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Whats it worth today

Posted by Judith on 19/9/2018, 10:17 am

I have an ancestor purchasing land in 1788 in 2 instalments of £204. Any ideas of the equivalent value today, is there a formula to use?

Re: Whats it worth today

Posted by Nick Toms on 22/9/2018, 5:28 pm, in reply to "Whats it worth today"

I like the "Measuring Worth" site which gives a much more varied set of outputs. Rather than just adjust for inflation, it provides comparisons in terms of things like purchasing power, wage equivalents, economic outputs, etc.

The result for £408 from 1788 compared to 2018 is here:
https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/relativevalue.php?use2=a%3A5%3A%7Bi%3A0%3Bs%3A3%3A%22CPI%22%3Bi%3A1%3Bs%3A6%3A%22DEFIND%22%3Bi%3A2%3Bs%3A4%3A%22WAGE%22%3Bi%3A3%3Bs%3A5%3A%22GDPCP%22%3Bi%3A4%3Bs%3A4%3A%22GDPC%22%3B%7D&amount=408&year_source=1788&year_result=2018&button=Submit

That puts the figure in what I suspect (given what the NA version says you could have bought with it back in 1788) a more robust equivalent of about £46-48,000 (measured as real worth, or for project capital cost). Given it is for agricultural land that feels about right.

Regards
Nick

Ps: It's also quite a good site for running old probate and will values through... and then weeping when you realise all the family money disappeared about 6 generations ago!

Re: Whats it worth today

Posted by Judith on 24/9/2018, 3:24 pm, in reply to "Re: Whats it worth today"

Thankyou Nick. agree with the p.s.!!!

Re: Whats it worth today

Posted by Judith on 24/9/2018, 3:23 pm, in reply to "Re: Whats it worth today"

Thankyou Nick. your P.S.made me smile. My 4x great grandmother was the 2nd wife of the son of Henry Phillips, who I have been investigating. The land etc went to descendants of the offspring of the 1st marriage.Henry seems to have acquired a lot of land after death of his father, Valentine Phillips of Lydford. Valentine had acquired some on his marriage, but the bulk seems to be from Henrys efforts. I am wondering if there was a lead mine operating at the time, which would have given him some funds. There is a disused mine on tithe map in a field which is listed as in ownership of his grandson.
Or he could have acquired some on marriage, have not investigated that possibility yet.
thankyou again.

Re: Whats it worth today

Posted by Judith on 20/9/2018, 7:37 am, in reply to "Whats it worth today"

Thank you Tim. Now I have to work out how he could afford it!!!Described as a Yeoman when he bought that and other land, at Lydford

Re: Whats it worth today

Posted by Tim Treeby on 19/9/2018, 2:11 pm, in reply to "Whats it worth today"

According to National Archives http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency-converter/ it's about £15,500 pounds.

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