of joining art and science. Exhibits with innovations for manufacturing were a priority. Passionate about science, Albert ruled that objects defined as ‘fine art’ were to be disqualified unless they included some technical expertise. Nevertheless, the exhibits included Augustus Pugin’s ‘medieval court’ of neo-Gothic carpets and tiles, a display by the Religious Tract Society and Novello’s cheap editions of oratorios. Three of the most admired objects were the gas cooker, the sewing machine from America and, as domestic canning was still in its infancy, tinned mutton from Australia.
Thomas, who transported 165,000 people from the Midlands to the exhibition, did not forget the young. Anxious that children should see this ‘unprecedented and never-to-be-rivalled’ show, he escorted 3,000 children and their teachers from the Sunday and day schools of Leicester, Nottingham, and Derby. His new paper the
Excursionist
, the first travel newspaper in the world, allowed him now to be a published author and also to promote his ideas: ‘The Great Exhibition is mainly indebted for its astonishing interest to the skill and industry of mechanics, artisans and other operative classes. And in many instances the honour of invention and execution which properly belongs to those classes is monopolized by the principles of manufacturers (who may be mere noodles) or the wealthy millionaire, whose gold had made him representative of the products of better men’s brains and hands.’
With 112,000 exhibits from 7,381 British and 6,556 foreign exhibitors, the exhibition proved that British factories could cope well with competition. Britain had become the powerhouse of Europe, a kingdom of traders, importers, exporters and factories churning out everything from stockings to machines, all which would be exported to every corner of the earth. Since the abolition of the Corn Laws and the ending of import tariffs on raw materials and foodstuffs, Britain had set out to conquer overseas markets by means of well-made, cheaply produced products. The old Free Trade campaigners saw the exhibition as a triumph, the result of their long struggle. Entrepreneurial skills had turned the British Isles from an agricultural country into an industrial giant.
There were many spin-offs from this, the biggest event of any sort ever held in Britain. One historian suggested that it resulted in ‘the largest movement of population ever to have taken place in Britain’. 3 A landmark in international exhibitions, it set the standard for all future similar events throughout Europe, and it also became a milestone in transport. In a way, the exhibition was following the lead of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had been one of the first political leaders to be aware of the unifying effect of pomp and ritual.
In England, the exhibition was a precedent for attracting ‘the public’ to gigantic gatherings 4 and in bringing people from the provinces to see the wonders of London. During its four months of existence the exhibition was open for 140 days (closed on Sundays) and dazzled six million visitors – a fifth of the population of Great Britain. But many foreigners visited and many people returned more than once. Numbers increased as the show went on, with over 100,000 a day. It was also a milestone in the history of many new inventions, even institutions, such as the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Thousands of leaflets were distributed telling workers to visit the YMCA. Alarmed at the temptations luring young men in London, George Williams, who was later knighted, set up clubs in an attempt to stop them being pulled into the growing underclass of London. Each club had reading rooms, refreshment areas, accommodation and places to meet and make new friends.
The year marked the third triumph for Nonconformists in twenty-three years. Results of the first religious census in England and Wales shook the complacency of the Church of England, as they showed
Thomas, who transported 165,000 people from the Midlands to the exhibition, did not forget the young. Anxious that children should see this ‘unprecedented and never-to-be-rivalled’ show, he escorted 3,000 children and their teachers from the Sunday and day schools of Leicester, Nottingham, and Derby. His new paper the
Excursionist
, the first travel newspaper in the world, allowed him now to be a published author and also to promote his ideas: ‘The Great Exhibition is mainly indebted for its astonishing interest to the skill and industry of mechanics, artisans and other operative classes. And in many instances the honour of invention and execution which properly belongs to those classes is monopolized by the principles of manufacturers (who may be mere noodles) or the wealthy millionaire, whose gold had made him representative of the products of better men’s brains and hands.’
With 112,000 exhibits from 7,381 British and 6,556 foreign exhibitors, the exhibition proved that British factories could cope well with competition. Britain had become the powerhouse of Europe, a kingdom of traders, importers, exporters and factories churning out everything from stockings to machines, all which would be exported to every corner of the earth. Since the abolition of the Corn Laws and the ending of import tariffs on raw materials and foodstuffs, Britain had set out to conquer overseas markets by means of well-made, cheaply produced products. The old Free Trade campaigners saw the exhibition as a triumph, the result of their long struggle. Entrepreneurial skills had turned the British Isles from an agricultural country into an industrial giant.
There were many spin-offs from this, the biggest event of any sort ever held in Britain. One historian suggested that it resulted in ‘the largest movement of population ever to have taken place in Britain’. 3 A landmark in international exhibitions, it set the standard for all future similar events throughout Europe, and it also became a milestone in transport. In a way, the exhibition was following the lead of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had been one of the first political leaders to be aware of the unifying effect of pomp and ritual.
In England, the exhibition was a precedent for attracting ‘the public’ to gigantic gatherings 4 and in bringing people from the provinces to see the wonders of London. During its four months of existence the exhibition was open for 140 days (closed on Sundays) and dazzled six million visitors – a fifth of the population of Great Britain. But many foreigners visited and many people returned more than once. Numbers increased as the show went on, with over 100,000 a day. It was also a milestone in the history of many new inventions, even institutions, such as the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Thousands of leaflets were distributed telling workers to visit the YMCA. Alarmed at the temptations luring young men in London, George Williams, who was later knighted, set up clubs in an attempt to stop them being pulled into the growing underclass of London. Each club had reading rooms, refreshment areas, accommodation and places to meet and make new friends.
The year marked the third triumph for Nonconformists in twenty-three years. Results of the first religious census in England and Wales shook the complacency of the Church of England, as they showed
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