Ordinary

An ordinary was a tavern where people could buy a meal, usually at a fixed price. In London, many people lived without cooking facilities and ate most of their meals at ordinaries. There were ordinaries catering to all social classes and economic capabilities (OED ordinary n.III.12.c). Thomas Dekker’s satiric behaviour manual, The Gull’s Hornbook, devotes an entire chapter to How a yong Gallant should behaue himselfe in an Ordinary. John Taylor’s Carrier’s Cosmographie lists the innes, ordinaries, hosteries, and other lodgings in, and neere London where carriers delivered and collected letters and packages from and for the provinces, suggesting that some ordinaries were social hubs as well as eating establishments.
This location refers to a generic ordinary without reference to a specific ordinary. For specific ordinaries, see Inns, Alehouses, Taverns, and other Victualling Houses in Early Modern London.
Further reading: Carlin; Pennell; Dekker, Gull’s Hornbook.

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