Before the ArrestWages of Despair
| Wages
of Despair Average family expenditure (1840s) |
|
| Item | Price |
| Rent | 1s 2d |
| Bread | 9s |
| Tea | 2d |
| Potatoes | 1s |
| Sugar | 3.5d |
| Soap | 3d |
| Thread | 2.5d |
| Candles | 3d |
| Salt | 0.5d |
| Coal and Wood | 9d |
| Butter | 4.5d |
| Cheese | 3d |
| Total | 13s 9d |
Wages of 9 or 10 shillings a week reduced families to starvation level unless they could be supplemented by working wives and children.
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