James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

What people wore

Limited wardrobes for the commoners

Many ordinary people owned only one set of clothes for daytime wear and lacked dedicated sleepwear, opting to sleep in their smocks and nightcaps.

Daily life

Open fire cooking and cookshops

Cooking usually took place over an open fire, often involving stews in a cauldron or roasting meat on a spit. Many poorer people lacked cooking facilities at home and relied on cookshops for takeaway food.

Work

Farming was the most common job

Farming was the primary occupation, with nine out of ten people living in rural villages or small towns.

Music

Street Dancing in London

In London, apprentices and girls frequently danced in the streets after shops closed to the music of the pipe and tabor.

At the table

Workers drank over 4 liters of beer

Manual workers were expected to consume a massive daily allowance of 4 quarts, or over 4 liters, of beer.

Getting around

Horses were the fastest travel option

Riding a horse was the fastest and most reliable way to travel for those who could afford one. A basic riding horse cost about £4 to £5, a sum many skilled tradesmen struggled to earn in an entire year.

What it cost

Earnings of Workers and Servants

Unskilled laborers earned between £5 and £10 per year, while skilled workmen typically earned about 6d per day. Farm workers often earned no more than half a shilling (6d) per day, and many servants were paid as little as six shillings annually plus board.