Moniker/Name: Alyson Pearce
Source of Question: Research
Your Question: Hello! I’m writing a different sort of Regency romance and I had a question regarding living conditions. My main character is a Drury Lane actor making roughly £350/year, a figure that was calculated from receipts which show midrange actors earning £6-10/week. He’s a single man with no children. What kind of lifestyle would that £350/year afford him? Also what part of London would he be likely to live in?
All the best,
Alyson
Hi Alyson-
Thanks for your question…and patience while I researched. I am giving you by “best sources indicate” answer, because this one was not super obvious.
There are some amazing resources on the WWW for Regency income/costs questions. If you want to know the pound sterling relative to today (well, actually sixteen years ago) the National Archives has a converter here: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/default0.asp#mid
Based on those calculations, £350 in 1820 was equivalent to £15,000 in 2005.
Generally, resources I have found indicate that £350 would have allowed for a comfortable bachelor existence with two servants. A New System of Practical Domestic Economy (1823) provides some handy dandy cheat sheets of what can be afforded at what per annum income:
You obviously can deduct some of the expenses related to children, including education, but be aware that a single gentleman would be more likely to have a man servant which costs an average of £26 rather than 13. Check out the additional charts for more ideas about potential expenses (including carriages and horses).
The neighborhood question is a bit more difficult to give an exact answer.
Actors generally travelled quite a bit, so it would’ve been impractical to buy a house. However, a successful actor could afford a step above lodging rooms/boarding houses and be able to rent either a small house or his own rooms.
Here is an excerpt from Pierce Egan’s 1825 “The Life of an Actor” on the subject:
If the actor didn’t mind being around prostitution and other red light activity, and liked to be a close shot to the theaters, he may choose lower rents in Covent Garden.
If he wanted to live a more suburban life, and didn’t mind living among tradesmen and Cits, he might choose one of the London bedroom communities like Islington or Hampstead.
One biography of an actor from 1814 (An apology for the life of J. Fennel (Actor)) cited cheap lodgings in Westminster as a home.
As The picture of London (1825) guidebook indicates:
As the guide further explains:
This guide also gives an awesome list of hotels, lodging houses, and also a primer on different destinations skirting London…so its worth a perusal to find the perfect locale for your hero.
The long in short of it is, with the exception of some of the posher parts of Town, a well-shod actor could chose from any number of boroughs or outlying villages to live.
I hope this helps.
Keep the questions coming everyone!
