Mary Bayning

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

Lighting homes with animal fat rushlights

Ordinary people relied on rushlights made of rushes dipped in animal fat for light, as beeswax candles were too expensive.

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

The Popularity of the Viol

The viola da gamba, a fretted instrument with six strings played with a bow, became very popular for domestic music-making because of its shimmering sound and relative ease of learning.

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

Walking and Horseback Travel Speeds

Most ordinary people travelled on foot or horseback, with pedestrians typically covering around 3 miles per hour and riders averaging 5 miles per hour.

What it cost

Supplementary income for rural families

During the Elizabethan and early Stuart period, many rural families supplemented their income by growing fruit and vegetables in cottage gardens or keeping pigs and cows.