17th Century England

Lesson 1: Guide to pre-civil war England

What Life was Like

Wages were low for the average 17th century family. They were decided by the Justices of the Peace in that area, with the typical daily wage for an agricultural labourer being about 8-10 pence per day, slightly less than a soldier's wage.

Women tended to stay at home and look after children, work on the house, complete accounts, and grow food or milk cows, which the family owned. If a woman was employed, the highest paid job was a midwife, which had to be licensed by a Bishop.

Another job, lesser paid, was a dairymaid - the average female wage was about 4 pence per day.

Sometimes people’s wages were supplemented by Gods pennies, which was a down payment of money paid when work commenced. Children were set to work at early ages, thus providing several members of one family with money and income.

Infant mortality was high, due to disease, malnutrition and poor midwifery. The average family was around four and a half persons.

Couples did not marry young, due to several external facotrs. First, you needed enough money to marry. Secondly, there was much work to do before marriage. Women usually worked as labourers or servants for rich families until marriage, while men worked hard to finish their apprenticeship, thus gaining experience and qualifications for a job of sufficient pay. Authorities were wary that people earned enough before marriage as, if they didn’t, then the authorities would have to pay for their upkeep under the Poor Laws.

Eventually, when marriage came, both parties were in their mid twenties and only expected to spend about another ten or twenty years together. God forbid if a woman fell pregnant before marriage, for she would be whipped in the village centre for all to see, the people being advised that she had given birth to a bastard.

Starting work at around daybreak, a labourer would rise at half past six in the morning and breakfast on bread and beer, with dinner at midday and supper in the evening. If his employer provided food, then that cost was deducted from his wage.

The main diet was bread, with eggs and milk provided by any animals the household owned. Ale was consumed in vast quantities. Cheese was hoarded for bad harvests or times of hardship.

Most houses were made up of only two rooms with an attic/loft. Windows were glass free and the house had little in the way of furniture, what they did have being passed down through generations. The main piece of furniture was an oak table with stools or benches for the family meals.

Candles lit the rooms, while fires were lit with wood or cow dung and chests were used to store things in.

For leisure, of which there was little due to the huge amount of work time, villagers tended to dance, vault, play bowling, or meet in the alehouse. Other games included football, gaming and dice. London hosted bear baiting and cock fighting.

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