Channel 4 - 1900 House


1. Cost Conversions 2. Local Food Shopping 3. The Weekly Budget 4. The 1900 Price list		Back in the year 1900, not only were prices very different but the UK also used a different system of currency. It would be another 71 years before decimalisation was introduced. These were the days of the old penny (written 'd'), and the shilling (written 's', the equivalent of 5p today). Something that cost 2 shillings and 6 pence would have a price tag with 2/6 written on it and 2 shillings exactly would have been written 2/-.
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		1.Cost Conversions A rough conversion to today's decimal money table would be: • £1 = 240d • £1 = 20s • 1s = 12d A useful rule of thumb is that most items today cost 60 times what they would have done in 1900. There are some exceptions but this should help you work out what things are really worth. • 1d in 1900 = 25p in 1999 • 4d in 1900 = £1 in 1999 • 1s in 1900 = £3 in 1999 • 3s 4d in 1900 = £10 in 1999 • £1 in 1900 = £60 in 1999

		2. Local Food Shopping When living in the 1900 house, the Bowler family had an arrangement with a number of local shopkeepers to covered their milk, bread, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables requirements. Since they had no actual modern money with which to make purchases, the shopkeepers operated a credit system for them and kept the 1900 House television production team informed as to how much the family were spending. If the family went over budget, then the following week the shopkeepers would limit their credit. If the family wished to contact any of the shopkeepers, they could either visit their shop or write to them care of the television programme makers. In 1900 the family were not just limited by money, seasonal variations played a much bigger role than in their 1999 lives. Melons, for example, were only available in June and even then they were expensive at 1s each (£3.00 today). The television programme makers did a weekly shop for general household products that the family required such as soaps and candles and this was in keeping with a 1900 lifestyle since most such items would have been delivered at this time.

		3. The Weekly Budget The Bowlers' weekly wage is £4 per week which places them comfortably in the middle classes. Out of this wage, they need to provide for the following: • the mortgage at 9s per week • tax and local rates at 3s a week • travel for all the family will cost 13s per week Paul: 7s per week for an adult's Zone 1 and 2 Travelcard Joyce and Kathryn: 2s each per week for adults' Zone 2 Travelcards Ruth, Hilary and Joseph: 1s each per week for a child Zone 2 Travelcard This leaves: £2 15/- a week for: • coal and wood: 2s per 25kg bag • kindling wood: 8d per small bag • gas: the gas meter will be read each week and the 1900 cost calculated based on an estimated 10 'mantels' burning for 30 hours costs 1s. If the family spend an average of 9s a week on fuel, that leaves them with £2 6/- to spend on food, other household goods and maybe one or two other items. The price list that follows covers the weekly shop.

		4. The 1900 Price list General Cooking Products Vanilla flavouring £0 0s 1d/ bottle Vinegar (Sarson's) £0 0s 2.5d/bottle Yeast (powdered) £0 0s 5d/pot Fats Butter £0 1s 4d/1lb Margarine £0 0s 2d/ 1/2lb Suet (Atora) £0 0s 3d/ 1/2lb Preferences Honey (Clear English) £0 1s 0d/jar Raspberry, Strawberry, £0 0s 6d/jar Black Currant Jam (Hartley's) Apricot Jam (Hartley's) £0 0s 8d/jar Marmalade (Duerr's) £0 0s 6d/jar Marmalade (Keiller's) £0 0s 6d/jar Robertson's golden shred £0 0s 5d/jar Dried Fruit Almonds £0 0s 2.5d/packet Currants £0 0s 4d/1lb Preserved cherries £0 1s 6d/packet Raisins £0 0s 5.5d/1lb Sultanas £0 0s 9d/2lbs Pasta & Pulses Macaroni £0 0s 3.5d/1lb Vermicelli (Wheat) £0 0s 5.5d/1lb Dried Lentils £0 0s 3d/ 1lb Dried Split Peas £0 0s 1d/ 1lb Dried Haricot Beans £0 0s 2d/ 1lb Dried Butter Beans £0 0s 3d/ 1lb Grains & Cereals Cornflour (Brown & Pason) £0 0s 5d/1/2lb Long white rice £0 0s 8d/ 4lbs Pudding rice £0 0s 5d/ 2lbs Pearl Barley £0 0s 7d/packet Porridge oats (Scott's) £0 0s 4d/ 11/2lbs Tinned and Potted Meats & Fish Potted corned beef (Shippam's) £0 0s 5d/tin Potted salmon (Shippam's) £0 0s 5d/tin Potted bloater (Shippam's) £0 0s 5d/tin Tinned Chicken £0 1s 4d/tin Tinned Corned beef £0 1s 2d/tin Tinned Herring £0 0s 8d/tin Tinned Lobster £0 0s 8d/tin Tinned Ox Tongue £0 0s 9d/tin Tinned Salmon £0 0s 8d/tin Tinned Sardines £0 1s 2d/tin Tinned Vegetables Asparagus £0 1s 3d/tin Green Beans £0 0s 10d/tin Green Peas £0 0s 10d/tin Tomatoes £0 0s 10d/tin Tinned Fruits Apricots £0 1s 6d/tin Peaches £0 0s 10d/tin Pear £0 1s 6d/tin Pineapple £0 1s 2d/tin Tinned Soups Green Pea (Crosse & Blackwell) £0 0s 7d/tin Mulligazanny (C & B) £0 0s 9.5d/tin Ox Tail (C & B) £0 0s 9.5d/tin Other Tinned Products Condensed Milk £0 0s 5d/tin Cheeses Camembert £0 0s 7.5d/lb Cheddar £0 0s 10d/lb Cheshire £0 0s 10d/lb Cream cheese £0 0s 6d/lb Dutch £0 0s 8d/lb Gloucester £0 0s 7d/lb Gorgonzola £0 1s 0d/lb Gruyere £0 0s 10d/lb Parmesan £0 1s 4d/lb Roquefort £0 1s 4d/lb Stilton £0 1s 4d/lb Wensleydale £0 1s 6d/lb Biscuits Arrowroot £0 0s 9d/packet Cream crackers (Jacob's) £0 1s 6d/packet Digestive biscuits (McVities) £0 1s 4d/packet Ginger nuts £0 1s 9d/packet Marie biscuits £0 1s 9d/packet Condiments Curry powder £0 1s 6d/bottle Salt (Cerebo's) £0 0s 2d/ bottle Ground white Pepper £0 0s 3d/bottle Mushroom Ketchup £0 0s 8d/bottle Mustard Powder (Colman's) £0 0s 4d/ tin Spices Allspice £0 0s 3d/ jar Blades of mace £0 0s 3d/ jar Cinnamon £0 0s 2d/ jar Cinnamon quills £0 0s 3d/ jar Cloves £0 0s 4d/ jar Nutmeg £0 0s 5d/ jar Nutmeg (whole) £0 0s 5d/ jar Saffron £0 0s 7d/ jar Ginger (fresh) £0 0s 4d/ per lb Dried Herbs Basil £0 0s 2d/ jar Bay leaf £0 0s 3d/ jar Caraway seeds £0 0s 3d/ jar Garlic (fresh) £0 0s 1d/ each Marjoram £0 2s 3d/ jar Mint £0 0s 2d/ jar Parsley £0 0s 2d/ jar Rosemary £0 0s 2d/ jar Sage £0 0s 1d/ jar Thyme £0 0s 2d/ jar Pickles Pickled Gherkins £0 0s 9d/bottle Pickled Mangoes £0 3s 6d/bottle Pickled Onions £0 0s 8.5d/bottle Pickled Walnuts £0 0s 8.5d/bottle Soy sauce £0 0s 6.5d/bottle Worcester Sauce (Lea & Perrins ) £0 0s 10d/bottle Hot Drinks Bovril £0 0s 5d/ jar Bovril £0 0s 9d/ jar Cocoa (Cadbury's) £ s 2.5d/packet Horlicks £0 0s 4d/ packet Coffee (East India) £0 1s 5d/packet Coffee (French) £0 1s 4d/packet Coffee (Mocha) £0 1s 6.5d/packet Twining's loose Ceylon Tea £0 0s 4d/ packet Camomile tea £0 0s 3d/ packet Non-alcoholic Drinks Blackcurrant syrup £0 0s 5.5d/bottle Ginger beer £0 0s 1d/bottle Lime-juice cordial (Roses) £0 0s 10d/bottle Orange Syrup £0 0s 5.5d/bottle Schweppes soda water £0 0s 3d/bottle Alcoholic Drinks Port £0 5s d/bottle Sherry (Stone's Original) £0 1s 7d/ bottle Guiness (Bottle) £0 0s 4d/bottle Bass (Bottle) £0 0s 4.5d/bottle Good quality whiskeys 3s - 4s a bottle Better quality 3/6 to 5s a bottle. Teacher's Whiskey £0 3s 0d/bottle Martell Brandy £0 4s 6d/bottle Gordon's Gin £0 3s 0d/bottle Household Goods Wax Lighting Tapers £0 0s 4d/ pack of 5 Zebo Grate Polish £0 1s 2d/ tube Sunlight Soap £0 0s 9d/ bar Lifebuoy Soap £0 0s 9d/ bar Carbolic Soap £0 0s 6d/ long slab Carbolic Soap Tablets £0 0s 1d/ per tablet Lux Soapflakes £0 0s 10d/ box Washing Soda Crystals £0 0s 7d/ box Household candles (white) £0 0s 6d/ pack of 10 Copper scourers £0 0s 2d/ each Brasso £0 1s 0d/ bottle Dolly Blue £0 0s 2d/ sachet Donkey Stone £0 0s 3d/ stone Moth Balls £0 0s 6d/ packet Wooden Dolly Pegs £0 0s 3d/ packet of 12 Ronuk Lavender wax polish £0 0s 11d/ tin Boot Polish £0 0s 8d/ tin Matches (Swan Vesta) £0 0s 1d/ box Robin's Starch £0 0s 10d/ box Medicated Toilet Tissue £0 0s 3d/ box