Many Victorian cottages and houses were very simply furnished and many of the comforts which we are used to today were not available to most families.
Many homes, especially those of the poorer people in the community, could not afford much fuel for heating, and this often meant that there was very little hot water available. Washing with cold water in a cold house in the winter was not much fun...

This is from the Log Book of Nantmel Gaufron Board School in December 1878 :
"A few of the children I find are in the habit of coming to School with faces & hands unwashed, the truth being cold mornings, all were sent to wash & make themselves clean & were cautioned as to their future appearance".

The diary from St Harmon's School in 1879 mentioned that one girl was "very dirty, she is one mass of dirt and filth".
The teacher had to warn her that he wouldn't let her come to school in future unless she arrived clean and tidy.
Although there are a few similar remarks in the various school records, most parents did their best to keep their children clean and suitably clothed, often with very little money to spare.

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