Our 1862 ancestors paid 13 times more for their food

The Grocer has calculated how much our Victorian forebears would pay for a weekly shop in real terms today.

To mark its 150th anniversary, The Grocer magazine has calculated that Victorian shoppers would pay 13 times more for their weekly shop than we do today.

Applying inflation, a basket of 33 food, drink and household items would set our 19th century forebears back £1,254.17 in real terms today. By contrast, The Grocer calculates that we spend an average of £93.95 today.

And while food would have accounted for a third of a Victorian family’s outgoings, The Grocer estimates it now accounts for an average of just 7% of our weekly spending, or 12% if we eat out.

A ten-fold increase in wages is one major reason for this. The other, obvious one is technological changes, which have made it easy and cheap to move food around the world.

A Victorian pineapple would cost the equivalent of £149 in real terms today, but actually costs us an average of £1.72. Similarly, a kilo of grapes is 7,419% cheaper and a melon 5,971%.

Obviously these three foodstuffs would have never been seen by most people living in Britain in 1862, let alone eaten by them.

What is more interesting is how items such as tea were still such a luxury, costing the equivalent of 2,713% more than it would today. Similarly, butter cost 1,138% and bread 451%, although most people in 1862 made their own.

Here is the complete list of items The Grocer surveyed:

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