Wealth in C17th England

Copyright © Julian Tilbury, 1998

The following table was drawn up by Gregory King in the late C17th. King was one of the most important figures in the devolopment of the science of statistics. In this case he also seems to have started the habit of fudging the statistics for political ends. He underestimated the numbers of families in his wealthier categories, and grossly underestimated the incomes of those above the poverty line, probably because he did not believe England could afford to be involved in the European wars of the 1690s.

The wages of labourers were at their lowest level for three centuries at the end of the C16th. They rose during the C17th, especially in the three generations after the Civil War. King’s figures may therefore be a better estimate of wealth during the Civil War than of 1688.

The table shows the average family income to be just over £32 per year. Only 25% of the population have a family income over £50.00 per year, 50% have a family income of £20.00 or under, and 25% of the population have a family income of £14 or under. Note that servants are included in the numbers of the wealthier households. The Civil War rates of common soldier pay of 8d or 9d per day are £13 3s 4d and £13 13s 9d per year (365 days) respectively.

Included in the table are the number of ‘characters’ required for an imaginary ‘1688 Living History Society’ of about a thousand members. Such a society could reconstruct a small C17th town showing all its social classes.

Obviously with such a small number of society members the wealthiest social classes cannot be proportionaly represented, so the fraction of families they would represent is accumulated down the wealth scale until there is enough for one family. The one rich merchant family in the table is therefore representative of the rich merchants and all the wealthier classes. Similarly the four families of artists, scientists or the better off clerics also represent military officers.

Source: Barnet, George E. (1936), Two Tracts by Gregory King, The John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, reproduced on p.6 of Seventeenh-century England, A Changing Culture, Volume I, Primary Sources, Edited by Ann Hughes, Ward Lock Education, London, 1980, 1982, 1983.

Population and Income of England in 1688