The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910, and is sometimes expanded to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victorian era. Her son and successor, Edward VII, was already the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by the art and fashions of continental Europe.
Samuel Hynes described the Edwardian era as a “leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun really never set on the British flag.”
The Liberals returned to power in 1906 and made significant reforms. Below the upper class, the era was marked by significant shifts in politics among sections of society that had largely been excluded from power, such as laborers, servants, and the industrial working class. Women started to play more of a role in politics.
These amazing photos were found by Photos of the Past that show what life of England looked like during Edwardian era.
Cine camera and actors in armor |
A day at the seaside |
Bathing huts at the seaside |
Berkshire. All Saints Church, Bisham |
Birmingham Council House |
Bradbury motorcycle |
Cornwall. St Mary Magdalene, Launceston |
Cornwall. Tintagel beach and Camelot Castle Hotel |
Devon. Way before the floods, Lynmouth |
Early Levis motorcycle |
East Sussex. Beached submarine, possibly German U-Boat U131 at Hastings |
Essex. Old Sun Inn, Market Hill, Saffron Walden |
Family at the seaside |
Farming scene – horse drawn reaper / harvester |
Kent. Thames Ironworks coach |
Large formal family portrait |
London United Tramways car |
London. Houses of Parliament |
London. Newgate Street |
Marlow. Riverside cottage and lock |
Mystery hand-powered cart on railway track |
On the river |
Oxfordshire. Iffley Mill on the Thames, south of Oxford |
Stratford-upon-Avon. Mason Croft |
Tea with friends |
Two men and a woman |
Warwickshire. The Keep, Kenilworth Castle |
Weston-Super-Mare. Crowded beach in front of the Claremont Hotel |
Woman at the window, with her prized Aspidistra |
Wounded soldiers on railway platform |