Skip to content
VitrineRoyal Houses of Europe
Sign in

Princess Augusta of Great Britain

1737–1813

Born
31 Jul 1737, London
Country of birth
Kingdom of Great Britain, today United Kingdom
Died
1813, London
facts
11
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · London

    Birth, London

  2. Child born: Caroline of Brunswick

    Birth, Schloss Richmond

  3. Event · Duke Consort

    Event

  4. Died · London

    Death, London

What was it like?

The world around London, 1737: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Princess was born around the same time as James Watt, James Boswell, and Isabelle de Charrière.

Known for

Titles held

  • Duke Consort1780–1806
Born around the same time

  • James Watt

    1736 · British engineer (1736–1819)

  • James Boswell

    1740 · Scottish lawyer, diarist and author (1740–1795)

  • Isabelle de Charrière

    1740 · Dutch French-language writer and composer (1740-1805)

  • Giovanni Paisiello

    1740 · Italian composer of the Classical era (1740-1816)

  • Carl Michael Bellman

    1740 · Swedish poet, songwriter and composer (1740–1795)

  • Joseph-Louis Lagrange

    1736 · Mathematician and astronomer (1736–1813)

Fashion

Maintaining two outfits for respectability

Ordinary people aimed to own at least two complete outfits, saving the better set for Sundays and holidays to demonstrate respectability.

Stays used for comfort, not restriction

While working women wore leather or canvas stays for comfort and practicality, they did not restrict their breathing or movement.

Music

Cost of musical instruments for amateurs

While professional instruments like harpsichords were expensive, costing 35 to 50 guineas, amateur musicians could purchase violins for £2 to £3 or an oboe for less than £2.

Masked performers singing for eggs and beer

Groups known as pace-eggers would travel from house to house wearing masks and fantastic costumes, singing and dancing in exchange for rewards like eggs and strong beer.

Getting around

Common travel by foot, horse, or wagon

Most ordinary travel was done on foot, by saddle horse, or via hired pack-horse carriages, with horse-drawn wagons serving as a slow but cheap option for poorer travelers. Passenger stagecoaches were also available, though they were often uncomfortable and suffered from poor road conditions.

Costs of pack horse transport

Transporting goods by pack horse cost about 5 shillings for 112 pounds of weight carried over 100 miles. Summer travel was generally cheaper and faster than in the winter months.

Daily life

Cooking meat with animal power

To roast meat, some households relied on boys called 'Jacks' or even specially trained dogs to turn the heavy kitchen spits.

Lighting homes without modern matches

Candles were essential for light as there were no matches; people used flint and steel to strike a light, and brass candlesticks with snuffers were common household items.

Food

Beer was common for all classes

Beer was a standard drink even for children, with working men often receiving an allowance of up to a gallon per day as part of their wages. Midday dinner for workers typically consisted of bread, beer, and cheese or fatty bacon.

Gin and beer replaced unsafe water

The London poor consumed over six million gallons of gin annually by 1730, as it was often cheaper and safer than water. Alcohol, including small beer, was a staple because brewing removed contaminants that made water unsafe to drink.

Prices and wages

Costs of meat and bread provisions

Butcher's meat cost 1s. 10d. per stone in 1729. Bread prices fluctuated, but in 1745, one penny could purchase 15 ounces and 9/16 of bread.

Around 1729–1729

Daily wages for skilled building trades

In 1729, a carpenter earned 2s. 6d. per day, while a mason also received 2s. 6d. per day.

Work

Agricultural labor was the most common occupation

The most common job in the 18th century was agricultural labour, where workers, their wives, and children performed seasonal tasks like harvesting and weeding. Agricultural labourers often lived in tied cottages and were hired annually at Martinmas fairs.

Laborers earned extra pay as night watchmen

St. Paul’s Cathedral labourers could earn extra money by working as night watchmen, which paid 12d per shift after 1700, equivalent to more than half of their standard daily wage. A typical day for construction labourers involved physically demanding tasks like demolition or digging, often lasting until it was too dark to see.

During their lifetime

  1. 1739

    The Hard Winter 1739

    The hard winter of 1739 brought extreme weather that caused rising poor rates, widespread destitution, and higher mortality rates.

  2. 1761

    Bridgewater Canal opens in 1761

    The Bridgewater Canal opened in 1761, drastically reducing the cost of coal transport from 7d. to 4d. per ton.

  3. 1772

    Slavery effectively outlawed in 1772

    Lord Mansfield ruled in 1772 that slavery was not supported by the common law of England, effectively outlawing it.

  4. 1799

    Unions outlawed in 1799

    The Combination Act of 1799 prohibited workers from collectively bargaining or forming unions to improve their pay and conditions.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.