Skip to content
VitrineVitrine
Sign in

Lady Ida Bennet

22 Jun 1857 – 24 Nov 1887

5 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

  • Born22 Jun 1857not verified1 source
  • Died24 Nov 1887not verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 22 Jun 1857

    Born

  2. 29 May 1881

    A son is born

  3. 24 Nov 1887

    Dies, aged 30

Family

See the tree

Partner

Children · 1

During her lifetime

She lived through 4 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1850s · Lady is born

In the news1854

1854 Cholera epidemic sparks public reform demands

A cholera epidemic in 1854 caused widespread public demand for clean water and city sewage systems.

Getting around

Walking as primary travel mode

Walking was the most common way to travel short distances, with people typically covering about 3 miles per hour, though rarely exceeding 20 miles in a single day.

In Europe1845–1852

The Great Famine in Ireland

Potato blight ruined harvests: a million Irish people died and a million more emigrated, many to America.

Daily life

Winter Bed Warming and Iced Windows

With no central heating, families used warming pans filled with hot coals to heat beds during winter. It was not uncommon for ice to form on the inside of window panes on cold mornings.

What people wore

Shirtfronts Hidden Beneath Formal Wear

To maintain respectability when they could not afford an entire formal wardrobe, gentlemen often wore a separate shirtfront or dickey to conceal striped shirts.

Music

Street Performers and Murder Ballads

Street musicians often survived by singing sensational ballads about local murders, such as the killing of Jael Denny in Essex. A popular sentimental song like Bayley's Isle of Beauty could be performed to earn a quick meal from passersby.

At the table

Affordable staple foods for families

Onions were a common, affordable staple, often costing about a halfpenny for a bunch of at least a dozen. Watercress was also a popular, cheap working-class staple available for a halfpenny for four bunches.