In 1558 Queen Elizabeth was crowned and people’s way of living changed. Life in Elizabethan was a lot more raw and less developed. A lot of the simple electricity uses that we have hold of today they did not have and those simple things are what made a difference to their way of living massively.
Living
The Elizabethans were mostly overpowered by the rich and those who held power however there was not a lot of them. Many poor people lived in the countryside which at the time was seen as something very ugly and unpleasant.
Of course lifestyles in the countryside had a very different image to what most people would depict today, the day’s were very dark and cold.
A normal household in the countryside would consist of a small cottage holding on average about 7 to 8 family members. Houses were often very dark as there was no technology for any sort of light bulbs and candles were too expensive for the working class to afford. The houses also had windows to let in light however no glass which meant the windows had to be kept very small in order not to let in too much cold. However small or big they were, they still let in a lot of the cold which made winters extremely bitter.
Average household items of a working class family living in the countryside:
Spoons, Pots, A basket, A bench.
People often slept on the floor as they had no beds however if they were able to, some did manage to sleep on straw mats which would make sleeping less uncomfortable but still very hard.
Jobs
People didn’t really have a choice when it came to how successful they wanted to be as class was divided according to the class in which you were born into. If you wanted to get a job and you lived in the Countryside, often your best hope would be to go out and travel farm to farm asking if anyone would offer you a jobs as a
Labourer - In their farming industry there were 3 different types of jobs you could have.
Yeaman - This is someone who owns their own farm and gets workers to work in it.
Husbandman - Rents out land from the Husbandman so that he can work in it.
Labourer- Someone who works on other people’s farms (This was the job you were most likely to get)
Money
Once you got the job, working hours were extremely long reaching from dawn until sunset and at the end of the day you would receive 1 Groat.
That is roughly about £100 today however it couldn’t get you anywhere near as much as £100 would today. With 1 Groat you would probably only be able to get roughly 1 loaf of bread and cheese or 3 lemons. This of course would make it impossible to live off specially if you had a family in which you would have to pay for food, rent, clothes it would be impossible. For this reason many people living in countrysides didn’t get married simply because they couldn’t afford to do it and raise a family.
Entertainment/Literature/Religion
Books became very successful as they were now able to print which meant that books were now being printed in English. This gave a wider range of people from different classes an opportunity to educate themselves in their own homes. The first Bible that was printed in English gained huge success as for the first time, people were able to continue educating themselves and learning teachings from their religion in their own homes.
Development
It’s reaching 1598 and many things were starting to be invented and developed. Many people started moving into the city as many houses were being rebuilt and the population was growing more than ever. Population went from 3.2 to 4.1 Million which was an increase of 25%!
Chimneys were made for those who could afford it which meant that houses weren’t so suffocating and smokey because of the small windows in the compact spacing.The compass was made and so were windows which meant warmer houses. However of course only the wealthier people could afford them and even then, because glass was so expensive they would only have windows at the front of their houses to “show off”.
Education
Books were now teaching people all sorts of things even how to shoot out canons.
Before the only people that had access to an education were people of high class however Grammar schools were now opening and boys had access to learning how to read and write in Latin. 1 in 10 men could write in English however by the end of the Elizabethan reign 1 in 4 men could. The amount of women that could write also increased by 10%. Both men and women were able to write and publish work which meant that along with a lot more access to jobs, Literature could be the key to a successful life.
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