3. Customs & Lifestyle

- Health:
There was a rather low standard of health in England even in its large and developing cities. Due to the lack of proper sanitation, diseases like measles, smallpox, malaria, typhus and chickenpox were common among the populace and were spread by pests, fleas and lice which were free to roam the streets. Sewers were often blocked and there was garbage along the streets and in the river.

- Diet:
Due to the social structure in England, different classes had different types of food. The higher classes, the aristocrats, ate all kinds of meats including lamb, beef, pork, and fowl including peacocks and goose. They ate different kinds of fish like salmon, shellfish and eel and fruits and vegetables including turnips, carrots, radishes, apples, plums, and woodland strawberries. They also ate Manchet, a kind of bread, and pastries like tarts and cakes.

On the other hand, the poor often had vegetables and rye or barley bread in their diets. They seldom had meat, unlike the rich who had meat as their main food component.

- Recreation:
Both the nobility and the poor participated in various sports, including cock fighting and football and archery (hunting). Dice and card games were commonplace and were used as forms of gambling. Elizabethans enjoyed watching theatre, music and dance, and the era is also known as the age of Shakespeare. There were many playwrights including William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.

- Accommodation:
The smaller houses at that time continued to evolve from the Tudor-style houses and included fireplaces, staircases and chimneys. In most of the floor plans, there were a central hall, kitchen, and the rooms.
The larger houses, also known as the Elizabethan Manors, had a long gallery on the upper floor of the main hall for entertainment and recreation. The houses were usually symmetrical, had gardens and followed the E-plan, that of an “E” shape. The longest rooms were the main hall and the long gallery, while the shortest protrusion was the main entrance. The other two longer protrusions were the kitchens and living area.

- Dress:
The fashion of the upper class was very much influenced by the English Renaissance with an increased interest and development in Mathematics and Science and their clothes were influenced by geometrical shapes. Women wore elaborate dresses and gowns which emphasised their small waists. They were often stiffened with whalebone or buckram. Men wore tight-waist and stiffened doublets, breeches and cloaks.

References:
Thomas, H. (15 June 2011). Queen Elizabeth I. http://www.elizabethi.org/ (26/6/2011)
Alchin, L. Elizabethan Era. http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/ (26/6/2011)
Ross, D. Elizabethan Architecture in England 1550-1625 http://www.britainexpress.com/architecture/elizabethan.htm (26/6/2011)