The Cost of Living
Being a mix of real-world prices of the period gleaned from the excellent 18th Century resource Dr Johnson’s London by Lisa Picard, topped with a confection of gaming artifice.
Weapons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Musket | £12 | |
| Carbine | £7 | |
| Blunderbuss | £7 | |
| Pistol, cavalry | £5 | |
| Pistol, pocket | £4 | |
| Gun upgrades: rifling, extra barrel, breech-load, miniaturisation, quality (decoration), etc, etc — each upgrade from a standard pattern cumulatively doubles the cost | ||
| Saker (6lb) | £50 | needs carriage, tools etc. |
| Match: quick (1-12ft/min) or slow (4 inch/hr) 1yd = 1lb | 10s | |
| Grenade, 1lb (¼lb powder) | 1s | |
| a silver-hilted sword | £5 | |
Health & Medicine | ||
| Dr. Sibly’s Solar Tincture | £10 | may restore life in the event of sudden death |
| half-pint of Dr Daffy’s Elixir Salutis | £5 2s 6d | general panacea for wounds and disease |
| a phial of Dr. Bateman’s Pectoral Drops | £3 10s | improves the male physique for the duration of the week’s course |
| Dr. Rock’s General Electuary | £5 10s | promotes the restoration of lesions |
| Dr. John Hooper’s Female Pills (box) | £3 7s 6d | to cure of disorders peculiarly incident to the female sex and restore the constitution |
| a bottle of Dr. Prossily’s Water for the clap | 10s 6d | eases and promotes opening obstructions of vessels |
| a phial of Dr. Ward’s drops | £1 10s | cures light wounds |
| a phial of Dr. Rock’s drops | £1 | cures light wounds |
| a phial of Dr. Martin’s Chymical Drops | 15s | cures light wounds |
| Anderson’s Scots Pills | 15s | promotes well-being and vitality, counteract ill humours |
| 1lb of opium | 6s | |
| cost of dental scaling | 10s 6d | |
| cost of dental care under annual contract | £4 4s | |
| a transplant of a live tooth | £5 5s | |
| fee to dentist for transplanting natural tooth | £10 10s | |
| full set of false teeth with gold springs | £73 10s to £105 | |
| cost of blood-letting for a poor person | 3d | |
| a tooth extraction | 2s 6d | |
| cost of lead dental filling | 5s | |
| cost of gold dental filling | 7s 6d | |
Food & Drink | ||
| half a loaf of poor bread | ½d | |
| enough gin to get drunk on | 1d | |
| enough gin to get dead drunk on | 2d | |
| supper of bread, cheese and beer for a journeyman tailor | 3d | |
| a quart of milk, when ‘extremely dear’ | 3½d | |
| a quart of beer | 4d | |
| a pound of cheese | 4d to 6d | |
| meat, drink and bread for a journeyman tailor’s dinner | 6d | |
| dinner for a government clerk: cold meat, bread and a pint of porter | 6¼d | |
| a better dinner | 8d | |
| cost of an evening at a coffee-house | 8d | |
| a pound of butter | 8d to 10d | |
| 1lb of fat bacon (half a pound would do a working man for dinner) | 10d to 1s | |
| a dozen best china or seville oranges | 10d – 1s | |
| dinner in steakhouse: beef, bread and beer, plus tip | 1s | |
| 1lb of Parmesan cheese | 1s | |
| 1lb of soles | 1s 6d | |
| a whole pig | 2s 6d | |
| dinner sent in from a tavern | 2s 6d | |
| a barrel of Colchester oysters | 3s 3d | |
| 1lb of coffee | 4s 9d to 6s | |
| a pound of Fry’s drinking chocolate (plain) | 5s | |
| a dozen rabbits in the market | 7s | |
| 1lb of tea. It varied widely depending on quality | 7s 6d to 16s | |
| 1lb of Fry’s drinking chocolate (vanilla) | 7s 6d | |
| a dozen chickens in the market | 9s | |
| a dozen bottles of ‘Methuen’ wine | £1 1s | |
Living | ||
| a day’s allowance of coal, candles and firewood for a tradesman’s family | 1d | |
| 1lb of candles | 2s 10d | |
Appearance | ||
| a pound of soap | 1½d | |
| a pound of hair powder | 5d | |
| paid to a barber to shave a man and dress his wig | 6d | |
| 1lb of perfumed soap | 1s | |
| cost of drycleaning a coat | 1s 6d — 2s 6d | |
| twelve yards of gold braid | 2s | |
| a pair of washable kid gloves | 2s | |
| a curling iron | 2s | |
| a pair of men’s yarn stockings | 3s 2d | |
| a petticoat for a working woman | 4s 6d | |
| a workman’s secondhand coat | 5s | |
| a pint of lavender water | 5s 2d | |
| a pair of women’s worsted stockings | 5s 7d | |
| a pair of stays for a working woman | 6s | |
| a gown for a working woman | 6s 6d | |
| a pair of strong shoes | 7s | |
| a yard of flowered damask (15½ yards for one dress) | 8s 8d | |
| a piece (14½ yards) of Indian sprigged muslin | 9s | |
| cost of various wigs | 10s 6d — £1 15s | |
| a yard of mechlin lace | 13s 10d | |
| a pair of men’s lace ruffles | 16s | |
| pair of men’s silk stockings | 17s 4d | |
| wig for a clerk in a public office | 18s | |
| a yard of rich brocaded satin (12¾ yards for one dress) | 18s 6d | |
| a fine beaver hat | £1 1s | |
| a pair of velvet breeches | £1 10s | |
| cost of sack dress | £1 10s 6d | |
| a pair of stout silk-knit breeches | £1 12s | |
| an annual shaving (3 times a week) and wig-dressing contract | £2 | |
| a suit of clothes for a clerk in a public office | £4 10s | |
| a silver watch | £5 5s | |
| a ‘full dressed’ suit | £6 | |
| a man’s suit | £8 | |
Entertainment | ||
| entry to Vauxhall | 1s | |
| entry to Ranelagh (but could be as much as £2 2s on masquerade nights) | 1s | |
| a dish of beef or thin-cut ham at Vauxhall | 1s | |
| a chicken at Vauxhall | 2s 6d | |
| a ticket to hear the rehearsal of the music for the royal fireworks at Vauxhall | 2s 6d | |
| a bottle of claret at Vauxhall | 5s | |
| a box at Drury Lane Theatre | 5s | |
| a bottle of champagne at Vauxhall | 8s | |
| ticket in pit or box of Theatre Royal Covent Garden | 10s 6d | |
| a ticket to the grand jubilee at Ranelagh | £1 1s | |
| a ticket to a grand gala at Mrs Cornelys’ | £1 1s | |
| season ticket to Vauxhall, 1742 | £1 9s | |
| a ticket for a ball at Mrs Cornelys’ | £2 2s | |
| a month’s dancing lessons | £2 2s | |
| cost of a night out including supper, a bath and a fashionable courtesan | £6 | |
| cost of musicians for a ball | £14 14s | |
Accomodation & Furnishings | ||
| weekly rent of a furnished room for a tradesman | 2s | |
| a cane-seated chair | 8s 6d | |
| advertised price of carpet per square yard | £1 to £1 10s 6d | |
| cost of three rooms in Old Bond Street | £1 10s 6d | |
| a round mahogany folding table | £2 7s | |
| a chimney glass and a pair of sconces | £5 18s | |
| monthly rent of a pretty house in Chelsea | £10 10s | |
| a crimson velvet easy-chair and two matching stools | £13 7s 6d | |
| lodgings in Westminster | £22 | |
| a whole furnished house in Pall Mall | £22 | |
| lodgings in Downing Street | £40 | |
| annual rent of a house in Grosvenor Square | £300 | |
| cost of lace on Queen’s state bed | £3,780 | |
| rent of Covent Garden market | £10,356 | |
Transport | ||
| boat across the river | 4d | |
| a boat from London Bridge to Westminster | 6d | |
| turnpike toll for a coach and four horses (six horses, 10d) | 8d | |
| the first mile in a Hackney chair (after that, 1s 6d) | 1s | |
| cost of hackney coach for first hour (then 1s per hour); | 1s 6d | |
| annual cost of a two-wheeled chaise and horse in London | £40 | |
| a coach | £77 16s | plus annual running costs |
Wages | ||
| hourly rate for a boy chopping firewood | 1½d | |
| paid to a sweep for one chimney | 6d | |
| daily pay award for journeyman tailors | 2s 2d | |
| daily pay for an infantryman | 1s | |
| weekly wage of an unskilled labourer | 9s | |
| weekly wage of journeymen tradesmen | 18s – 22s | |
| weekly pay of journeyman silversmith | £1 1s | |
| monthly pay of Royal Navy ordinary seaman | 19s | |
| monthly pay of Royal Navy able seaman | £1 4s | |
| Royal Navy deductions, all ranks and ratings | 1s 6d | 6d Chatham Chest, 4d chaplain, 2d surgeon, 6d Greenwich Hospital |
| monthly pay of East India Company seaman | £1 15s | |
| Vails (tips) to six servants by a guest over five days | £1 18s 6d | (a.k.a compliments) |
| annual pay of a ship’s boy | £2 10s | |
| the annual wage of a housemaid | £6 – £8 | |
| the annual wage of a footman | £8 | |
| daily pay of the Duke of Cumberland as head of the army | £10 | |
| the annual wage of a coachman | £12 – £26 | |
| annual salary of the First Commissioner to the Admiralty | £3,000 | |
| annual salary of the First Lord of the Treasury | £4,000 | |
Upkeep | ||
| cost of keeping a pauper for a week | 1s 5¾d – 1s 9½d | |
| annual cost of boarding at Westminster School (plus £15 for room and fire) | £25 | |
| annual cost of maintaining and educating a clergy orphan | £10 – 12 | |
| annual cost of liveries for three menservants | £15 | |
| estimated annual cost of living for a prosperous tradesman’s family | £350 | |
Et Cetera | ||
| cost of a negro boy | £32 | |
| postage of one-page letter going 80 miles (paid by recipient) | 3d | |
| cost of an almanac | 9d | |
| postage of one-page letter from London to New York | 1s | |
| cost of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary, 1756 | 10s | |
| a brass barometer | 18s | |
| annual subscription to the Peerless Pool (or 2s per visit) | £1 1s | |
| a special auricula plant | £1 1s | |
| twelve French lessons | £1 1s | |
| stud fee | £1 2s | |
| a load of hay | £2 2s | |
| price of a lottery ticket a few days before the drawing | £42 | |
| the lottery prize | £10,000 to £20,000 | |
12 pence (d) to the shilling (s)
20 shillings to the pound (£)
21 shilling to the Guinea (Gn)