You can look at census information if you are curious.<p>I was curious about my victorian house. These days it is a typical 3 bedroom detached semi, constructed circa 1890.<p>A check of the census revealed that back in 1901, there was a married couple, the husband working for the Pearl Insurance company, 8 children and a grandmother living in it. The toilet was outside (but at least they had their own!) and there was only one dedicated bedroom as upstairs had not been converted.<p>So your idea of a &quot;victorian gentlement&quot; sitting alone in the room is probably wrong. Likely the house would have been teeming with children, who would be employed after the age of 12 or so. Multiple people would sleep in each room. The kitchen would have a bed recess. Constant work would be done all day every day for everyday tasks now like keeping dishes clean, heating water, cooking etc.<p>The husband probably spends his occasional free time at the pub to avoid the endless activity of home.<p>It is surprising how much more poverty-stricken and arduous even middle class life was then, compared to now.