4 - 17th & 18th Centuries

In the Late 17th Century, the population of the England grew to more than five and a half million, meaning the divide between wealth and poverty was higher than ever, with 50% of the population being wealthy, 30% being middle class, and 20% being in high poverty. (British Literature)

William Hogarth Gin Lane - This painting shows
the poverty in the 17th & 18th Centuries,
with people starving like the person on the
stairs who is nothing but skin and bone.
www.theguardian.com

This divide was the opposite of subtle, with wealthy people being able to afford comfortable, beautifully decorated furniture in their homes, often made from precious mahogany or walnut. A lot of items in a rich persons house were often veneered, or carved and filled with pearls.
This being compared to the house of a poor person, containing small furniture made from simple materials. Houses lived in by the poor were first made of wood, until the advancement of stone and brick meant that the poor could live in warmer, dryer homes. Poor people also often used rags of linen soaked in an oil for window coverings until most houses were built with glass windows.

From the mid 18th Century and the start of the Industrial Revolution, social life in England was affected as links between the North and South of the country were being made. Hackney Coach Services linked York with London, meaning many visitors from London or places in between went to visit York for Business or Social reasons, often staying in many of Yorks Inns and Lodges. This meant that wealth was being spread up and down the country as many people moved about spending money.
Other events that brought visitors from near or far to York, spreading the wealth, included visits from Royalty, which provided entertainment for the public, causing street party's and parades. The King of England visited six times between 1600 and 1645. (A History of the County of York: the City of York - P.M. Tillott (Editor))

Teniers painting of the Archduke Leopold Wilhem's
gallery of paintings. www.courtauld.ac.uk

Wealth at the time was shown through stocks and shares, but also commodities. This meant that wealthy people bought and owned things like paintings, and many of them. Paintings were great commodities as they were unique unlike prints or other items. David Teniers painted wealthy people like Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his gallery of paintings.