Synopsis

''Brief Encounter'' changed the way people viewed marriage in the post-war years, leading to over 30,000 divorces being filed.

Further Information

More clips from The British Family

1: Marriage | The British Family

Kirsty Young begins a history of how British families have changed since the Second World War by looking at marriage, and how it has become ...

Divorce | The British Family

In the 1960s, the divorce rate doubled from post-war levels but the grounds for its enactment still meant someone had to be at fault.

Gender roles in the 1950's | The British Family

In the 1950s, domestic chores were very much a woman's domain, so much so that, schools and discourse discouraged young girls...

Social change for women | The British Family

Only 1 in 5 married women went to work in the 1950s and even that low figure was being signalled as the demise of domesticity.

War Time Marriage bond | The British Family

While in modern times marriage has become quite turbulent, the wartime bond was something quite different, with couples up agains...

Wilmott and Young on Families | The British Family

Towards the end of the 1950s, attitudes were changing and men began to do their share of housework.