Salaries & Wages in Victorian Times


The Victorian City of London

9s a week was a milk-woman's wage

10s 6d was what a dentist charged for 2 fillings

16s was the top wage of a woman operating a sewing machine

£1 per week was what the average coffee-stall keeper, general labourer or female copy clerk in the City earned

With £4 being the minimum cost of a funeral, life cannot have been easy for the above.

A live-in maid would earn £6 a year while a general servant would make £16 annually.
A full set of false teeth cost £21, which probably meant that all the above went about toothless...

A buttler would make £42 per annum while a clerk at the Post Office took home £90 a year.
Now, an Anglican parson could probably get his false teeth as he got £140 a year, whereas teh Governor of the Bank of England, with an annual income of £400 could afford a twelve coffin vault in Highgate Cemetary for £136 10s, if he saved enough.

A box in the The Royal Opera House was out of reach for most people as it cost £8,000, except for people like the Duke of Bedford, who saved £100,000 a year and Lord Derby, whose income was £150,000. However, the Duke of Westminster's annual income topped them all at a cool £250,000.

Comments

Natalie Bennett said…
Hi,
Just out of interest was wondering what the source of these figures was.
Monday, 08 August, 2005
Anna said…
I got the information from a friend - not sure but I will ask.
Thanks,
A.
Monday, 08 August, 2005
Anna said…
I believe my friend got the figures from Liza Picard's new book on Victorian London.
Tuesday, 09 August, 2005
Anonymous said…
Do you know the wages of child labour during the victorian times?
Sunday, 14 January, 2007
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