Histories of Windsor

A Fascinating Glimpse of The Cost of Living in 1969

We have recently discovered two shopping bills dating from Christmas 1969. They were kept because they showed very clearly that even in 1969, Windsor could be a more costly place to live and to go shopping than 100 miles to the west, well out in the country!
The prices in are in pounds, shillings and pennies. (L.s.d) The expression 'd' indicates 'denarius', or the Roman name for a penny.
There were 240 pennies in a pound, 12 pennies in a shilling, and twenty shillings in a pound.
A shilling was worth 5p.
A pound was subsequently divided into 100p when decimalisation came about in 1971.
For example, sprouts were the equivalent of 4p per lb (pound weight) in Stonehouse, and 5p in Windsor. Similarly potatoes were 4d per pound in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire and 5d in Windsor. Both these prices are roughly 20 percent higher in Windsor.
Cauliflower is slightly more in Windsor, although lettuce was more in Stonehouse as were tomatoes ('toms') and cucumber, it seems.
Oranges, although large ones were requested in Windsor, seem more costly here.

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