When this overcrowding was coupled with the poor sanitary conditions that were prevalent it resulted in the early years of Victoria’s reign being blighted by a series of epidemics, notably the nationwide Cholera epidemic of 1848. What it did do was prompt the great architects of the age to design the sewerage systems and travel solutions that we still use today.

Scientifically, and religiously, the country underwent great change, as Darwin published his Origin of Species and many people began to question the Christian ideas of Creation. There was also a great movement of Spiritualism at this time.