There are many things that should be known about the average work day during the Elizabethan era. Examples of these things can be see in the list below.
- Due to numerous deaths from the plague, peasants were paid for labor.
- The growth in wool trade provided many men with jobs in the wool trade. Whether they be salesman or simply apprentices.
- Workdays often varied depending upon the season.
- From March to September the workday was often from 5am to 8pm.
- From September to March the workday was from dawn to dusk.
- Days in the summer for a workday could start as early as 3am.
- During mid-day breaks from work were aloud. And in some cases were required for your workers if you were an Employer.
- The busiest work season for men was harvest time, and hay making time.
- Different trades were often passed down from father to son.
- There were multiple jobs that could be held by the men of this time period. Blacksmiths, carpenters, builders, roofers, ploughmen, cowmen , milkmen, servants, millers, farmers and the peasants and labourers were some of the common jobs you would find in a village.
- Village women also had to work. Their work relied mostly on things to do with the house.
- Women were expected to look after the animals, cook, clean, weave, spin, mend clothes, know how to use herbs, and look after their children.
- In the city you would often find jobs such as a stapler, and draper, a mercer, an actor, or perhaps even a playwright.
- A stapler is a person who buys and sells raw wool. And also silk and linen.
- A draper is a person who deals in cloth and some ready-made garments and dry goods.
- A mercer is a person who owns a fabric store and sells the cloth in a local town.
- Depending on the type of job you had, you would be paid differently for your service.
- People that were paid the most were Brewers. They were paid 10 pounds.
- Brewers are people who make and sell alcohol.
- The lowest paying jobs were draymen, the tunman, brownbakers, glovers, and barbers. They were paid three pounds.
- Glovers were people who would sell gloves.
- Barbers were people who would style hair, operate and perform surgeries, and would on occasion be a dentist.
- Brownbakers were people who would make brown bread.
- A draymen is a person who delivers beer, to a brewery.
- There were many other jobs that ranged in payment as well such as the clothworkers, shoemakers, cutlers, tilers, glaziers, sawyer, fowler, curriers, and cooks. Their pay ranged from 4 to 6 pounds.
- A cutler was a person who would sell knives.
- A tiler was a person who would tile roofs.
- A glazier was a person who would glass windows.
- A sawyer was a person who would contract with for sawn wooden planks for building
- A fowler was a person who supplies game birds for your table.
- There were two leading industries during the Elizabethan era. They were textiles and mining. There were many jobs that could be found in either industry.
- The rising type of job during this time, however, was craftspeople and merchants.
- Craftspeople learned their craft from apprenticeships. During which time, their mentors would teach them to read, write, and do arithmetic. As well as give them food and a place to stay.
- Women besides their home jobs, also found work in the towns and cities as, seamstresses, laundresses, and street vendors.
- Between the ages of 14 and 24, many people were employed as domestic servants.
- As the merchant class type people began growing, taxes were raised on merchants. But at the same time the government put a stop to foreign goods being imported into the country.
- Although many merchant people were able to become wealthy, many more became poor and unemployed.
- Children who lost their parents were placed in orphanages and given to people as apprentices.
- Able-bodied people with no jobs were often sent to work houses.
- Other poor people who couldn’t find employment, took to thievery. Which was punished by being whipped first, burned on the right ear second, and finally killed.
- City workers would often stay in bed later than, farmers and other rural area workers.
- Smaller towns would have market days. But for larger cities like London, vendors would be about down daily in spots where there would typically be a lot if foot traffic.
- Among the various venders you could find a variety of goods to buy. Mostly food, but there would also be cutlers selling their wares, along with glovers, and other small vendors.
(Town/ Market place)
(fowlers/skinners)
Sources:
1. Alchin, Linda K. “Elizabethan Village Life.” Elizabethan Village Life. N.p., 16 May 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
2. Ashby, Ruth. “Daily Life.” Elizabethan England. New York: Benchmark, 1999. 61-63. Print.
3. Greenblatt, Miriam. “Earning a Living.” Elizabeth I and Tudor England. New York: Benchmark, 2002. 56-59. Print.
4. Ros, Maggi. “Services and Occupations.” Life in Elizabethan England 3:. N.p., 25 Mar. 2008. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
5. Ros, Maggi. “Some Workmen’s Wages in 1588.” Life in Elizabethan England 86: Some Workmen’s Wages in 1588. N.p., 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
6. Ros, Maggi. “More Services and Occupations.” Life in Elizabethan England 17:. N.p., 8 Mar. 2008. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
Shakespeare at Baldwin 2015 