A Matter of Some Delicacy

Every woman knows that when she goes just about any place where there is a crowd that she will end up standing on line for the restroom, but at least there will be a restroom. In the Regency Era, few houses had indoor toilets, and they relied on the chamber pot or the outdoor necessary. In the backstory for the 2003 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, it was noted that there were no indoor facilities, male or female, for the guests. As a result, a woman had to give a lot of thought to what she drank before and during an assembly or ball, such as the one that Charles Bingley hosted at Netherfield Hall, very much like we do before getting on an airplane. I assume that most women judiciously sipped their punch throughout the evening. Of course, for the men, a nice bush would suffice. Pictured to the right is a very pretty chamber pot from the Regency Era.

Sea Bathing in the Early 19th Century

From the 18th Century on, bathing resorts multiplied, especially along England’s southern coast. They included Brighton, Ramsgate, and Eastbourne, all mentioned in Austen’s works. In addition to enjoying the “bracing sea air,” people could bathe in the always chilly waters* of the Channel by using a bathing machine (pictured at left). In order to assure a woman’s privacy, there were designated areas for members of each sex. After the bather entered the bathing machine, he/she would change out of their street clothing and into their bathing costumes, and then the machine would be rolled into the water. Some resorts hired “dippers,” who were strong and hardy souls who would help the bather into the sea and might possibly push a person into the water to enhance the bathing experience.

*According to Tony, who has gone sea bathing in the Channel, the air temp can get quite warm--as high as 86 degrees F. (See comment.) Having lived in Arizona for 14 years, I don't go swimming unless the water temperature is above 80 degrees F. I am such a wuss.

Circulating Libraries in the Regency Era

During the Regency Era, books were very expensive, and few families, other than the very rich, were able to afford the cost of an extensive library. A solution to this problem was the circulating library. The first known lending library was established in the Strand in London in 1730 and was run by Mr. Wright, a bookseller. The idea was very popular, and by the beginning of the 19th Century, the number of libraries had grown to 26 . With an increase in literacy, these lending libraries proved to be an affordable way for people to read books. There was a flat charge for the initial subscription, and then a small fee would be charged for each book checked out. One of the more popular books of the Regency Era was Maria Edgeworth’s Tales of Fashionable Life and, I’m sure, The Complete Works of Jane Austen. The drawing shows such a library in Scarborough.

Viewing the Masters in the Regency Era

At the time Jane Austen had Elizabeth Bennet visiting Pemberley, the Darcy estate, there were no public art museums in Great Britain. Those wishing to view paintings and sculptures of the Masters would visit England's great estates as well as the extensive parkland surrounding their magnificent manor houses. Middle-class travelers could visit Blenheim, the ancestral seat of the Churchills, or Chatsworth, one of several homes of the Dukes of Devonshire, among many others. The first National Gallery in England would not open until 1824, seven years after Austen's death, at 100 Pall Mall, in the former townhouse of John Julius Angerstein, a Russian emigre, banker, and art collector, who had died the previous year. It was small, hot, crowded, and a national embarrassment when compared to the Louvre in Paris, but it was a start.

Skating Party

Skating party
Originally uploaded by Mary L. Simonsen

Other than walking and riding, there were few outdoor activities that a woman could do in Regency England, but ice skating was one of them. Although this picture shows only the two dandies skating while their female companions look on, women did skate, often on the arm of their suitor. Obviously, the two men in this picture are trying to impress the ladies. They are in their best clothes, and they must have been freezing!