Catherine Pegge

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.

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.

News and letters

Letters traveled round-trip in six days

After the 1635 royal proclamation, letters could be sent between London and major cities like Edinburgh or Plymouth with a guaranteed round trip, including an answer, in six days. Before this service, many people relied on carriers, foot-posts, or private servants to deliver mail in an informal and often slower manner.

Music

Psalm Books as Treasured Possessions

Commoners and nobility alike cherished psalm books, which were sometimes bound with bibles and could be easily carried in a purse due to their small size.

At the table

Ordinary diets centered on pottage

For poorer people, pottage (a thick vegetable stew) was a main food, alongside bread and vegetables. This diet left many lacking vitamins and iron, and hard times meant hunger when prices rose.

Getting around

Carriages stuck in the mud

Carriages sometimes required a team of sturdy laborers on both sides to prop them up so they would not overturn in deep mud.

Work

Equal Pay for Identical Tasks

While men typically earned more, women and men could sometimes receive the same daily wage for performing identical agricultural tasks.