Of even greater consequence was the lack of an adequate diet.

While it is true that the royal household and the politically advantaged fared comparatively well, the vast horde of ordinary people were perpetually on the brink of starvation.

Although England at the time was largely agrarian, the land was not cultivated with any sort of scientific skill.

Every village had an extensive area of "waste" lands, and another area called "the common" which was retained in idleness.

Preceding and during the period of the Industrial Revolution, many of these wastelands were re-claimed (or simply "claimed") and finally put into cultivation.

The "common" lands were claimed by individuals and families, fenced, and put into production or used for other productive purposes.

All of this increased the liklihood of survival for great numbers of people, although starvation and diseases related to malnutritian were still the common lot of thousands.

Among the diseases that afflicted huge populations were scurvy, beri-beri, and rickets -- all conditions related to poor and inadequate diet.  All of these were common causes of early death.

As the increasingly privatized lands were put into production and more food was produced, prices for staple items were reduced and more people were able to survive.

Prior to this, there were a limited number of food items that were cheap enough to be generally available.  Most people simply went without.

The modern common notion is that everyone eats three meals a day.  In pre-industrial England, as in most of the world then and for the preceding millenia, one would consider himself fortunate if he ate once a day.  Many anticipated no more than three or four meals a week.

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