Life in Tudor Britian

The age of consent in 1602 was 12 for a girl and 14 for a boy!

It is estimated that 40% of brides were pregnant in the Sixteenth Century. The wife of Willism Shakespeare, Ann Hathaway, was 3 months pregnant when they married.

For over 250 years during the Middle Ages deaths outnumbered births in London. However, by the time of Elizabeth's death the population of England had grown from three million to about four million.

In Elizabethan times, life-expectancy in London averaged 35 years. It is estimated that about 25% of children died before the age of 10!

London in the time of Shakespeare measured only 2 miles north to south and 3 miles west to east.

London Bridge once supported over 100 shops, with some buildings 6 storeys high!

                               Previous page                            Next page