Prince William, Duke of Gloucester

What people wore

Identical left and right shoes

Women's shoes had no distinction between left and right feet at this time. Both were identical.

Daily life

Few children could afford school

Many children in the 1640s did not go to school, and families often could not afford it; many adults also could not read or write. Where schooling happened, girls often attended only until about age 10, while boys might continue to grammar school if their parents could pay.

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.

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

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.

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.

What it cost

Costs of meat and bread provisions

Butcher's meat cost 1s. 10d. per stone in 1729. Bread prices fluctuated, but in 1745, one penny could purchase 15 ounces and 9/16 of bread.