"Median age on first marriage for middle and lower classes was 27 for men and 25 for women. ie. the average age at which people were first married. This is not to say that no-one was married earlier, but for every woman that was married at 18 another did not marry until she was 32. Both Laslett (for Canterbury) and Armstrong (for Greystoke in Cumbria) arrive at a lower figure for women at just over 23.

"Average duration of first marriage 18 years. Not until 1770 did half the marriages last 25 years.

"Less than 10% of family units were extended. ie. unusual to have three generations co-residing.

"Illegitimacy was rare, accounting for 3.4% of births in the late 1500s falling to 0.9% by 1650. However, Armstrong found that in Greystoke illegitimacy was about 6% at the end of the 1500s which is similar to that found in Alverstoke in the early 1600s. Armstrong notes that other communities come out nearer the 3% mark.

"Armstrong found that in the period between 1595 and 1610 39% of brides were pregnant at time of marriage but remarks that few teenage brides were pregnant and most did not become pregnant until more than a year after marriage, this teenage subfecundity is common in developing countries today.

"Average life expectancy at birth was 32 years. This is skewed because of the very high rates of infant mortality as follows: 25% to 30% died before their fifth birthday and a further 25% before they were 25 years old. After this a further 30 or 40 years of life could be expected.

"Between 1560 and 1600 in Greystoke 1 in 7 women died during or within one month of childbirth. In the same parish stillbirths averaged 9%, the only other figure available is for a London parish where it was 6%.

"Average number of children in a lower class conjugal family unit was 2.2. Armstrong found that the average number of children born per marriage was 5, (range 0 - 10), and siblings averaged 28 months apart. Where an infant died young another was likely to follow quickly.

"Typhus is an adult specific and is spread by lice. Children were particularly vulnerable to the summer diseases of dysentery, scarlet fever, smallpox and plague."

I highly recommend a visit to the Rowner site which is a goldmine of useful information and provides an excellent insight into village life in the 17th century.

"Broadside ballads were popular songs, sold for a penny or half-penny in the streets of towns and villages around Britain between the sixteenth and early twentieth centuries. These songs were performed in taverns, homes, or fairs -- wherever a group of people gathered to discuss the day's events or to tell tales of heroes and villains. As one of the cheapest forms of print available, the broadside ballads are also an important source material for the history of printing and literacy. Lavishly illustrated with woodcuts, they provide a visual treat for the reader and offer a source for the study of popular art in Britain.

"Tens of thousands of ballad broadsides are held in libraries in Great Britain, but the variety and quantity of these single-sheet songs has often posed problems for researchers. Many of their distinctive features, such as varying titles applied to the same text, make them difficult to find in normal library catalogues. Very few are signed by an author. Most lack even a year of publication. The Broadside Ballads Project seeks to facilitate access to the ballads held in collections at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford."

Related link: The English Folk Dance and Song Society

Ever wanted to make Bread and Butter Pudding or Spotted Dick?
Ever wondered what Sussex Pond Pudding was?
Try some of the recipes on this website: English Traditions

"Herbs have always been highly prized for their culinary and medicinal properties...right up to the eighteenth century and longer harbs were of vital importance in cooking, in medicine, and for general household use...almost every one had many uses, from the magical to the practical."

Take a look at the English Nature website for information on wildlife and natural features throughout England.