realise we had a chat, very nice lady.
@@pamtaylor989 me too, I almost burst with happiness. Confirmed as one of life’s lovely people as if we didn’t already know. And possibly one of us that has first, second and third thoughts when looking at the world
I love Ruths presentations. I am reminded of something I heard Dolly Parton say on an interview some years ago when asked about bathing in a small ( I believe one roomed =) house. She said " Wear a loose dress, wash down as far as possible and wash up as far as possible. When no one is in the house, wash the possible".
We couldn't agree more - and there's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
Ruth Goodman was superb in that series of films reconstructing a year of Victorian farming life in southern England. Her roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get stuck-in style was informative and convincing as she tackled ALL jobs whether "lady-like" or not. She is the ideal teacher of her craft.
I absolutely loved this video. Ruth would certainly be one of my 'which famous person would you invite to your dinner party' guests. I find her totally captivating.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
Amen to that! I actually learned something by watching I believe Edwardian Farm which for nearly three decades I could not make sense of: (edit for typos/ grammar :-) ) My grandmother was a tailor for womens' and mens' clothes, but she died when I was 14 yo. I could not learn something from her, because she was gravely ill and did not sew anymore, but when she passed away, I at least kept her memory by inheriting her compact sewing machine (too dumb to use it, now I have a much newer one and still am too daft...), and her toolkit with scissors, needles, threads, etc. In it I found *a small paper sachet filled with dried patchouli leaves,* of all things! I could not make heads nor tails of this item, until I watched one of my beloved farm episodes, where *Ruth tailored clothes for herself and the other participants.* *She sewed - guess what - dried patchouli leaves into the seams and collars of jackets and other garments!* Her explanation concurs with what was featured here: In former times it was exceedingly difficult to keep your clothing clean, because you often wore everything that you owned at once, like layers of an onion -> no washing, no airing, and the ripe aroma of an unwashed body attracted easily all kinds of vermin, especially moths. *The patchouli-reinforced collars/ hems were a way to gain victory over the moths,* because this herb contains substances which interfere with the moths' propagation (after some research, TMK it renders the males sterile, but it was a long time ago, please check this yourself, don't take just my word for it!). I am so grateful to Ruth for this glimpse into a world where none of our modern appliances or methods were available! It helps me to appreciate even more everything that we have today at our disposal to make our lives easier, but *I am always partial to a clever trick from the past* without electricity or modern chemistry ;-))) *Ruth and her farm co-workers are real treasures! I hope that some award will be offered for their labours of love, if it did not already happen!*
This is literally the first English show I can easily understand without subtitles. Now I have to find every video with Ruth. This is perfect for me, such interesting facts and so beautiful language. I want her to be my English-history teacher!
My grandad (born 1904) was still washing this way into his 70s. He called it a ‘basin wash’ because by the 1950s he lived in a council house which had an indoor bathroom. He only bathed in the bath tub once a week, on Sunday. People of that generation didn’t wash their clothes very often either. Their underwear yes, but not their outer clothes which were often woollen or flannel garments that were quite labour intensive to launder. Grandad never used anti perspirant or deodorant either. He just used soap like Knight’s Castille or Palmolive. And he never ever smelled bad or have BO.
Many still wash a stand up wash in the wash basin and shower once or twice a week and bath once a month, especially as they get older. It’s better for the skin and hair anyway.
@@honeyb1286 Quite. Dry skin can be exacerbated by excessive bathing and showering. I still do one thing taught to me my grandad which is flannel drying. By that I mean that after showering you use a sponge or flannel to dry yourself off in stages. So you dry one arm, wring the flannel out, do the other arm, wring the flannel out etc etc. Then you only use the bath towel to dab off any remaining dampness. This means your bath towel is never sodden and you don’t need to change it as often.
Having stand up washes can be a way to save on water and gas to heat the water too, especially with the older generation who may struggle with finances and having to choose between heating or eating.
My ex's dad did that! He used bar soap and a dab of diaper ointment (zinc oxide with A&D) for deodorant. Guy literally had zero smell. I might have to try this now 😂
I'm 69 and grew up just south of Birmingham. Much of what described on food and hygiene hung on into the 50's and 60's.. a bath was an innovation that my father fitted when we moved from central Brum. A bath was a weekly event. I remember a stand up wash. People would refer to it as a "rinse". When we first moved the toilet was reached from outside and freezing in winter. Each bed had a "po" under it to go to the toilet at night. Heating restricted to the living room. In winter you'd wake up to frost on the inside of bedroom windows. My grandfathers house was rented. It was a two up, one down of the dimensions in this video. My grandparents had 11 kids. A table dominated the living room with not much space around it. In the 50's the lighting was town gas and the heating and cooking done on a cast iron range. A tiny scullery with a Belfast sink leading to the cellar steps or "coal hole". Zinc bath hanging on the outside wall. Shared toilets with the neighbor's. A "brew house" where everyone heated up water to do the washing.. a central brick courtyard that everyones house opened on to. Very basic but a strong community with everyone pulling together...they had to. Potatoes were in the diet but bread dominated as the staple. Sandwiches, bread with your meal, often lots of it to soak up gravy and fill you.. Big changes began in the mid 60's. The slums were bulldozed and people moved out of the centre of town to tower blocks and estates.
76, grew up in hermany, same as you described, my mom "washed up" daily until her death a couple of weeks ago, bath"shower" once a week, our city had bathhouses were one could reserve a time and usually once a month people go there to take a sit bath, until the mid sixties houses did not have bathtubs or showers, in so called guesthouses, small hotels, there would only be one toiled for all the guests, even hospitals were set up like that, some of those hotels are still like that today
@@mariannekleinekorte7872 Yes, in the UK there were public baths too, right up to the 60's. Often alongside swimming pools....most of the pools are gone now and I know of no baths. One of my earliest memories aged about 3 I guess, after we'd moved out of central Birmingham, was my mother stood in the garden using a washboard to clean the clothes and having a hand turned "wringer" to squeeze out the water before "pegging out" the washing on a line. The ladies back then never stopped...
I was fortunate enough to meet Ruth Goodman. She came in to a cafe I was eating in and I went over to her to say how much I enjoyed her programmes. I hope I wasn't too intrusive, but I felt I had to tell her. All the prorammes she has been in are so fascinating. They make history so much more interesting than it ever was at school.
The genuine enthusiasm with which she talks about it, I love it. Add to it, a very raw video with no music, just added historical photos, this is a great video.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
This is my 1st experience of watching a Ruth Goodman program. What a delight! Informative & Entertaining. Refreshing to watch history without the crass, unesessary background music. Without 'close up shots' of a presenters facial orifices. Without the irritating, cutting back & forth every few seconds to accommodate those with short attention span. I look forward to seeing more of these programmes, please!
Layering is definitely necessary for those of us from blustery places. A few years ago it got to -56°F at my parents' in Minnesota. At a certain point you completely stop caring about looking polished and only care about whether or not you are keeping your nose and toes 😂💕
@@maryamjoha wow, well that certainly puts Yorkshire into perspective! Sounds like a Laura Ingalls Wilder story. I’m now very grateful that I don’t have to worry about my nose and toes.
@PeculiarJulia LOL sorry. I didn't mean to one-up you! I'm sure you can still die of hypothermia or get severe frostbite in Yorkshire. My high school Modernist Literature teacher grew up on Red Lake Reservation and had a crazy story of a woman who went off the road drunk driving during a blizzard when they were kids. The next day the farm owner went out to shovel his driveway and he came across her body, frozen solid. The phone lines were down so he put chains on his pickup, put her in the bed of the truck, and drove into town to drop her off at the morgue/hospital. Well, turns out she was miraculously still alive. She was so profoundly drunk and had such a high alcohol tolerance that it allowed her heart to continue pumping blood. Supposedly she survived with minor loss of motor skills. Not sure if that's just an urban legend, but things like that do actually happen here. There were headlines made when a young boy fell through the ice and was trapped underwater. It was about an hour until the recovery team could remove him. Lo and behold, his body went into a type of superlow metabolism and he miraculously survived without issues. There are some case studies about this sort of phenomenon. Greetings from MN! 💕 (Do you have a fantastic Yorkshire accent?)
@ oh my goodness, that’s amazing! I’ve never heard of anything like that before. I’ve developed a bit of a Yorkshire accent, but I’m not from here, I’ve just lived here a long time. It’s as lovely as it looks on All Creatures Great and Small.
I'll make sure to show this video to anyone who romanticised the Victorian times in excess. Thank you for your raw description of what really was to live those times.
@@annwood6812 And everything was in varying degrees poisonous - even light green or blue wallpaper was out to get you! The blue colour was aptly named "bleu mort", there is an excellent series on YT named "Hidden Killers in the Home" with Suzannah Lipscomb dedicated to the topic :-) . "Horrible Histories" is also a treasure trove for uncomfortable, but interesting knowledge which makes you feel queasy very often!
By comparison, it makes me think why do we, today, think we have it so bad? Of course, most people don't know how the ordinary Victorian lived so they don't know that the modern bad is so much more livable than the Victorian ordinary.
Many years ago (probably 20) I called a number I had for an Elizabethan living history group and it was Ruth Goodman that answered the phone! She was very nice and extremely down to earth.
Thank you, Ruth! I have had to explain to my own countrymen and women why my country, Ireland, has so many large grain stores built between 1780 and 1840. We exported grain to feed industrialising England, Wales and Scotland. We were able to do this because we mostly ate potatoes, permitting us to export the grain crop.
Well, less permitting us to export grain and more like we had no choice... We didn't exactly rely on potatoes as the main staple crop for nourishment because we volunteered to export everything else 😅 It's interesting that you've found a lot of people who don't know why there's so many large storehouses around the country. I suppose we're taught about that period in a very fragmented way - I'm learning more about it all the time, like how fields with the name "bully" are often linked to workhouses and famines. There's so many. It's great to have historians like Ruth who can give life to how various sections of history lived, glad to see her back with some new presentations.
@@RuailleBuaille Forster's Corn Law was passed by the old Irish Parliament in the 1780s to encourage the growing of wheat in Ireland. Only large farmers had the means to grow it. Their produce was bought up by agents (corn factors) for export. There was no interference by the government in the business. The BRITISH Corn Law was passed for both Britain and Ireland in 18q5 (AFTER the 1800 Act of Union) to create a closed internal market to benefit landlords. How could an impoverished cottier/labourer BUY wheat flour during the Famine if they had no money...? Sir Robert Peel, the Conservative PM in 1845, did try to scrap the 1815 Corn Law to encourage grain imports and reduce the price of grain, but Parliament obstructed his plan.
@tonyharpur8383 Two years before Forster's law the Catholic Relief Act came into being. Before that, the Penal Laws prevented almost the entire native population from owning land - or even a horse worth over a certain amount or receive education, to say nothing of the other cruelties they imposed. They couldn't inherit their own land from their father unless they pledged to covert to Protestantism - the religion the Planters from England and Scotland practised. Those laws were in place from the late 1600s. If you think within two years the native Irish managed to amass wealth enough to purchase large farms, I don't think you have grasped quite how subjugated and abused the Irish were. With perhaps a few exceptions (I can't speak to them), those large farms were owned by the people whose ancestors had been brought to Ireland to "settle" it in the name of England and usurp the island's native population. They were the beneficiaries of Forster's law. The Irish themselves continued to suffer, albeit marginally less. I'm delighted you're looking into the history of your ancestors, but I would suggest you don't try to tell Irish people about their own history until you have a better understanding of it. Even then, it's not a great move.
I was born and brought up in those conditions. It’s funny to think that this was commonplace in living memory. I also still sleep with the window open all night, can’t stand s stuffy hot atmosphere.
I'm 37. I sleep with a window open too haha. Never used to growing up, just something I started when I got my own place. 1°c out right now so only a sliver, but there's nothing like fresh air. Not to mention the sounds of the countryside.
I had thought that Ruth couldn't become more perfect - and then she quoted Granny Weatherwax. My mood lightens as soon as I see anything from Ruth - but most of all when it's something I haven't seen before as this is. Bought yourself a new sub, historyextra. This woman has expanded more British minds than Cambridge and Oxford combined.
Love the Sir Terry Pratchett quote! We used to wash just as he said! Our cottage had no running water or sewerage when I was born (1953) . I was born in that cottage too!!😊
I absolutely love Ruth Goodman, she has this natural enthusiasm and charisma that just pulls you right into the video, it makes you naturally excited to learn history with Ruth Goodman, a tell talent of a gifted educator and historian!
Now that is a tough, tough life. 19:19 the faces of the children at the end says it all, they have a totally different hardness to children in the West today.
one must remember that it wasn't the norm to smile in photographs back then. though of course you're correct in saying the experience of these children is totally different from that of modern kids.
My great grandmother, even into the early 1920s wore several petticoats. Unbleached calico then red flannel etc. When my mum was little in the 1920s she recalled worrying that when she grew up she would forget the order. Gt grandma also wore drawers. Ie. 2 tubes of lace trimmed cotton joined at the top and having a drawstring through the top to fix in place. No gusset.
You are supposed to pull the chemise through to cover your privates. The no gusset is for access when using the bathroom - which would otherwise be impossible due to the corset.
@@LittleKitty22 All I can see now is an outdoor washing trough in the winter months! One of my grandmothers used to "cook" her laundry in a large pot on her woodstove, gyrating it with a large wooden paddle. Still today I remember her excellent meals which she cooked/ roasted just going after her gut feelings, without thermometer or even clocks!(edit for typos) The other one had five children with my grandfather, and they were the only ones in the neighbourhood who installed not only a washing machine and a top-loading cylinder tumbler, but also a bathtub in the kitchen (bath once a week, in the meantime an old door was put on top of it and used as working space) and even an INDOOR toilet in the master bedroom! In the mid-1950s this was really the newest, hottest s**t... I myself had to sell my house (divorce, what else!) and now rent a flat where I also have a woodstove and a tile oven in the adjacent room, but until now was too cowardly to try out to heat it :-) . Coming winter, I must grit my teeth and get on with it nonetheless - as you say, I roll around like a well-padded onion because it gets bl**dy cold over night (large vault cellar underneath my floor - the house was built in 1815, but apart from the woodstove, luckily the other appliances are from the 1990s, or newer!). When I saw Ruth showing the hygiene MO, I had flashbacks of my childhood! The flannels were in heavy washing rotation, because we only had a bathtub, no shower, and most women had an extension hose for their wash basin tap - when screwed on, one could wash and rinse their hair in the small basin! Many people used dry shampoo in between visits at the hairdresser's, and talcum powder and eau de toilette fo a quick refreshment during the day. Who knows when we will again have to remember and apply "the olden ways", with the IMO (so-called!) renewable energy supply system not in the least sufficient to supplant the now common energy sources...
@@sabinegierth-waniczek4872 Fascinating, I also remember from my childhood everyone washing clothes by boiling them in the scullery - yup, in a huge pot with a large wooden paddle, just like you mention! Washing machines were unheard of and I'm not old, and my family were not poor but that was in the Middle East. Cooking got done on the AGA, and food got stored in the pantry - no refrigerator then. The women knew how to cook, they also didn't use thermometers and clocks. There was no bathroom - indoor toilet we had, but only a sink with running cold water, so water got heated up and put in a bowl to wash. Once a week the tin bath tub got used for a bath. You are absolutely right, we don't know where this energy crisis is going to lead us, one thing is for sure - these modern things are not going to keep us warm. Here in the UK the government is going to ban gas boilers in the next few years, they want us all to have heat pumps - which don't work! With heat pumps, you need six radiators in each room and it will still be cold, so engineers have informed me. Electric boilers cost a fortune to use. I still got a gas boiler - it's nearly new but costs a lot to run. I have also lost my houses - yes several, not through divorce but abusive and dishonest family members who stole all my estates and inheritances, so I am in a tiny duplex house/apartment now. It's ice cold even in summer as the sun only shines into the bedroom, and it's level with the ground (one of the many typically British idiocies) so it's freezing all year round. Due to what has happened to me, and never having had a husband, I will never have a proper house again so stuck I am, and the heating costs are so massive that I cannot keep up. Woodstoves have been made illegal here in the UK some years ago in order to force everybody to pay a fortune for electricity - or freeze, and the thousands of deaths every year due to hypothermia makes me wonder whether that is the intend: to kill off the sick, the disabled, the poor and the old. I have also suffered terrible hypothermia, never knew which is worse: that, or starvation. Both hurts. Both have destroyed my health. So onion it is for me too... wearing a lot of layers of clothing. Trouble is - I then cannot move because the many layers are like a suit of armor, they are stiff and heavy. On Tuesday we are expecting snow. I'm dreading it already...
Ruth is just incredible. I have autism and tend to get overwhelmed quite easily, but whenever I watch anything with her in it I instantly relax and feel a lot more calm. ❤
I can't get enough of Ruth Goodman. I absolutely love her as a storyteller, and admire her profound knowledge and capacity for hard labor when she reenacts the whole business of everyday life in the past. I'm currently reading her book: "How To Behave Badly In Elizabethan England". I highly recommend it❤
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
What a wonderful presenter. She speaks directly to the listener and communicates her messages with them in mind. Her voice is animated but never oppressive. Her content is brilliant and well organized. Thank you. I learned a lot from your presentation. The images presented are poignant and relevant, and not simply there for the bored to keep them conscious.
I'm so glad that this has been posted. I've been missing my fix of history from Ruth since her wonderful podcast finished. She's such a great presenter - knowledgeable, entertaining and she has a lovely way of speaking.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
I am convinced that Ruth Goodman could talk about anything at all, and I would listen. In have never heard her talk about a single boring subject, and it didn't take long for me to realize that it wasn't the subject itself that mattered, but who presented it. She is, just like the amazing Sir Terry Pratchett that she mentioned, one of the people who have crafted their storytelling to completely wrap its tentacles around your brain and light it up with vivid images.
I could listen to Ruth Goodman all day and night! She describes everything in such vivid detail - and with such enthusiasm - it’s as if the people of the era she’s discussing have come to life and are standing before me. Hers is a truly rare gift - and one much appreciated in these quarters!!!
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
This is very fascinating. It’s quite strange I was just folding some clean clothes & the thought of how my ancestors did things came into my head. Then I grabbed my phone & your video was just there. Subbed ❤
I could listen to Ruth all day. Knowing she has actually lived like they did back then and watching those videos gives you an amazing look into what life was like then.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
I love this-so well put together! To share one of my favorite bits of Victoriana, from Random Shots from a Rifleman, Sir John Kincaid, 1835 "Who has not passed down Blackfriars-road of an evening? and who has not seen, in the vicinity of Rowland Hill's chapel, at least half a dozen gentlemen presiding each over his highly polished tin case, surmounted by variegated lamps, and singing out that most enchanting of all earthly melodies to an empty stomach, that has got a sixpence in its clothly casement, "hot, all hot!" The whole concern is not above the size of a drum, and, in place of dealing148 in its empty sounds, rejoices in mutton-pies, beef-steaks, and kidney-puddings, "hot, all hot!" If the gentlemen had but followed us to the wars, how they would have been worshipped in such a night, even without their lamps." The amount of buying prepared food is amazing. But for a working person, especially one who was single, who had limited access to cooking facilities, it was quite common.
Watching this in Sweden in 2024, eating, ironically...potatoes. I enjoyed this SO much, you've definitely found a new subscriber in me. It's an absolute PLEASURE listening to this woman speak, I could seriously do it all day.
Gosh Ruth Goodman is truly a queen. She’s always had this theatrical presence full of wisdom. I can’t believe she’s so much older now. Please check out “The Green Valley” and the Tudor/Victorian farm series! You get to see all of her hands on knowledge!
One of my treasured memories is being kissed by Ruth! She was giving a talk about the Elizabethans at a tiny theatre in Ross-on-Wye and, by chance, we'd both nipped into a Costa for a quick cuppa before her show. Because we'd chatted she spotted me in the audience when she needed a volunteer to show a particular form of greeting. Hence the kiss! I didn't wash my face for days!
Beautiful house inside and outside with a beautiful garden around it. And Ruth looks great in this outfit, totally her colour. Want to see more of her daughters. Always get a kick out of Katherine being a Ruth clone!
Oh thank you so much she was such a great storyteller I could listen to you for hours sending love from New Zealand originally from Wales I used to wash like that as a girl I was brought up in a pit house tiny rooms outside toilet no running hot water that ❤
We're glad you enjoyed this episode! Feel free to check out our latest episode on the siege of Dover Castle here --> th-cam.com/video/hCni4pda7ts/w-d-xo.html
The stand up bath, is what we call a sponge bath as that is the kind of bath you give yourself in hospital. You start from your face and work your way down. Sometimes people are known just to wash “just the essentials “
@@thisoldnurse1521They were called " bed baths" when I was a nurse in the hospital
Ruth is the best narrator. I love listening to her.
Ruth is a wonderful presenter. Love the format with no music, just talking and relevant historical photos and drawings.
seriously....the zero music is sooo appreciated here, too. I can't stand the loud and suspenseful nonsense that most history docs have now.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
Always amazing
@@kmanyriversme too! It makes me feel nauseous and dizzy. It’s so stressful to have everything smothered in someone else’s choice of jeopardy music!
Agreed.
Imagine if teachers at school had been as entertaining and enthusiastic as Ruth. Some of us may have done well and really enjoyed it! Ruth's a national treasure!
I had an amazing history teacher...we rarely opened a book in her class... she talked and took you there in your imagination..... encouraging discussion and questioning and the curiosity to find out more. I'm greatgrandma now and still have a huge interest in history. Thank you Mrs O'Neill
She doesn't make it too long either i remember all the times some teachers just went on and on and every time i just tuned out and didn't care i was so bored. She gives more details than anyone else but leaves it up to our imaginations to find out more too like that's how it should be done. I love how she says things like we should care about their level of social standards too lol.
Had a history teacher in high school who told stories. Changed my mind about liking history which to this day I enjoy. Thank you Ms. Pratt.
Interesting information. I’m guessing it’s in our DNA if you’re from England. Bread and potatoes still eat daily.
teacher.s are allways obcessed with teaching about the stone age or the iron age or tudor time.s or the romans, or the battle of hastings, etc, non of which really interested me, i was more interested in people that lived from around 1850s up until the late 1970s, cos in the late 70s etc we still had people that were brought up in victorian era, & still lived like that up until they died, they obvs.ly lived through the war year,s. So they knew how to make lovely dinner,s etc etc, with next to nothing, & not a scrap of food was wasted, & in summer etc, free food was allways taken advantage of, allsorts of wild berrys & mushrooms & kept a few hens for eggs. & made & baked everything, they were the greatest generation that ever lived, but we hear very little about them, its maybe cos they haven,t been gone long enough like the romans or stone age people etc etc.
A lot more Ruth please. More, more, more.
@@maggie8324 join us on the course for loads more Ruth!
She’s such a good teacher I could watch for hours
I’ve just discovered this channel. What a joy!!!! Wonderful Ruth, what a knowledgeable and lively presenter bringing Victorian England back to life. I love the little ‘looks’ that sometimes tell us more than words can say 🙏 ❤
Yes yes, PLEASE.
I came to the comments to say this same thing. I've been trying to find her on the internet but she's elusive! The internet wants more Ruth!!
My great aunt lived her whole life with a stand up wash.......she died in the same home she was born in 98 yrs prior...........no running hot water..........and no electricity until 1970...............she also worked hard all her life...........she died in 1998 - i miss her so much......loved listening to her storys of the past.
Not being rude, but did she smell clean using the stand up wash?
@@stacypeterson3685 ..are you for real?........of course she did lol..........she and her home were spotless.
@geoffdundee I was for real. Genuinely wondering
@@stacypeterson3685yes you smell perfectly clean! It’s the same, you’re washing with water, soap and a cloth. Many Africans wash like this still.
My late gramma called it sponge bathing, with an old rag and sink. She felt it was wasteful of water and heat to take a bath more than once a week, often had it less often. I am GenX and really do not fit in today in a lot of ways because I have old Cornish ways of the 1800s poor.
This woman is truly remarkable. As a historian with extraordinary storytelling skills, she weaves tales of humanity that are utterly captivating. I was utterly absorbed by her work in 'Tudor, Edwardian, Victorian, and Wartime Farm.' When she speaks, time seems to stand still; you find yourself drawn in, forgetting everything else around you. It's like settling down by the fire with a warm blanket and a steaming cup of tea, completely lost in her enchanting narratives. I do hope she graces us with more living history stories. I could listen to her for hours on end, wrapped in the comfort of her words.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
Yes! She's terrific. I'm currently reading her book: "How to Behave Badly In Elizabethan England". I highly recommend it.
.
I really enjoyed those series ❤
@honeygarden2222 What a great comment about this video with Ruth Goodman! I agree 100% with everything you said!! Ruth’s videos are totally captivating from beginning to end!!
She's a fantastic writer too. I highly recommend her books on life in various eras as her wealth of personal experience of say, spinning or brewing ale really comes through in her prose which gives her a unique voice among historians
I can't explain it but when Ruth talks, my ADHD goes away and I just listen. She really does have a gift for teaching.
Almost like ADHD is a made up excuse for not paying attention to things that bore you
Same!! It’s easy to pay attention when she is teaching
You are getting a dopamine hit by the soothing voice in my opinion, it helps that the info is fascinating as well. I also have adhd and love certain videos on you tube due to the voice. Do you like Bob Ross kind of chill?
I see Ruth Goodman, I click like.
@@authormichellefranklin we feel the same 🤝
Same here. She's one of those people who's a positive gift to the learning of history
Same 😊
Shes wonderful❤
Same
It’s so refreshing to see working class history like this. So often we focus on kings, queens, popes, emperors, commanders, and tyrants, when actually it’s far more interesting to see how most of us would’ve lived. The factory worker, the miner, the craftsman, the merchant, the farmer, the teacher. Fascinating.
I'm 73 years old and can remember using a basin and ewer for washing. We had a tin bath and had one bath a week on a Sunday evening.
We are coming back to those days )))
My first house in the late 70s had no hot water system & a toilet in a brick outhouse. At night I took a bucket upstairs. I used a tin bath in the kitchen & heated water in a gas fired wash boiler. I wasn't unique.
Once had to do a whole house re-pipe, no hot water for over 2 weeks. Used an electric kettle or heated water on the stove and did the standing wash. In part, wanted to see if I could do it. Many people worldwide still lack hot running water
@pattyamato8758 I had to go without hot water for a couple of weeks, too. It's not that bad. You suffer the first 3 days, and then you get used to it. Lol 😆
I grew up in the suburb of a city in France. We didn't use a basin and ewer as the flat had hot and cold running water but washed bit by bit in the handbasin in the bathroom and had a bath once a week.
This woman is 100% perfect storyteller.
Her skin appears well moisturised and the long hair seems quite well styled, Ruth looks well for a Victorian woman living in a modern world.
She is wonderful
I love Ruth. She's like an old friend.
What a lovely comment. She's wonderful isn't she.
@@Wunjo-Wunjoshe really is!
@@tofty21 It's so nice to see all the love for Ruth. xx
I agree.
5 layers of clothes?!? 😮. 6 people to a room?!?! I screech as I watch on my cellphone, in my warm bed, sipping on my coffee. Man, are we spoiled!
I wear victorian-inspired undergarments (excluding the corset)
I have thigh-high stockings, chemise and drawers, an underskirt, and a petticoat. Then I wear my outergarmets.
This is my daily outdoor clothing.
All my outdoor clothing is cotton and it's surprisingly cool in the summer, and for winter I have a winter I have wool stockings, a wool petticoat, and a wool top. That is enough to stay warm.
Agreed
@@asiyaheibhlin May I ask why skip the corset? I've worn a ton of period kit over the years, all time periods and even fantasy, days and even weeks at a time for work (living history, strolling actor, stunt work - in period and fantasy clothes - and the like.) even had periods where I had to stay in character almost all the time, even sleeping at the events and it's the layers that always killed me (I just had to refuse working in Italian and French court clothing eventually, it's harder to move in those dresses than it is in full plate armor. And more uncomfortable) and often the corsets were what kept me sane and at least moderately comfortable. Almost every eras version of a corset, historical and fantasy, has been vital for wearing everything else in comfort. They give structure and distribute the heft of clothing and more or less keeps everything together. I'm sadly highly busty, so perhaps it's not the same for folks not so stupidly top stacked. (I'm a 28F, it's ridiculous. Only thing that keeps me from tipping forward is being 6'2) Even tightlacing is more comfortable if everything is secure and I remember to breathe correctly than going without. So is it just an aesthetic you don't care for, doesn't fit your life or the thing too darn uncomfortable?
@Magpiebard
I skip the corset for many reasons:
-I want a tailored one, so I need to save up for such; non-tailored corsets have caused me issues in the past, no matter how well they were made. I will be getting one now thay I have two herniated discs on my lower back that are too low for a back brace to help with.
-I don't wear period outergarments, so there's no need to have a silhouette.
-I use the undergarments as a barrier between my body and the polyester clothing I wear, and to keep my outerwear cleaner for more than one use. This saves time, money, and makes the garments last longer. I will do this even when I have the time to sew my own natural fiber versions of my clothes. I wear a "butterfly abaya" (a VERY loose Islamic outergarment (I am a convert)). Polyester and wool is all they seem to ever make them in.
I have nothing against corsetry. I love it. But I haven't the funds nor the aesthetic need for one.
@@Magpiebard 8:25 8:26 8:30 8:31
I’m off sick at home and this is the perfect thing to watch. Nestled in my blankets, hot tea, and realising I should be grateful for what I have instead of being grumpy that I’m ill.
Flannels and a sink full of water was my childhood, baths once a week and this was the 80s, it's fascinating to see it relate to the Victorian era. I love to sleep with a window open even in winter ❄️🥶😅
I am 82.I grew up in Belgium and it was exactely like that: a sink( hot water though) a " gant de toilette"- washcloth- and a bath every Sunday.❤🎉
i love to sleep with a window open, too, even in winter. I live in Finland. 😁
OMG!! RUTH!! Where have you BEEN, woman?!? Haven't seen you since the farm shows!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 So glad to see you again! Please do more farm shows, pleeeeease? We here in the USA really need as much peaceful, enjoyable education as we can get, especially lately.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
💯 correct
I commiserate
As a fellow American, do you know how melodramatic you sound? My life is as peaceful and lovely as it has always been. I'm a pro-choice bi-sexual female btw. If your life isn't feeling peaceful, perhaps you need to look inside yourself. Some people are just never happy. They go looking for things to be dissatisfied with. If your life isn't peaceful, perhaps it's because you are creating upheaval. If you go looking for trouble, guess what you're probably going to find it. Or it will find you. I've had a perfectly lovely week. I delivered food to an elderly bed bound couple twice this week. Hosted two poker games this week, met up with an old friend for lunch and I'm planning my Thanksgiving feast. I'm hosting 13 people this year. Ranging in ages 26 - 91 years old. No family members of mine either. Just a group of friends I've made along my (peaceful) way of living life. You can choose to let inconsequential nonsense spoil your life and be miserable. But please don't speak for all Americans when you do so. Plenty of us are quite happy and satisfied with our lives. If it wasn't the election, I'm sure you'd find something else to moan and complain about
@@rachelbachel2what r u yapping about
When I was 10, we moved house.
Our new home had a proper bathroom !
Previously Dad had built a shower room in the root cellar, out the door, and round the corner, of our 360 year old timber (log cabin style) house.
Dad had also built a new outhouse. Inside his large carpenter's work shed.
The stand up baths were still mandatory, both in the morning, and before bedtime, even in our new place...
The big difference was the
loo/WC, and the wash basin, with both hot and cold water, and a plug.
I never tired of watching the used water just swirl and gurgle down that drain, and be gone !
No more stood shivering by the kitchen table, on a small stool, in a chill kitchen.
Our new bathroom also had a bath tub with shower, and underfloor heating....
What utter luxury !
Love from Norway 😊❤
Every time I get sick, I watch Ruth on one of her farm shows. Idk what it is, but between the music and the material, I feel like it'll all be OK.
Me too❤❤
The Farm series are a perfect sick day distraction!
Those shows got me thru depression... seriously thank you Ms. Ruth 🫶🏾
Same! Ours kids put them on they love them!
Same. Also, in December. It's not a proper Yule if I'm not decorating the tree to Secrets of the Castle.
My granddaughter was very fortunate to meet Ruth whilst she was filming in Manchester for victorian Britain series. Ruth was very kind and offered guests a glass of Champagne from 1846 and then presented each lady at the event with a bouquet of roses to mark the anniversary of her being the first woman permitted to drive a horse and carriage without a livestock permit. Ruth then proceeded to give a demonstration on how women should be seen to drink a cup of coffee elegantly whilst driving a horse and carriage and how to politely and discretely empty the horses defecation holster. What a fantastic day and Ruth even signed a copy of her Victorian cookery book for each guest! ❤
Yes, as much Ruth Goodman as possible please. And go back and watch the Farm series (Tudor Monastery Farm, Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, and my favorite, Wartime Farm.
Don't forget Tales From The Green Valley, which is the most magical of all.
@@7arboreal Hmm, haven't seen that. Thanks.
Edwardian is mine!
Oh my goodness they are ALL treasures to us
I already saw it and it's amazing!
I really am so much more interested by the mundane, everyday people in history than big figures. This was fantastic
Ruth Goodman quoting Sir Terry Pratchett is the best thing about my day today! PS Thrilled to see this is a series!
Absolutely
Same 😊
Same! Granny Weatherwax is one of my favourite Discworld characters.
@Adara007 Her Nanny Ogg and Luggage. 😊 Now I need to reread them all!
Sam Vimes and his boots 🥾
I love Ruth's enthusiasm for history - she has such empathy for the people of the past, and there is nothing dull and dusty about her history lessons. Her dry and cheeky sense of humour is the icing on the cake!
Love seeing Ruth again! We all need more Ruth in our life!
We've been Ruthless for far too long.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
lives*
@@pricklypear7516lovely pun
She has a way about her that’s so unique- I could listen to her for hours.
i once met Ruth Goodman in a past job. She was absoloutely lovely. Embarrased to say I didn't recognise her right away but when I did realise we had a chat, very nice lady.
I thought I couldn't like Ruth more, then she quoted Granny Weatherwax.
Perfect.
@@pamtaylor989 me too, I almost burst with happiness. Confirmed as one of life’s lovely people as if we didn’t already know. And possibly one of us that has first, second and third thoughts when looking at the world
@deborahfigueiredo8731 GNU
I ATE'NT DEAD.
I love Ruths presentations. I am reminded of something I heard Dolly Parton say on an interview some years ago when asked about bathing in a small ( I believe one roomed =) house. She said " Wear a loose dress, wash down as far as possible and wash up as far as possible. When no one is in the house, wash the possible".
😂
Periods must have been FUN
@ right?! 🙄
Ruth Goodman, the experts expert.
We couldn't agree more - and there's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
Ruth Goodman was superb in that series of films reconstructing a year of Victorian farming life in southern England. Her roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get stuck-in style was informative and convincing as she tackled ALL jobs whether "lady-like" or not. She is the ideal teacher of her craft.
I absolutely loved this video. Ruth would certainly be one of my 'which famous person would you invite to your dinner party' guests. I find her totally captivating.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
Ruth Goodman is a national treasure. Her knowledge isn’t matched by many. Just love her.
I just love Ruth Goodman as a Historian! She gets down to the nitty gritty about all things historical.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
Amen to that! I actually learned something by watching I believe Edwardian Farm which for nearly three decades I could not make sense of: (edit for typos/ grammar :-) )
My grandmother was a tailor for womens' and mens' clothes, but she died when I was 14 yo. I could not learn something from her, because she was gravely ill and did not sew anymore, but when she passed away, I at least kept her memory by inheriting her compact sewing machine (too dumb to use it, now I have a much newer one and still am too daft...), and her toolkit with scissors, needles, threads, etc. In it I found *a small paper sachet filled with dried patchouli leaves,* of all things!
I could not make heads nor tails of this item, until I watched one of my beloved farm episodes, where *Ruth tailored clothes for herself and the other participants.*
*She sewed - guess what - dried patchouli leaves into the seams and collars of jackets and other garments!* Her explanation concurs with what was featured here: In former times it was exceedingly difficult to keep your clothing clean, because you often wore everything that you owned at once, like layers of an onion -> no washing, no airing, and the ripe aroma of an unwashed body attracted easily all kinds of vermin, especially moths.
*The patchouli-reinforced collars/ hems were a way to gain victory over the moths,* because this herb contains substances which interfere with the moths' propagation (after some research, TMK it renders the males sterile, but it was a long time ago, please check this yourself, don't take just my word for it!).
I am so grateful to Ruth for this glimpse into a world where none of our modern appliances or methods were available! It helps me to appreciate even more everything that we have today at our disposal to make our lives easier, but *I am always partial to a clever trick from the past* without electricity or modern chemistry ;-)))
*Ruth and her farm co-workers are real treasures! I hope that some award will be offered for their labours of love, if it did not already happen!*
This is literally the first English show I can easily understand without subtitles. Now I have to find every video with Ruth. This is perfect for me, such interesting facts and so beautiful language. I want her to be my English-history teacher!
Ruth Is my favorite time traveler!
My grandad (born 1904) was still washing this way into his 70s. He called it a ‘basin wash’ because by the 1950s he lived in a council house which had an indoor bathroom.
He only bathed in the bath tub once a week, on Sunday.
People of that generation didn’t wash their clothes very often either. Their underwear yes, but not their outer clothes which were often woollen or flannel garments that were quite labour intensive to launder.
Grandad never used anti perspirant or deodorant either. He just used soap like Knight’s Castille or Palmolive.
And he never ever smelled bad or have BO.
Many still wash a stand up wash in the wash basin and shower once or twice a week and bath once a month, especially as they get older. It’s better for the skin and hair anyway.
@@honeyb1286 Quite. Dry skin can be exacerbated by excessive bathing and showering. I still do one thing taught to me my grandad which is flannel drying. By that I mean that after showering you use a sponge or flannel to dry yourself off in stages. So you dry one arm, wring the flannel out, do the other arm, wring the flannel out etc etc. Then you only use the bath towel to dab off any remaining dampness. This means your bath towel is never sodden and you don’t need to change it as often.
Having stand up washes can be a way to save on water and gas to heat the water too, especially with the older generation who may struggle with finances and having to choose between heating or eating.
My ex's dad did that! He used bar soap and a dab of diaper ointment (zinc oxide with A&D) for deodorant. Guy literally had zero smell. I might have to try this now 😂
We called it having a “top and tail” wash. I still do it in between showers.
So many historical things focus on the wealthy so it’s great to see the ordinary person
I'm 69 and grew up just south of Birmingham.
Much of what described on food and hygiene hung on into the 50's and 60's.. a bath was an innovation that my father fitted when we moved from central Brum. A bath was a weekly event. I remember a stand up wash. People would refer to it as a "rinse". When we first moved the toilet was reached from outside and freezing in winter. Each bed had a "po" under it to go to the toilet at night.
Heating restricted to the living room. In winter you'd wake up to frost on the inside of bedroom windows.
My grandfathers house was rented. It was a two up, one down of the dimensions in this video. My grandparents had 11 kids.
A table dominated the living room with not much space around it. In the 50's the lighting was town gas and the heating and cooking done on a cast iron range. A tiny scullery with a Belfast sink leading to the cellar steps or "coal hole". Zinc bath hanging on the outside wall. Shared toilets with the neighbor's. A "brew house" where everyone heated up water to do the washing.. a central brick courtyard that everyones house opened on to.
Very basic but a strong community with everyone pulling together...they had to.
Potatoes were in the diet but bread dominated as the staple. Sandwiches, bread with your meal, often lots of it to soak up gravy and fill you..
Big changes began in the mid 60's. The slums were bulldozed and people moved out of the centre of town to tower blocks and estates.
Loved reading that...♥️🇮🇪
76, grew up in hermany, same as you described, my mom "washed up" daily until her death a couple of weeks ago, bath"shower" once a week, our city had bathhouses were one could reserve a time and usually once a month people go there to take a sit bath, until the mid sixties houses did not have bathtubs or showers, in so called guesthouses, small hotels, there would only be one toiled for all the guests, even hospitals were set up like that, some of those hotels are still like that today
😊❤ loved what you shared
@@mariannekleinekorte7872
"hermany" ?
You mean Germany, I presume.
Daß heißt Deutschland, ja ?
Gruß aus Oslo, Norwegen
😊❤
@@mariannekleinekorte7872
Yes, in the UK there were public baths too, right up to the 60's. Often alongside swimming pools....most of the pools are gone now and I know of no baths.
One of my earliest memories aged about 3 I guess, after we'd moved out of central Birmingham, was my mother stood in the garden using a washboard to clean the clothes and having a hand turned "wringer" to squeeze out the water before "pegging out" the washing on a line.
The ladies back then never stopped...
Absolutely love Ruth Goodman. She is the voice of the common people, the voice of those history wants to forget.
I was fortunate enough to meet Ruth Goodman. She came in to a cafe I was eating in and I went over to her to say how much I enjoyed her programmes.
I hope I wasn't too intrusive, but I felt I had to tell her.
All the prorammes she has been in are so fascinating. They make history so much more interesting than it ever was at school.
The genuine enthusiasm with which she talks about it, I love it. Add to it, a very raw video with no music, just added historical photos, this is a great video.
I hate the intrusive, irritating music that drowns out what counts-the dialogue!
Ruth Goodman: Oh my giddy heart! Her incredible talent for teaching history is an art form!
Another vote for more Ruth. I listen to her books, and would watch almost anything she hosted
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
This is my 1st experience of watching a Ruth Goodman program. What a delight! Informative & Entertaining. Refreshing to watch history without the crass, unesessary background music. Without 'close up shots' of a presenters facial orifices. Without the irritating, cutting back & forth every few seconds to accommodate those with short attention span. I look forward to seeing more of these programmes, please!
I could listen to her read a phonebook. Fabulous storyteller.
This woman is always so interesting and likable. Thank you !
I love Ruth! I live in Yorkshire so I still layer up like a Victorian, and am not usually seen without two cardigans at once
We do the same here in Norway....
😊❤
Layering is definitely necessary for those of us from blustery places. A few years ago it got to -56°F at my parents' in Minnesota. At a certain point you completely stop caring about looking polished and only care about whether or not you are keeping your nose and toes 😂💕
@@maryamjoha wow, well that certainly puts Yorkshire into perspective! Sounds like a Laura Ingalls Wilder story. I’m now very grateful that I don’t have to worry about my nose and toes.
@PeculiarJulia LOL sorry. I didn't mean to one-up you! I'm sure you can still die of hypothermia or get severe frostbite in Yorkshire.
My high school Modernist Literature teacher grew up on Red Lake Reservation and had a crazy story of a woman who went off the road drunk driving during a blizzard when they were kids. The next day the farm owner went out to shovel his driveway and he came across her body, frozen solid. The phone lines were down so he put chains on his pickup, put her in the bed of the truck, and drove into town to drop her off at the morgue/hospital. Well, turns out she was miraculously still alive. She was so profoundly drunk and had such a high alcohol tolerance that it allowed her heart to continue pumping blood. Supposedly she survived with minor loss of motor skills. Not sure if that's just an urban legend, but things like that do actually happen here. There were headlines made when a young boy fell through the ice and was trapped underwater. It was about an hour until the recovery team could remove him. Lo and behold, his body went into a type of superlow metabolism and he miraculously survived without issues. There are some case studies about this sort of phenomenon. Greetings from MN! 💕 (Do you have a fantastic Yorkshire accent?)
@ oh my goodness, that’s amazing! I’ve never heard of anything like that before. I’ve developed a bit of a Yorkshire accent, but I’m not from here, I’ve just lived here a long time. It’s as lovely as it looks on All Creatures Great and Small.
I'll make sure to show this video to anyone who romanticised the Victorian times in excess. Thank you for your raw description of what really was to live those times.
No kidding. Those modern Victorian Christmas cards always set me off thinking about how much those people actually suffered on a day to day basis.
@@annwood6812 And everything was in varying degrees poisonous - even light green or blue wallpaper was out to get you!
The blue colour was aptly named "bleu mort", there is an excellent series on YT named "Hidden Killers in the Home" with Suzannah Lipscomb dedicated to the topic :-) . "Horrible Histories" is also a treasure trove for uncomfortable, but interesting knowledge which makes you feel queasy very often!
By comparison, it makes me think why do we, today, think we have it so bad? Of course, most people don't know how the ordinary Victorian lived so they don't know that the modern bad is so much more livable than the Victorian ordinary.
I watched it 3 times just because it was Ruth Goodman.
🤝 and because the video is too short
Many years ago (probably 20) I called a number I had for an Elizabethan living history group and it was Ruth Goodman that answered the phone! She was very nice and extremely down to earth.
Ruth Goodman, you are famous to *me*. No one else I've met in real life has heard of you but You are in the A list of my heart.
I could watch you telling stories for hours and hours
Thank you, Ruth! I have had to explain to my own countrymen and women why my country, Ireland, has so many large grain stores built between 1780 and 1840. We exported grain to feed industrialising England, Wales and Scotland. We were able to do this because we mostly ate potatoes, permitting us to export the grain crop.
Well, less permitting us to export grain and more like we had no choice...
We didn't exactly rely on potatoes as the main staple crop for nourishment because we volunteered to export everything else 😅
It's interesting that you've found a lot of people who don't know why there's so many large storehouses around the country. I suppose we're taught about that period in a very fragmented way - I'm learning more about it all the time, like how fields with the name "bully" are often linked to workhouses and famines. There's so many.
It's great to have historians like Ruth who can give life to how various sections of history lived, glad to see her back with some new presentations.
I have yet to see the land of my ancestors, thank you for sharing this information.
@@RuailleBuaille Forster's Corn Law was passed by the old Irish Parliament in the 1780s to encourage the growing of wheat in Ireland. Only large farmers had the means to grow it. Their produce was bought up by agents (corn factors) for export. There was no interference by the government in the business. The BRITISH Corn Law was passed for both Britain and Ireland in 18q5 (AFTER the 1800 Act of Union) to create a closed internal market to benefit landlords. How could an impoverished cottier/labourer BUY wheat flour during the Famine if they had no money...? Sir Robert Peel, the Conservative PM in 1845, did try to scrap the 1815 Corn Law to encourage grain imports and reduce the price of grain, but Parliament obstructed his plan.
@tonyharpur8383 Two years before Forster's law the Catholic Relief Act came into being.
Before that, the Penal Laws prevented almost the entire native population from owning land - or even a horse worth over a certain amount or receive education, to say nothing of the other cruelties they imposed. They couldn't inherit their own land from their father unless they pledged to covert to Protestantism - the religion the Planters from England and Scotland practised.
Those laws were in place from the late 1600s.
If you think within two years the native Irish managed to amass wealth enough to purchase large farms, I don't think you have grasped quite how subjugated and abused the Irish were.
With perhaps a few exceptions (I can't speak to them), those large farms were owned by the people whose ancestors had been brought to Ireland to "settle" it in the name of England and usurp the island's native population. They were the beneficiaries of Forster's law. The Irish themselves continued to suffer, albeit marginally less.
I'm delighted you're looking into the history of your ancestors, but I would suggest you don't try to tell Irish people about their own history until you have a better understanding of it. Even then, it's not a great move.
@@RuailleBuaille100 % correct..🇮🇪♥️🇮🇪
I'm studying English and I try to listen as much as I can. I find Ruth Goodman and immediately understand that I am in the right place!
I was born and brought up in those conditions. It’s funny to think that this was commonplace in living memory. I also still sleep with the window open all night, can’t stand s stuffy hot atmosphere.
I'm 37. I sleep with a window open too haha. Never used to growing up, just something I started when I got my own place. 1°c out right now so only a sliver, but there's nothing like fresh air. Not to mention the sounds of the countryside.
I absolutely have to have the window open, even if just a little !
I had thought that Ruth couldn't become more perfect - and then she quoted Granny Weatherwax. My mood lightens as soon as I see anything from Ruth - but most of all when it's something I haven't seen before as this is. Bought yourself a new sub, historyextra. This woman has expanded more British minds than Cambridge and Oxford combined.
Love the Sir Terry Pratchett quote! We used to wash just as he said! Our cottage had no running water or sewerage when I was born (1953) . I was born in that cottage too!!😊
I absolutely love Ruth Goodman, she has this natural enthusiasm and charisma that just pulls you right into the video, it makes you naturally excited to learn history with Ruth Goodman, a tell talent of a gifted educator and historian!
Anything with Ruth Goodman in is an automatic watch. The Discworld reference is a bonus. :D
Now that is a tough, tough life. 19:19 the faces of the children at the end says it all, they have a totally different hardness to children in the West today.
one must remember that it wasn't the norm to smile in photographs back then. though of course you're correct in saying the experience of these children is totally different from that of modern kids.
My great grandmother, even into the early 1920s wore several petticoats. Unbleached calico then red flannel etc. When my mum was little in the 1920s she recalled worrying that when she grew up she would forget the order. Gt grandma also wore drawers. Ie. 2 tubes of lace trimmed cotton joined at the top and having a drawstring through the top to fix in place. No gusset.
Of course fasions changed while mum was still little. 😂
You are supposed to pull the chemise through to cover your privates. The no gusset is for access when using the bathroom - which would otherwise be impossible due to the corset.
@@LittleKitty22 All I can see now is an outdoor washing trough in the winter months! One of my grandmothers used to "cook" her laundry in a large pot on her woodstove, gyrating it with a large wooden paddle. Still today I remember her excellent meals which she cooked/ roasted just going after her gut feelings, without thermometer or even clocks!(edit for typos)
The other one had five children with my grandfather, and they were the only ones in the neighbourhood who installed not only a washing machine and a top-loading cylinder tumbler, but also a bathtub in the kitchen (bath once a week, in the meantime an old door was put on top of it and used as working space) and even an INDOOR toilet in the master bedroom! In the mid-1950s this was really the newest, hottest s**t...
I myself had to sell my house (divorce, what else!) and now rent a flat where I also have a woodstove and a tile oven in the adjacent room, but until now was too cowardly to try out to heat it :-) . Coming winter, I must grit my teeth and get on with it nonetheless - as you say, I roll around like a well-padded onion because it gets bl**dy cold over night (large vault cellar underneath my floor - the house was built in 1815, but apart from the woodstove, luckily the other appliances are from the 1990s, or newer!).
When I saw Ruth showing the hygiene MO, I had flashbacks of my childhood! The flannels were in heavy washing rotation, because we only had a bathtub, no shower, and most women had an extension hose for their wash basin tap - when screwed on, one could wash and rinse their hair in the small basin! Many people used dry shampoo in between visits at the hairdresser's, and talcum powder and eau de toilette fo a quick refreshment during the day.
Who knows when we will again have to remember and apply "the olden ways", with the IMO (so-called!) renewable energy supply system not in the least sufficient to supplant the now common energy sources...
@@sabinegierth-waniczek4872 Fascinating, I also remember from my childhood everyone washing clothes by boiling them in the scullery - yup, in a huge pot with a large wooden paddle, just like you mention! Washing machines were unheard of and I'm not old, and my family were not poor but that was in the Middle East.
Cooking got done on the AGA, and food got stored in the pantry - no refrigerator then. The women knew how to cook, they also didn't use thermometers and clocks.
There was no bathroom - indoor toilet we had, but only a sink with running cold water, so water got heated up and put in a bowl to wash. Once a week the tin bath tub got used for a bath.
You are absolutely right, we don't know where this energy crisis is going to lead us, one thing is for sure - these modern things are not going to keep us warm. Here in the UK the government is going to ban gas boilers in the next few years, they want us all to have heat pumps - which don't work! With heat pumps, you need six radiators in each room and it will still be cold, so engineers have informed me. Electric boilers cost a fortune to use. I still got a gas boiler - it's nearly new but costs a lot to run.
I have also lost my houses - yes several, not through divorce but abusive and dishonest family members who stole all my estates and inheritances, so I am in a tiny duplex house/apartment now. It's ice cold even in summer as the sun only shines into the bedroom, and it's level with the ground (one of the many typically British idiocies) so it's freezing all year round. Due to what has happened to me, and never having had a husband, I will never have a proper house again so stuck I am, and the heating costs are so massive that I cannot keep up.
Woodstoves have been made illegal here in the UK some years ago in order to force everybody to pay a fortune for electricity - or freeze, and the thousands of deaths every year due to hypothermia makes me wonder whether that is the intend: to kill off the sick, the disabled, the poor and the old. I have also suffered terrible hypothermia, never knew which is worse: that, or starvation. Both hurts. Both have destroyed my health.
So onion it is for me too... wearing a lot of layers of clothing. Trouble is - I then cannot move because the many layers are like a suit of armor, they are stiff and heavy.
On Tuesday we are expecting snow. I'm dreading it already...
I'm grateful to be born in these modern times
As someone with a disability, I agree. I could have been locked away in an institution receiving harmful therapies such as electric shock therapy…
Ruth Goodman is so comforting and nostalgic
Ruth is just incredible. I have autism and tend to get overwhelmed quite easily, but whenever I watch anything with her in it I instantly relax and feel a lot more calm. ❤
I can't get enough of Ruth Goodman. I absolutely love her as a storyteller, and admire her profound knowledge and capacity for hard labor when she reenacts the whole business of everyday life in the past.
I'm currently reading her book: "How To Behave Badly In Elizabethan England". I highly recommend it❤
Delighted to see Ruth again. It's such a privilege.
I love Ruth Goodman. More of this, please.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
What a wonderful presenter. She speaks directly to the listener and communicates her messages with them in mind. Her voice is animated but never oppressive. Her content is brilliant and well organized. Thank you. I learned a lot from your presentation. The images presented are poignant and relevant, and not simply there for the bored to keep them conscious.
I'm so glad that this has been posted. I've been missing my fix of history from Ruth since her wonderful podcast finished.
She's such a great presenter - knowledgeable, entertaining and she has a lovely way of speaking.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
I am convinced that Ruth Goodman could talk about anything at all, and I would listen. In have never heard her talk about a single boring subject, and it didn't take long for me to realize that it wasn't the subject itself that mattered, but who presented it. She is, just like the amazing Sir Terry Pratchett that she mentioned, one of the people who have crafted their storytelling to completely wrap its tentacles around your brain and light it up with vivid images.
I could listen to Ruth Goodman all day and night! She describes everything in such vivid detail - and with such enthusiasm - it’s as if the people of the era she’s discussing have come to life and are standing before me. Hers is a truly rare gift - and one much appreciated in these quarters!!!
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
I would watch Ruth explain how paint dries and still be enthralled!
Ruth is a national treasure❤
I can listen to her for hours! What an amazing teacher 😊
This is very fascinating. It’s quite strange I was just folding some clean clothes & the thought of how my ancestors did things came into my head. Then I grabbed my phone & your video was just there. Subbed ❤
we're glad to hear it! 🧺
I could listen to Ruth all day. Knowing she has actually lived like they did back then and watching those videos gives you an amazing look into what life was like then.
I liked the animation of the hot water steam, that was unnecessary but interesting that you included that 😂😂🤣
Ghost 'steam'.. lol
My most favorite teacher. We love you, Ruth! ❤
It’s these details that we want to learn! I also like the video magic put into this video, the steam, the germs etc.
We're really glad you enjoyed it! There's lots more Ruth in our Victorian Academy online course - including two live Q&As. You can find out more and join us here: www.historyextra.com/join/
I love Ruth Goodman. I don't care what it is, I'm watching it. Her knowledge, storytelling ability and personality is so calming.
I love this-so well put together! To share one of my favorite bits of Victoriana, from Random Shots from a Rifleman, Sir John Kincaid, 1835
"Who has not passed down Blackfriars-road of an evening? and who has not seen, in the vicinity of Rowland Hill's chapel, at least half a dozen gentlemen presiding each over his highly polished tin case, surmounted by variegated lamps, and singing out that most enchanting of all earthly melodies to an empty stomach, that has got a sixpence in its clothly casement, "hot, all hot!" The whole concern is not above the size of a drum, and, in place of dealing148 in its empty sounds, rejoices in mutton-pies, beef-steaks, and kidney-puddings, "hot, all hot!" If the gentlemen had but followed us to the wars, how they would have been worshipped in such a night, even without their lamps."
The amount of buying prepared food is amazing. But for a working person, especially one who was single, who had limited access to cooking facilities, it was quite common.
Even families had limited cooking facilities. Fast food has been part of urban life since before the Romans.
Ruth is a jewel. She's a truly marvelous person!
I saw Ruth Goodman, and here I am. Wonderful! More please!
Love anything with this woman. You can really feel her passion for the Victorian era
So VERY good to see you again, Ruth!!!
Watching this in Sweden in 2024, eating, ironically...potatoes.
I enjoyed this SO much, you've definitely found a new subscriber in me. It's an absolute PLEASURE listening to this woman speak, I could seriously do it all day.
Just adorable! Amazing historian and lady! Great job!
Gosh Ruth Goodman is truly a queen. She’s always had this theatrical presence full of wisdom. I can’t believe she’s so much older now.
Please check out “The Green Valley” and the Tudor/Victorian farm series! You get to see all of her hands on knowledge!
Love this woman, she brings history to life, very passionate ❤️
Ruth quoting Pratchett.....heaven! X
Love Ruth...ALWAYS! She is the best.
Words cannot describe how good it is to see a new video of Ruth Goodman❤❤❤
Wonderful seeing Ruth again and hearing the history, thank you
Yes Ruth is a lady time traveller that is capable of taking all of us on her amazing journeys into the past...what a gift.
Missing Ruth. Would be terrific to see her in more new videos. I have watched all of her older videos repeatedly. 😍👏😎
Ruth is a national treasure!!
American here-- my dream is to meet Ruth Goodman someday. My 4 year old son and I LOVE watching her programs!
One of my treasured memories is being kissed by Ruth! She was giving a talk about the Elizabethans at a tiny theatre in Ross-on-Wye and, by chance, we'd both nipped into a Costa for a quick cuppa before her show. Because we'd chatted she spotted me in the audience when she needed a volunteer to show a particular form of greeting. Hence the kiss! I didn't wash my face for days!
RUTHHHH!!!!! She looks so well. I have her books. Glad to see her on the screen again.
Beautiful house inside and outside with a beautiful garden around it. And Ruth looks great in this outfit, totally her colour. Want to see more of her daughters. Always get a kick out of Katherine being a Ruth clone!
She is a great teacher for sure
Oh thank you so much she was such a great storyteller I could listen to you for hours sending love from New Zealand originally from Wales I used to wash like that as a girl I was brought up in a pit house tiny rooms outside toilet no running hot water that ❤