Prince Alfred of Great Britain

Prince Alfred of Great Britain was the fourteenth child and ninth and youngest son of King George III and his queen consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In 1782, Alfred, who had never enjoyed robust health, became unwell after his inoculation against smallpox. His early death, along with that of his brother Prince Octavius six months later, deeply distressed the royal family.

Dual-purpose Undergarments

Women often wore a shift (a basic undergarment) that served as both daytime underwear and sleepwear.

Popular Bedgowns as Street Wear

Bedgowns, which were lightweight front-wrapping jackets, evolved into a staple garment for British working-class street wear.

Music at a Black social club

At a 1773 dance in Southwark, a group of 59 Black servants entertained themselves with music played on violins and French horns. All the performers in this band were Black, and no White people were allowed to attend.

Harp music for a late night dance

In 1770, party guests hired a professional harpist for an evening of dancing, paying him one shilling each for his services. The music from this single harp was sufficient for them to dance until 1 a.m.

Slow coach travel speeds in mid-18th century

Coaching became more common after 1760, but travel remained slow; in 1755, average coach speeds to London were less than five miles per hour.

Travel options depended on personal wealth

Wealthy travelers hired expensive postchaises for speed, while poorer people sometimes paid to sit on baggage in slow carts pulled by carriers.

Adjusting Rushlights Was a Child's Chore

Rushlights, made from dried reed pith dipped in fat, were a cheap source of light, though they could burn for as little as ten minutes. It was often the youngest family member's chore to manually adjust the reed in its clamp to keep the light burning.

Communal Baking for a Small Fee

In smaller communities, people often used a shared bakehouse where they paid a small fee to have their dough baked in a communal oven. Residents would carry their bread loaves to these ovens on boards resting on their shoulders.

Sixpenny dinner for craftsmen

For an average London craftsman, a typical dinner consisted of bread, beer, and cheese or fatty bacon, often costing sixpence.

Tea becomes a common drink

By the middle of the 18th century, drinking tea had become common even among ordinary people, despite its cost.

Worker daily wages in the 1770s

In the 1770s, many building laborers and skilled craftsmen in cities like London earned around 2s. 6d. per day.

Cost of a simple dinner

In 18th-century London, a simple dinner of cold meat, bread, and a pint of porter cost 6 1/4d.

Common jobs in the period

Common occupations included agricultural labourers, who worked by the seasons, and diverse urban roles like cordwainers (shoemakers), chandlers (candle makers), and night-soil men, who removed waste at night.

Notable work facts and extremes

Some people worked unusual hours, such as a publican who began mowing at 2:00 a.m. in 1756, and children were employed from a young age for tasks like bird-scaring and stone-picking.