Welcome to the Victorian Nursery! Quiz

Answer: India

Snakes and Ladders has its origins in a board game which has been played in India since ancient times, where it was a game designed to teach children the principles of good and bad behaviour, hence going up the 'ladder' illustrated virtues and tumbling down the 'snake' represented vices.

After gaining popularity in Britain, the game made its way to America in 1943 where it was produced by the Milton Bradley Company under the name Chutes and Ladders, with 'chutes' replacing the 'snakes'. The object of the game is to be the first to reach the top square of the board, taking the advantages and penalties along the way according to the roll of a single die.

Answer: donkey

Now known as 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey', this game was invented and patented in America by Charles Zimmerling, from Wisconsin, in the 1880s under the name 'Donkey Party'. The game quickly took off in popularity around the world. A picture of a donkey, minus its tail, is pinned on a board or wall. Each child is given a 'tail' attached to a pin, then blindfolded and spun round until they lose their sense of direction.

Their task is then to approach the picture and pin the tail where they think it should go, with the one closest to the donkey's 'tail' at the end of the round declared the winner.

Answer: yes

Many of the toy soldiers beloved of children in Victorian times were made of tin and were brightly painted, using the lead-based paints of the time, and some toy soldiers were actually made from lead, which certainly would not pass muster with health regulations or, indeed, health-conscious parents, today. The use of lead-based paints (except for their use in historical buildings) was banned in the UK in 1992.

Answer: hopscotch

More affluent Victorian families would often have a garden and could entertain themselves in their own grounds. Rocking horses and other expensive toys were popular for the nursery. Children from poorer backgrounds had less expensive toys with which to amuse themselves, but with a little imagination peg dolls, a football made from a pig's bladder or scraps of material sewn together and stuffed to make a cuddly toy were all used, and probably enjoyed just as much as a more expensive item.

As the only 'equipment' required to play hopscotch was a piece of chalk for marking the lines and a small, flat stone to play the game, this was by far the cheapest option. A jigsaw puzzle, though within the budget of less well-off families, would nevertheless be regarded as a treat and perhaps reserved for a Christmas or birthday present.

Answer: horse chestnut

The first recorded use of conkers being in the game was in 1848 in the Isle of Wight, although there was a similar game using hazelnuts dating back earlier, before the horse chestnut seed became the weapon of choice. To play, a hole is made through the centre of the conker and it is then thoroughly dried to harden it. Some players prefer to use a conker which has been harvested and dried during the previous year, as a mature conker will be stronger. A stout string or shoelace is threaded through the hole in the conker, knotted securely, and then the two opponents take it in turns to hit each other's conker. The first person to smash their rival 's conker is declared the winner.

Although conkers themselves are highly toxic and consumption of the raw seed can be fatal, extracts from the processed seeds are sometimes used in complementary medicine.

Answer: jigsaw puzzle

John Spilsbury was a map maker and engraver. He initially devised the jigsaw puzzle as a teaching aid to teach children geography. His first jigsaws were made of wood, with a map of the world pasted over and pieces then cut out around the different countries' borders.

Nowadays jigsaws are normally made of cardboard and can depict any scene on a multitude of different subjects. They were very popular in Victorian families; children could enjoy them on their own or the whole family could play them together and they were ideal entertainment for a rainy day. There are all sorts of jigsaw puzzles available nowadays, including three-dimensional puzzles.

Answer: no

The reign of Queen Victoria lasted from 1837 to January 1901, and the teddy bear did not make his appearance until nearly two years after her death, in the early part of the reign of her successor, Edward VII. The teddy bear originated in both America and Germany around the same time, late 1902 - early 1903, unbeknown to the two creators. New York creator Morris Michtom named his toy bear after seeing a newspaper cartoon of a bear-hunting incident involving American President Theodore Roosevelt and, having sent the President one of his toy bears, received permission to use his name.

At the same time, the world-famous German company Steiff introduced their toy bear to the world. Steiff bears, with their trademark button in the ear, are beautifully made and probably the most sought-after.

They can command a high price at auction; a 1905 bear named Teddy Girl was sold for a record price of £110,000 at Christie's of London in 1994!

Answer: cards

'Happy Families' was a card game invented by John Jaques II and sold through his family's company Jaques of London, a sports and games company who were also the distributors of games including Tiddlywinks and Ludo, among others. Still played today, the game involves a deck of cards with four pictured cards of the same 'family' to a set comprising a mother, a father, a son and a daughter.

The object of game is to collect sets of the same family, the player with the most sets completed winning the game. Family surnames are based on occupations, e.g. Mr Bun the Baker and Mr Pots the Painter, and the names can vary according the edition being played.

Answer: Germany

It is believed that the game of marbles can trace its roots to several different ancient civilisations, although it was not until the 19th century that they were first produced on a commercial basis in Germany, following the invention in 1846 of a tool to use in their manufacture. The game quickly caught on in America, where mass production began.

In Victorian England, the children of more wealthy families would often have marbles made out of the real thing, hence the name. Poorer children would normally have marbles made from clay, or play with the glass 'marble' from a Codd-neck bottle, a type of carbonated drink bottle of the day which had a glass ball inside to keep the drink fizzy. Nowadays most marbles are made of glass, some with very intricate designs. There is even a British and World Marbles Championship held annually in Sussex.

Answer: Jack in the box

'Jack in the Green' is a character associated with May Day celebrations and Morris dancing in England since the 16th or 17th centuries. Jack in the pulpit is the nickname of a woodland plant called Arum Maculatum, also known as the cuckoo-pint. Jack in the house was one I made up, although there is a children's nursery rhyme called 'This is the House that Jack Built'.

The Jack in the box children's toy consists of a closed box with a handle to wind up on the outside. The box would play a tune, normally 'Pop Goes the Weasel', and at the end the lid would spring open, whereupon a toy clown concealed inside would suddenly and vigorously pop out. Guaranteed to startle a child and frighten them nearly as much as a Grimms' Fairy Tale, in my view!