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Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll

London, 17 Jan 1801 – Edinburgh, 16 Jan 1856

8 facts2 sources

Facts and their sources

  • Born17 Jan 1801, Londonnot verified1 source
  • Died16 Jan 1856, Edinburghnot verified1 source
  • FatherWilliam IVnot verified1 source
  • MotherDorothea Jordannot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 17 Jan 1801

    Born in London

  2. 12 May 1829

    A daughter is born

  3. 16 Jan 1856

    Dies in Edinburgh, aged 54

Family

See the tree

Parents

Children · 1

During her lifetime

She lived through 6 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around London.

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

The 1800s · Elizabeth is born in London

What people wore

Respectability through Sunday best outfits

To maintain respectability, ordinary people strove to own at least two complete outfits, reserving the better one for Sundays, holidays, and leisure activities.

Getting around

Comparing stage-wagon and stagecoach speeds

Stage-wagons, which were the slow trucks of the era, charged about one penny per mile and could take nearly three days to cover 101 miles. In contrast, by 1800, a fast stagecoach could cover 168 miles in 32 hours.

At the table

Government Banned Sale of Fresh Bread

Following a bread shortage, the government passed the 1801 Stale Bread Act, which banned the sale of fresh bread to ensure people ate it only after it was 24 hours old, as stale bread was more filling.

The Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon’s armies redrew the map of Europe from Spain to Moscow; his invasion of Portugal sent its court to Rio de Janeiro.In Europe · 1803–1815

The Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon’s armies redrew the map of Europe from Spain to Moscow; his invasion of Portugal sent its court to Rio de Janeiro.

Ruedi33a · CC BY-SA 4.0

Music

Popular dance instrument

The tabor and pipe, featuring a small drum and a single-handed three-holed pipe, remained a popular and enduring instrument for dance bands well into the 1820s.

Daily life

Cooking and Baking Habits

In some households, families without a private oven sent their bread and cake mixes to a local bakery, marking them with their initials to identify them. Cooking ranges heated by coal were used, with water heated in kettles hung over the fire or in boilers behind the coal fire.

What it cost

Cost of a loaf of bread

A four-pound loaf of wheaten bread typically cost between six and ten pence during this period.