Mary Stuart

At the table

Pottage was a staple vegetable stew

Poor families relied on pottage, a thick vegetable stew often flavored with small amounts of bacon or meat when available.

What people wore

Simple attire for common men

Common men's wardrobes were functional and simple, typically consisting of a shirt, breeches often made of leather, a waistcoat, and a heavy wool coat.

Getting around

Walking and Horseback Travel Speeds

Most ordinary people travelled on foot or horseback, with pedestrians typically covering around 3 miles per hour and riders averaging 5 miles per hour.

What it cost

Typical food prices in England

When bread cost a penny a pound, cheese cost threepence a pound, and butter cost fivepence to sixpence a pound.

Music

Ale as payment for musicians

Ale was commonly known as fiddlers' wages, as itinerant musicians frequently performed in taverns and alehouses in exchange for drink, food, or money.

Daily life

Fetching water from public conduits

Most poor families collected water from public conduits or communal street pumps because private piped water was rare.