Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester

1640–1660

Born: 8 Jul 1640, Oatlands Palace
Country of birth: Kingdom of England, today United Kingdom
Died: 18 Sep 1660, Palace of Whitehall

facts: 8
sources: 1
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Facts and their sources

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Birth8 Jul 1640, Oatlands PalaceProbable1 source
TitleDuke of Gloucester, 1659–1660Confirmed1 source
Death18 Sep 1660, Palace of WhitehallProbable1 source
ParentCharles I of EnglandConfirmed1 source
ParentHenrietta Maria of FranceConfirmed1 source

A life in time

8 Jul 1640
Born · Oatlands Palace
Birth, Oatlands Palace
1659–1660
Event · Duke of Gloucester
Event
18 Sep 1660
Died · Palace of Whitehall
Death, Palace of Whitehall

What was it like?

The world around Oatlands Palace, 1640: 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.

Henry was Duke of Gloucester from 1659 to 1660.

Known for

Titles held

Duke of Gloucester1659–1660

Fashion

Identical left and right shoes

Women's shoes had no distinction between left and right feet at this time. Both were identical.

Ordinary women's linen smocks

Ordinary women wore smocks as an undergarment, which were loose, all-enveloping linen dresses. These could be made of holland linen for best or coarser fabrics for daily work.

Music

Psalm Books as Treasured Possessions

Commoners and nobility alike cherished psalm books, which were sometimes bound with bibles and could be easily carried in a purse due to their small size.

The Popularity of the Viol

The viola da gamba, a fretted instrument with six strings played with a bow, became very popular for domestic music-making because of its shimmering sound and relative ease of learning.

Getting around

Travel from London to Dover by wagon

In 1640, the journey from London to Dover by long wagon often took three or four days due to the slow pace of the vehicle.

Carriages stuck in the mud

Carriages sometimes required a team of sturdy laborers on both sides to prop them up so they would not overturn in deep mud.

Daily life

Candles and open fires lit homes

Lighting and cooking relied heavily on fire: people used candles for light and open fires for cooking. Many houses were built close together and often of wood, increasing the risk of fire.

Few children could afford school

Many children in the 1640s did not go to school, and families often could not afford it; many adults also could not read or write. Where schooling happened, girls often attended only until about age 10, while boys might continue to grammar school if their parents could pay.

Food

Beer and ale safer than water

Most people avoided water because it was rarely clean and could spread disease, so they drank beer or ale made from malted barley and water. Beer was the cheapest drink because its higher alcohol helped it last; some beers were aged for up to two years.

Ordinary diets centered on pottage

For poorer people, pottage (a thick vegetable stew) was a main food, alongside bread and vegetables. This diet left many lacking vitamins and iron, and hard times meant hunger when prices rose.

Work

Equal Pay for Identical Tasks

While men typically earned more, women and men could sometimes receive the same daily wage for performing identical agricultural tasks.

Highly Seasonal Female Agricultural Work

Women's agricultural work was highly seasonal, with 72.7 per cent of their recorded workdays occurring between July and September.

News and letters

Letters traveled round-trip in six days

After the 1635 royal proclamation, letters could be sent between London and major cities like Edinburgh or Plymouth with a guaranteed round trip, including an answer, in six days. Before this service, many people relied on carriers, foot-posts, or private servants to deliver mail in an informal and often slower manner.

Postage costs based on distance traveled

Postage rates for a single letter in 1635 were set based on distance: 2d for under 80 miles, 4d for 80 to 140 miles, and 6d for distances over 140 miles. Additional fees applied for packets containing more than one letter, with the total cost payable upon receipt or delivery.

During their lifetime

1642
English Civil Wars begin
Beginning in 1642, the English Civil Wars caused approximately 200,000 deaths and led to heavy weekly taxes to fund the fighting.
1649
Execution of King Charles I
King Charles I was publicly executed for treason, marking the first time a monarch was beheaded by his own people.

Family

Parents

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.