Invoices from the Past: The household expenses of a farming family in early 19th century Wiltshire

By Steven Hobbs

Issue 14, Autumn/Winter, 2005 pp. 14-16.

The Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office is home to a remarkably complete collection of invoices from two branches of the Pyke family of nineteenth century Wiltshire. This article highlights just how much information can be drawn from a simple source like a bill or a voucher. Through these sources, archivist Steven Hobbs provides a window not only into the household economy and estate expenditure of the two farms, but also into the local community. A full spectrum of local trades and skilled workers are revived in this short article, along with information about the kinds of products that were available in nineteenth century Wiltshire.

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