You are here: History and Glossary > Wages and Prices

Wages and Prices

Shortcuts:


Average Prices 1259 - 1700

CORN PER QUARTER
  Wheat Barley Oats Rye Beans
1259-1400 5s.10¾d. 4s.3¾d. 2s.5¾d. 4s.47/8d. 4s.3½d.
1401-1540 5s.11¾d. 3s.8¾d. 2s.2½d. 4s.7¾d. 3s.9½d.
1541-1582 13s.10½d. 8s.5¾d. 5s.5½d.   9s.1½d.
1583-1700 39s.0½d. 21s.4d. 13s.10d.   22s.3½d.


LIVE STOCK
  Oxen Cows Cart Horses Sheep Lambs Pigs (grown) Boars
1259-1400 13s.1½d. 9s.5d. 16s.4d. 1s.2d.
to 1s.5d.
8d. 3s. 4s.7d.
1401-1540 mod.
increase
14s. unaltered mod.
increase
9d. unaltered 6s.
1541-1582 55s. 32s. great increase 3s.
to
4s.6d.
22s.
to
3s.
6s.8d.
tto
8s.
1583-1700 100s. 60s. 1580-1640 £5 - £10
1640-1700 £8 - £15
10s.7d. great increase


POULTRY AND EGGS.
  Hens Ducks Geese Eggs per 100
1259-1400 16/8d. 2d. 35/8d. 41/2d.
1401-1540 2½d. 2½d. 4¾d. 6½d.
1541-1582 4¾d. 4¾d. 10d. 7½d.
1583-1700 8d.- 1s. 9½d. 2s. 3s.3d.


  Wool Cheese Butter Hay Hops
  per lb   Per load Per cwt
1259-1400 35/7d. 4½d. per 7 lb. 4¾d. per 7 lb. 3s.8d. -
1401-1540 35/7d. ½d. per lb. 1d. per lb. unaltered 14s.0½d.
1541-1582 7½d. 1d. per lb. 3d. per lb. 9s.6d. 26s.8d.
1583-1702 9d. to 1s. 3½d. per lb. 4½d. per lb. 26s.4d. 82s.9d.


PRICE OF LAND PER ACRE.
  To Rent. To Buy.
  Arable. Grass.
1261-1350 4d. to 6d. 1s. to 2s. 12 years' purchase
1351-1400 6d. 2s. 12 years' purchase
1401-1540 6d. 2s. 15-20 years
1541-1582 slight increase unaltered
1583-1640 great increase 20 years
1641-1700 5s. 8s. 20 years
1770 10s. 30 years


Labourer's Wages

LABOUR
  Reaping wheat
per acre.
Reaping oats
per acre.
Mowing
per acre.
Labourer per day
without food.
1261-1350 55/8d. 47/8d. 5½d. 2d.
1351-1400 8½d. 8½d. 7d. 3d.
1401-1540 93/4d. 8½d. 81/8d. 4d.
1541-1582 - - - 6½d.
1583-1640 - - 1s.7d. 8½d.
1640-1700 - - 1s.8d. 10d.


PRICES OF LABOUR IN SURREY IN 1780
  s. d.
Day labourer, per day, in winter 1 4
Day labourer, per day, in summer 1 6
Reaping wheat, per acre 7 0
Reaping, according to the crop, up to, per acre 12 0
Mowing barley, per acre 2 6
Mowing oats, per acre 1s.6d.to 2 0
Mowing grass, per acre 2 6
Hand-hoeing turnips, per acre, first time 6 0
Hand-hoeing turnips, per acre, second time 4 0
Thatching hayricks, per square of 100 ft. 1 0
Washing and shearing sheep, per score 3 0
Ploughing light land, per acre 5 0
Ploughing stiff land, per acre 7s.to 10 0
Common hurdles, each 5

Depreciation of Labourer's wages in purchasing power 1742-1808
Period Weekly pay Price of wheat Wages in
  s. d. s. d. pints of bread
1742-52 6 0 30 0 102
1761-70 7 6 42 6 90
1780-90 8 0 51 2 80
1795-99 9 0 70 8 65
1800-08 11 0 86 8 60

In answer to inquiries sent by the Poor Law Commissioners in 1834 to 900 parishes in England the average weekly wages of labourers were—

Labourer's average weekly wages in 1834
in summer
No. of Parishes   s. d.
254 with beer or cider 10
522 without beer or cider 10
in winter
No. of Parishes   s. d.
200 with beer or cider 9
544 without beer or cider 9 11¾


Average inclusive earnings in 1834
  £ s. d.
of the labourer himself 27 17 10
and of his wife and children 13 19 10
Total 41 17 8


It will thus be seen that the wife and children provided a third of the income. The majority of the parishes said the labourer could maintain his family on these wages.


Mulhall's calculation of average annual wages in England.
  Bailiff Shepherd Labourer Woman Boy
1800 £20 £16 £12 £8 £6
1850 40 25 20 10 8
1880 52 36 30 15 10


Weekly budget of a labourer with an average family in 1800
Credits s. d. Debits s. d.
Wages 15 0 Rent 1
Garden 1 6 Bread 6 0
Extras 1 0 Bacon 2 6
  Tea and sugar 1 3
  Cheese 1 6
  Butter 1 6
  Fuel 1 3
  Candles and soap 0 6
  Clothes 1 6
  Schooling 0 3
  Sundries 0
17 6 Total 18


There is no fresh meat, and it is hard to say where any economy could be practised.




The above figures were taken from A Short History of English Agriculture by W. H. R. Curtler, which is freely available from Project Gutenberg

You can calculate the purchasing power of money from 1750-2005 using Inflation: the value of the pound 1750-2005 (House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/09)

Top of page