Mixed farming began. In this, some of the arable land produced food for man and the rest produced food for sheep, cattle, pigs, and poultry. This was made possible by the introduction of clover, artificial grasses, and turnip and other root crops for the animals. Since the sheep ate these crops in the field, they provided manure to maintain the fertility of the soil. This meant that many animals could be maintained throughout the winter instead of being slaughtered and salted.
More than medieval castles and manor houses, mansions were designed with privacy in mind. The great hall, often hung around with bows, pikes, swords, and guns, was not abandoned, but the family used it as an eating place only on rare occasions. Instead they withdrew to the parlor and great chamber, while their servants lived in turrets or attics and continued to eat in the hall. The distinction between parlor and great chamber was that the former was for domestic use and the latter for entertaining. Parlors were situated on the ground floor: the family lived and relaxed there, and had informal meals in a dining parlor. The formal or "state" rooms were on the first floor, usually comprising a great chamber, a withdrawing chamber, one or more bedchambers, and a long gallery. The idea of a long gallery was copied from Henry VII and was used for exercise, recreation such as music and dancing, and private conversations. Each room had carved chairs and cabinets. A noble or gentleman's house had not only a garden for the kitchen and orchards, but formal gardens of flowers and scrubs. Grown were apples, plums, pears, apricots, peaches, walnuts, filberts, almonds, figs, capers, oranges, and lemons. Trees were planted and grafted.
A noble lord made written rules with penalties for his country household, which numbered about a hundred, including family, retainers, and servants. He enforced them by fines, flogging, and threats of dismissal. The lady of the house saw that the household, held together as an economic and social unit. The noble's family, retainers, guests, and the head servants, such as chaplain and children's tutor, and possibly a musician, dined together at one table. The family included step children and married sons and daughters with their spouses. They drank from drinking of fine clear glass from Italy. They ate from silver dishes with silver spoons. Chandeliers of candles lit rooms. A silver salt cellar was on the table, which was covered with a linen cloth. The lady of the house sat in a chair at the end of the table and was served first. After the upper table was served, the food was sent to the servants: serving men and women, bakers, brewers, cooks, pot cleaners, laudresses, shepherds, hogherds, dairy maids, falconers, huntsmen, and stable men. What was left was given to the poor at the gates of the house. The biggest meal of the day was dinner, served at noon. There were sandglass clocks. For amusement, the house was occasionally handed over to a lord of misrule for twelve days. Clothes were washed in rivers and wells.
Farmers' wives used looms as well as spinning wheels with foot treadles. Due to new grass and root crops, animals could be kept through the winter. Therefore, salted meat and salted fish were no longer the staple food of the poorer people during the winter. Farm laborers ate soup, porridge, milk, cheese, bacon, and beer or mead (depending on the district), and dark barley or rye bread, which often served as his plate. Gentlemen ate wheat bread.
By 1600 basement services were frequently found in town houses built on restricted sites. Lastly, provision of water supplies and improved sanitary arrangements reflected concern with private and public health. There was virtually no drainage. In the case of town houses, some owners would go to considerable effort to solve drainage problems, often paying a cash composition to the civic authorities, but sometimes performing some service for the town at Court or at Westminster in return for unlimited water or some drainage. Most affluent households, including the Queen's moved from house to house, so their cesspits could be cleaned out and the vacated buildings aired after use. A few cesspits were made air-tight. Otherwise, there was extensive burning of perfumes. Refuse was emptied out of front doors and shoveled into heaps on street corners. It was then dumped into the river or along the highways leading out of town. People put on perfume to avoid the stench. By 1600, the first water-closet was built, which provided a clean latrine all year round.
The value of grain and meat rose compared to wool. Grain became six times its value in the previous reign. Wool fell from 20s.8d. per tod in 1546 to 16s. in 15s. So sheep-farming, which had taken about 5% of the arable land, was supplanted somewhat by crop-raising and the rural population could be employed for agriculture. In some places, the threefold system of rotation was replaced by alternating land used for crops with that used for pasture. The necessity of manuring and the rotation of crops and grasses such as clover for enrichment of the soil were recognized. Wheat, rye, barley, peas, and beans were raised. There was much appropriation of common land by individual owners by sale or force. Many farms were enclosed by fences or hedges so that each holder could be independent of his neighbors. Red and black currants, rhubarb, apricots, and oranges were now grown. These independent farmers could sell wool to clothiers, and butter, cheese, and meat to the towns. They also often did smithwork and ironwork, making nails, horseshoes, keys, locks, and agricultural implements to sell. A laborer could earn 6d. a day in winter and 7d. a day in summer. Unfree villeinage ceased on the royal estates. But most land was still farmed in common and worked in strips without enclosure. Windmills now had vanes to change the position of the sails when the wind direction changed. Formerly, the position of the sails was changed by manual labor. Prosperous traders and farmers who owned their own land assumed local offices as established members of the community.
The population of the nation was about five million. Population expansion had allowed landlords to insist on shorter leases and higher rents, instead of having to choose between accepting a long lease and good rent or allowing their estates to pass out of cultivation. 90% of the population lived in the countryside and 5% in the London and 5% in the other towns. Over half the people of the nation were on the margin of subsistence. Life expectancy was about 40 years of age.
Most of London was confined within the city wall. There were orchards and gardens both inside and outside the walls, and fields outside. Flower gardens and nurseries came into existence. No part of the city was more than a ten minute walk to the fields. Some wealthy merchants had four story mansions or country houses outside the city walls. Goldsmiths' Row was replete with four story houses. A few wealthy merchants became money-lenders for interest, despite the law to the contrary. The mayor of London was typically a rich merchant prince. Each trade occupied its own section of the town and every shop had its own signboard, for instance, hat and cap sellers, cloth sellers, grocers, butchers, cooks, taverns, and book-sellers. Many of the London wards were associated with a craft, such as Candlewick Ward, Bread St. Ward, Vintry Ward, and Cordwainer Ward. Some wards were associated with their location in the city, such as Bridge Ward, Tower Ward, Aldgate Ward, Queenhithe Ward, and Billingsgate Ward. People dwelled at the back or on the second floor of their shops. In the back yard, they grew vegetables such as melons, carrots, turnips, cabbages, pumpkins, parsnips, and cucumbers; herbs; and kept a pig. Hyde Park was the Queen's hunting ground. London had a small zoo of ten animals, including a lion, tiger, lynx, and wolf.
Life in London was lived in the open air in the streets. The merchant transacted business agreements and the lawyer saw his clients in the street or at certain pillars at St. Paul's Church, where there was a market for all kinds of goods and services. Some gentlemen had offices distant from their dwelling houses such as attorneys, who had a good income from trade disputes and claims to land, which often changed hands. Plays and recreation also occurred in the streets, such as performances by dancers, musicians, jugglers, clowns, tumblers, magicians, and men who swallowed fire. The churches were continuously open and used by trades and peddlers, including tailors and letter-writers. Water carriers carried water in wood vessels on a shoulder from the Thames River or its conduits to the inhabitants three gallons at a time. Soldiers, adventurers, physicians, apprentices, prostitutes, and cooks were all distinguishable by their appearances. An ordinance required apprentices to wear long blue gowns and white breeches with stockings, with no ornamentation of silk, lace, gold or silver and no jewelry. They could wear a meat knife, but not a sword or dagger. Apprentices lived with their masters and worked from 6 or 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Some people knitted wool caps as they walked to sell when finished. There were sections of town for booksellers, butchers, brewers, hosiers, shoemakers, curriers, cooks, poulters, bow makers, textwriters, pattenmakers, and horse and oxen sellers. Large merchant companies had great halls for trade, such as the mercers, grocers, drapers, fishmongers, and goldsmiths. The other great guilds were the skinners, merchant tailers, haberdashers, salters, ironmongers, vintners, and clothworkers. Smaller guilds were those of the bakers, weavers, fruiterers, dyers, Thames watermen and lightermen, carpenters, joiners, turners, and parish clerks. The guilds insured quality by inspecting goods for a fee. >From 1571, merchants could meet at the Royal Exchange building for business purposes. It's great bell rang at midday and at 6 p.m. Crime was rampant in the streets and criminals were executed near to the crime scene.
Taverns served meals as well as ale. They were popular meeting places for both men and women of all backgrounds to met their friends. Two taverns in particular were popular with the intelligentsia. Music was usually played in the background and games were sometimes played. Beer made with hops and malt was introduced and soon there were beer drinking contests. Drunkenness became a problem.