Mary Poppins
When I was a child, I read the Mary Poppins series by P.L. Travers. I still have the same set of books and occasionally revisit them. Julie Andrews left a long legacy with the Disney adaption, so I was ecstatic about the 2018 series sequel, Mary Poppins Returns. It didn’t disappoint; the charming details of the original movie were included in the newest one as well, while also taking advantage of the technological advancements of the time (the Royal Doulton china bowl scene is a perfect example).
Set in 1934, the plot revolves around the lives of the now-adult Banks children. Their parents are now deceased, there are three new little ones, and they still live at 17 Cherry Tree Lane – though a defaulted loan has put it in danger of repossession. Modern audiences will find more than a few themes to relate to: money troubles, single parenthood, grief, loss of carefree youth… Michael is even a starving artist-turned-banker.
A notable change is the inclusion of Jack the leerie, a cheery lamplighter who dances his way through London. The history of lamplighters is actually quite fascinating; often the sign of a safe and affluent area, a local leerie was the friendly neighborhood watchmen. Generations of families would proudly carry on the tradition of lamplighting. In 1934, a leerie would’ve made about £2 a week (£30 or $38 today).
This one hops around a bit, but it was fascinating, although complicated, to research. I was interested in the original cost of running a home in 1910, but the economic depression of 1934 was such an integral part of Returns that it was impossible to ignore. Compare those to the costs of running such a luxurious life today, and this has turned a multi-faceted monster.
*Note: Currently the dollar is at $1.25 to the British pound.
London in 1910 had an extreme class disparity that continued until the 30s, when the beginnings of a true middle class began to emerge. As part of the upper class, it is likely that the Banks line was once part of the British aristocracy that, due to hardship in the 19th century, probably had to begin working in a limited capacity to continue the family legacy.
At the start of Mary Poppins, George Banks works as a senior associate at the bank, but at the end of the movie becomes a senior partner. By best estimates, his salary would have been about £720 yearly until the promotion, which would have increased his salary to roughly £2,000 in addition to shares in the bank. However, the primary salary would not have covered the household costs, which leads me to believe that either seniority would have resulted in a higher initial salary, or family assets cover the gaps.
Credit was not as widely used as it is today, so the family breadwinner was expected to keep the family solvent. It was recommended at the time for a family man to have at least £5,000 in savings. In addition, long-term investments would have about a 10% rate of return, which would mean £500 in dividends on £5,000 in the early 1900s. This would provide enough comfort for the Banks family, but not enough for that to continue into the next generation with the depression.
We all know about the Great Depression at the end of the 20s, but I didn’t realize how the bubble bursting affected everyone worldwide. To put this in perspective, at the beginning of Returns, the children call a plumber for a burst pipe. A plumber in 1910 made £35. Before the crash, he made £106. The following year, his wages dropped to £32 a year! This is why it’s so important Jane advocates for the labor unions (not to mention, purchasing power was much less than in 1910). Like her mother before her, her cause is her passion. In the 1960s, the women’s suffragette movement would strike a chord with the audience. In 2018, the crippling cost of living would do the same.
INCOME: £40,000 in 1934
With that in mind, it follows that the widowed father would take a loan out against the house for “more than what [Michael] makes in a year.” As a new banker, this would be roughly £560 a year, or around £40,000 today.
Completely unrelated, how adorable was it that the bank president’s secretary was named Mrs. Penny Farthing?!
Running a house like 17 Cherry Tree Lane required more manpower than it does today. Cooking, cleaning, and childcare were each a separate job in itself (has that changed, really? Or has it just become less acceptable to ask for help?) and many households employed a cook, a maid, a nanny, and/or a valet. The Banks household had all of the above. To keep expenses down, one manual suggested hiring cheaper teenagers to do the work because you could pay them as little as 10p a day. Black Brits were often paid half of that. Robertson Ay’s constant sleepiness and Mrs. Brill’s attitude makes more sense now! To keep such a staff would cost around £17 a month: £7 to Mary Poppins, £4 to Mrs. Brill the cook, £4 to Ellen the maid, and £2 to Robertson Ay, valet and groundskeeper.
EXPENSES: £240,000 in 2019; £1,200 in 1910
Please keep in mind, however, that typical household expenses were much different than today. Coal and gas were cheap; home security, internet, tv, air conditioning, and insurance were nonexistent. There was less overhead on a monthly basis to contend with (even if your dishwasher is an actual human being). Oftentimes, the low working-class salaries were mitigated slightly by the fact that they would be provided room & board at the house they worked for.
Mary Poppins could command a higher salary because by this time in-home childcare was a prestigious position for middle class working women. It didn’t come without its work though; she would’ve had to take care of the children with only the rarest of breaks, and would be responsible for their education, along with private tutors. Upper class children were given a traditional homeschool or boarding school education, while working class children shoehorned a public education in between work and harsh winters. Additionally, health insurance didn’t really exist, so a child suffering from minor ills would be cared after by Mary Poppins. For more serious issues, a doctor would be called to the house. A spoonful of sugar a day keep the doctor away, right?
London at this time was mostly a walking town, but horse-drawn carriage, cars, and trolleys were an option for longer distances. The Banks’ primarily walk to where they need, but bicycles and trucks are available to them. The house staff is within walking distance of almost everything they need – in Returns, they can walk to the bank and to Topsy Turvy’s shop.
In the books, Mrs. Banks asks Mary Poppins to run a number of errands using a single pound note. She is able to purchase: one dozen macaroons from the cake shop; a cake of soap, a mustard plaster, and a tube of toothpaste from the Chemists’; two packs of candles, 4lbs of rice, 3lbs of brown sugar, 6 lbs of castor, 2 tins of tomato soup, a hearth brush, a pair of housemaids’ gloves, half a stick of sealing wax, a bag of flour, a firelighter, 2 boxes of matches, 2 cauliflowers, and a bundle of rhubarb from the grocer’s, with enough left over to purchase sweets for the children. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that £4-5 would be enough for a monthly grocery budget, including a 25p haircut for Mr. Banks, the occasional cake of mascara or rouge for Mrs. Banks, and other sundries. Vintage makeup is so different from today! I really want to try this company’s makeup reproductions and see how they stack up to the contents of a Sephora.
We must talk about the clothes! Everything was such high quality. I had so much fun perusing this 20th century Macy’s catalog. A silk dressing robe or day dress would set the Banks’ back £8, while an expensive suit and shoes would be another £20 and £4, respectively. Children’s clothing, assorted undergarments like corsets, and accessories such as sleepwear would cost about £1-2 apiece. It’s unlikely they purchased clothing monthly like we are prone to do today, but Mrs. Banks is quite stylish, so the average clothing cost per month is estimated to be £40. Mary Poppins was fond of her hats and handbags, which would account for £2 of her monthly expenses.
If you were like me, you fell in love with the grandeur of the Banks’ Regent Park home. While George probably never had to contend with a mortgage, to purchase such a home today would be an extravagant expense, around £11,770 a month, with another £678 of utilities. I found two comparable properties (No. 1 & No. 2) in the area priced at £4-4.5 million. With similar foyers and layouts to the Disney version, they would provide plenty of space for the staff and still maintain a traditional British row home feel.
Below, I’ve done a comparison of the costs of running the Banks’ household in 1910, 1934, and 2019. With each time change comes major lifestyle changes: in 1910 and 1934, an automobile was largely unnecessary, but someone with a £4 million house in 2019 is unlikely to skip the Mercedes GLS in the garage, nor the tv subscriptions, internet and electronic costs, high holiday expectations, and expensive makeup and salons. Mrs. Banks would love her clothing, but Michael is only purchasing a few cardigans. We’re less likely to shell out for private tutors, live-in nannies, and housekeepers today, but a wealthy household back then was impossible to run without a live-in staff.
Mary Poppins throughout the years is another example of how monthly costs for the average household has increased to the point where luxury lifestyles are increasingly out of grasp and much harder to maintain. £1,200 was a pretty penny back in the day, but to live a similar life today would require a minimum of £240,000 – after taxes. You better be bringing in at least £320,000 a year.
*As always, the numbers provided are estimations based on my knowledge of the content, a little research, and pure speculation. If you are interested in seeing the sources I used or the calculations I came up with, you can find the spreadsheet here. Want to see the finances of your favorite character? Submit here.
