What could 10 GBP buy you in 1952?

[drmau]

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They say the past is a foreign country, and it certainly looks that way when you compare prices. This is because, over time, rising prices reduces the value of every pound we earn. So how much could £10 buy you in 1952?

In 1952, having £10 in your pocket would have been rare occurrence - the equivalent of £187 today. When the Queen ascended the throne, a kilo of bacon would have cost you just 36p, milk cost less then 3p, eggs 23p a dozen, while a bottle of beer would have set you back 9p. Smokers may be upset to hear than a packet of 20 cigarettes cost less than 18p.

One of the biggest changes is in house prices. In 1952, when Winston Churchill was prime minister, the average house cost £1,891 in 1952. A similar house today (with mod cons of course) would cost £162,722.

So times have certainly changed - at least when it comes to cost. Yet the economy now has a faint echo of that of 1952. Then too was a period of austerity. The economy grew by just 0.3% in 1952, while then, like now, real wages were negative. One difference is that the unemployment rate stood at just 1.9% in 1952, compared with over 8% now.
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Source:
http://www.rbs.com/news/2012/05/queen-d ... -note.html