The following information is taken from a House of Commons Library research report, #99-20. They used several retail and consumable price indexes to arrive at their values. The one we are interested in for the Georgian period was mostly from a source compiled by E H Phelps-Brown and Sheila Hopkins. To compare purchasing power, between 2 years, take the index for one year, say 592.3, and divide it by the index value for the year you are interested in, perhaps 1811 of 13.8, getting the value 42.92. Thus an income of £1,000 in 1811 would be the equivalent to £42,920 in 1998. The same calculations of course also apply to expenses.
Please realize that this is an overall index, and that for example the price of cheese might fluctuate more widely or counter to the index. It might be cheaper compared to other consumables in a year of increased supply, or more expensive, comparably, in a drought year.
| Price Index 1750 to 1850 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Price index 1974=100 | Value of this years pound, in 1974 p. When 1974 £1= 100 pence | Percentage change in prices compared to the year before |
| 1750 | 5.0 | 1,997 | -3.1% |
| 1751 | 4.9 | 2,053 | -2.7% |
| 1752 | 5.1 | 1,961 | 4.7% |
| 1753 | 5.0 | 2,014 | -2.7% |
| 1754 | 5.2 | 1,916 | 5.1% |
| 1755 | 4.9 | 2,039 | -6.0% |
| 1756 | 5.1 | 1,957 | 4.2% |
| 1757 | 6.2 | 1,607 | 21.8% |
| 1758 | 6.2 | 1,612 | -0.3% |
| 1759 | 5.7 | 1,751 | -7.9% |
| 1760 | 5.5 | 1,832 | -4.5% |
| 1761 | 5.2 | 1,919 | -4.5% |
| 1762 | 5.4 | 1,847 | 3.9% |
| 1763 | 5.6 | 1,799 | 2.7% |
| 1764 | 6.1 | 1,653 | 8.9% |
| 1765 | 6.3 | 1,597 | 3.5% |
| 1766 | 6.3 | 1,577 | 1.2% |
| 1767 | 6.7 | 1,492 | 5.8% |
| 1768 | 6.6 | 1,509 | -1.1% |
| 1769 | 6.1 | 1,643 | -8.2% |
| 1770 | 6.1 | 1,650 | -0.4% |
| 1771 | 6.6 | 1,520 | 8.5% |
| 1772 | 7.3 | 1,373 | 10.7% |
| 1773 | 7.3 | 1,378 | -0.3% |
| 1774 | 7.3 | 1,365 | 0.9% |
| 1775 | 6.9 | 1,446 | -5.6% |
| 1776 | 6.8 | 1,478 | -2.2% |
| 1777 | 6.7 | 1,484 | -0.4% |
| 1778 | 7.0 | 1,426 | 4.0% |
| 1779 | 6.4 | 1,559 | -8.5% |
| 1780 | 6.2 | 1,614 | -3.4% |
| 1781 | 6.5 | 1,550 | 4.1% |
| 1782 | 6.6 | 1,518 | 2.1% |
| 1783 | 7.4 | 1,356 | 12.0% |
| 1784 | 7.4 | 1,348 | 0.6% |
| 1785 | 7.1 | 1,404 | -4.0% |
| 1786 | 7.1 | 1,404 | 0.0% |
| 1787 | 7.1 | 1,413 | -0.6% |
| 1788 | 7.4 | 1,359 | 4.0% |
| 1789 | 7.3 | 1,377 | -1.3% |
| 1790 | 7.4 | 1,353 | 1.8% |
| 1791 | 7.4 | 1,354 | -0.1% |
| 1792 | 7.5 | 1,334 | 1.5% |
| 1793 | 7.7 | 1,298 | 2.8% |
| 1794 | 8.3 | 1,205 | 7.7% |
| 1795 | 9.3 | 1,080 | 11.6% |
| 1796 | 9.9 | 1,015 | 6.4% |
| 1797 | 8.9 | 1,128 | -10.0% |
| 1798 | 8.7 | 1,153 | -2.2% |
| 1799 | 9.7 | 1,026 | 12.3% |
| 1800 | 13.3 | 752 | 36.5% |
| 1801 | 14.9 | 673 | 11.7% |
| 1802 | 11.4 | 874 | -23.0% |
| 1803 | 10.8 | 929 | -5.9% |
| 1804 | 11.1 | 900 | 3.2% |
| 1805 | 12.9 | 775 | 16.2% |
| 1806 | 12.3 | 810 | -4.4% |
| 1807 | 12.1 | 826 | -1.9% |
| 1808 | 12.5 | 798 | 3.4% |
| 1809 | 13.7 | 728 | 9.7% |
| 1810 | 14.2 | 706 | 3.2% |
| 1811 | 13.8 | 726 | -2.9% |
| 1812 | 15.6 | 642 | 13.2% |
| 1813 | 16.0 | 626 | 2.5% |
| 1814 | 13.9 | 718 | -12.7% |
| 1815 | 12.5 | 803 | -10.7% |
| 1816 | 11.4 | 877 | -8.4% |
| 1817 | 13.0 | 772 | 13.5% |
| 1818 | 13.0 | 770 | 0.3% |
| 1819 | 12.7 | 790 | -2.5% |
| 1820 | 11.5 | 871 | -9.3% |
| 1821 | 10.1 | 990 | -12.0% |
| 1822 | 8.7 | 1,145 | -13.5% |
| 1823 | 9.3 | 1,072 | 6.8% |
| 1824 | 10.1 | 988 | 8.6% |
| 1825 | 11.9 | 842 | 17.4% |
| 1826 | 11.2 | 891 | -5.5% |
| 1827 | 10.5 | 953 | -6.5% |
| 1828 | 10.2 | 981 | -2.9% |
| 1829 | 10.1 | 991 | -1.0% |
| 1830 | 9.7 | 1,028 | -3.6% |
| 1831 | 10.7 | 935 | 9.9% |
| 1832 | 9.9 | 1,010 | -7.4% |
| 1833 | 9.3 | 1,075 | -6.1% |
| 1834 | 8.6 | 1,165 | -7.8% |
| 1835 | 8.7 | 1,146 | 1.7% |
| 1836 | 9.7 | 1,033 | 11.0% |
| 1837 | 9.9 | 1,008 | 2.5% |
| 1838 | 10.0 | 1,001 | 0.7% |
| 1839 | 10.7 | 933 | 7.3% |
| 1840 | 10.9 | 916 | 1.8% |
| 1841 | 10.7 | 938 | -2.3% |
| 1842 | 9.9 | 1,015 | -7.6% |
| 1843 | 8.7 | 1,144 | -11.3% |
| 1844 | 8.7 | 1,145 | -0.1% |
| 1845 | 9.2 | 1,092 | 4.9% |
| 1846 | 9.5 | 1,050 | 4.0% |
| 1847 | 10.7 | 937 | 12.0% |
| 1848 | 9.4 | 1,066 | -12.1% |
| 1849 | 8.8 | 1,138 | -6.3% |
| 1850 | 8.2 | 1,216 | -6.4% |
| 1851 | 8.0 | 1,254 | -3.0% |
| 1852 | 8.0 | 1,254 | 0.0% |
| 1998 | 592.3 | 17 | |
| Taxes in 18th Century England. | |
|---|---|
| Cost | Tax amounts |
| 3d. | duty /gallon on gin at mid-18th century |
| 5s. | stamp tax on marriage licenses and certificates. |
| 10s. | tax on gold watches(one exempt per household) from July/1797-March/1798 |
| 18s.2d. | tax on a shopkeeper with 7 windows, and an annual rent of £6 1797 |
| £1 | duty /gallon of gin sales 1736-1743 |
| 1 guinea | annual tax, per male servant; introduced 1777. |
| £1 5s. | average Englishman's tax bill at time of American Revolution |
| £4 | average tax assesment for York shopkeeper, 1797 annual license fee for a hawker on foot prior to 1785, and after 1789 |
| £8 | annual license fee for a hawker with 1 horse prior to 1785, and after 1789 |
| £12 14s. | tax on a shopkeeper with 23 windows, annual rent of £50, a dog, and a servant in 1797 |
| Cost | ...of living, food and drink | years |
|---|---|---|
| 1d. | bun at Chelsea Bun House, London; | 1711 |
| 1.25d. | One pound of barley flour; | 1787 |
| 1.75d. | One pound of wheat flour; | 1787 |
| 3d.-3.5d. | One quart of beer | |
| 3.5d. | One pound of treacle(molasses); | 1795-6 |
| 4d. | One pound of butchers meat- veal, pork, beef, or lamb; or two mackeral in London | |
| 4.5d. | One pound of wheat flour; | 1795 |
| 6d. | One pound tobacco | 1795 |
| 7d. | One pound of sugar; | 1795-6 |
| 8d. | one pound of bacon; | 1795-6 |
| 10d. | one pound of butter; | 1780s-1790s |
| 1s. | a "cream cheese" in York; | 1782 |
| 1s.6d. | A chicken in London; | 1755 |
| 2s.3d. | A chicken in London; | 1785 |
| 2s.4d. | Six pounds of cheese at a Didsbury grocer's | |
| 2s.6d. | One pound of "fine French fruit " in London; | 1790 |
| 4s. | One pound of low-quality tea; | late 1780s-early 1790s |
| 4s.6d. | One pound of brand name cocoa; | 1786-7 |
| 12s. | approx. price of one pound of high-quality tea; | early 1790s |
| 15s. | average monthly grocers bill for Didsbury labourer; | 1780s |
| £59 13s. | food expenditure for household of Rev. Laurie of Newburn, Fifeshire | 1795 |
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