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Moll Davis

Westminster, 1648 – London, 1708

6 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

  • Born1648, Westminsternot verified1 source
  • Died1708, Londonnot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 1648

    Born in Westminster

  2. 16 Oct 1673

    A daughter is born

  3. 1708

    Dies in London

Family

See the tree

Children · 1

During her lifetime

She lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Westminster.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1640s · Moll is born in Westminster

In the news1649

Execution of King Charles I

King Charles I was publicly executed for treason, marking the first time a monarch was beheaded by his own people.

Getting around

Transport via packhorses

Travelers often used packhorses to transport goods, and humble passengers sometimes rode on packsaddles between baskets.

In the news1642

English Civil Wars begin

Beginning in 1642, the English Civil Wars caused approximately 200,000 deaths and led to heavy weekly taxes to fund the fighting.

Daily life

Candles and open fires lit homes

Lighting and cooking relied heavily on fire: people used candles for light and open fires for cooking. Many houses were built close together and often of wood, increasing the risk of fire.

What people wore

Ordinary women's linen smocks

Ordinary women wore smocks as an undergarment, which were loose, all-enveloping linen dresses. These could be made of holland linen for best or coarser fabrics for daily work.

Music

The Popularity of the Viol

The viola da gamba, a fretted instrument with six strings played with a bow, became very popular for domestic music-making because of its shimmering sound and relative ease of learning.

At the table

Beer and ale safer than water

Most people avoided water because it was rarely clean and could spread disease, so they drank beer or ale made from malted barley and water. Beer was the cheapest drink because its higher alcohol helped it last; some beers were aged for up to two years.