Charles James Stuart, Duke of Cornwall

What people wore

Respectability through Sunday best

To maintain respectability despite limited income, common people kept a wardrobe with at least two outfits, saving the better one for Sundays, holidays, and leisure.

Daily life

Education and early childhood labor

Boys might attend petty school from age five to learn English, while poor children often started working full-time at age seven.

Work

Routine Workday Peak Hours

The working day typically followed a routine with peak hours between 8am and 11am, followed by a break for dinner, and an afternoon peak between 2pm and 5pm.

Music

High earnings of ballad singers

Ballad singers, such as those known as Outroaringe Dick and Wat Wimbas, could earn as much as 20 shillings in a single day by performing at fairs and wakes.

At the table

Ale and beer replaced water daily

Ordinary people avoided water because it was considered unhealthy, instead consuming about one gallon of ale or beer per day.

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

Daily wages for English laborers

In the early seventeenth century, unskilled labourers typically earned fourpence to fivepence per day, while skilled labourers earned sixpence to eightpence.