The Layton Collection

THE THOMAS LAYTON TRUST & LAYTON'S COLLECTION

A collection of several authentic accounts of the history and price of wheat, bread, malt, &c.

A collection of several authentic accounts of the history and price of wheat, bread, malt, &c. from the coming in of William the Conqueror to Michaelmas, 1745.

Wheat was the single most important product of the British economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries, being the largest component of national income and the primary source of calorie intake. This book compares prices and weights across nearly 700 years, and notes punishments handed out to dishonest milliners and bakers.

John Penkethman, 1748. Layton Collection 10235

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The Collection

Thomas Layton collected books, coins, and archaeological items (usually described as ‘antiquities’) for 70 years. In that time he had accumulated what has been described as “probably the largest collection of London antiquities ever amassed by a single individual”.

The vast majority of items are believed to have been bought at auctions. Some came to him from his men working on the river. His businesses provided opportunities for finds from dredging, building of bridges and embankments along the banks of the Thames, for which Layton paid good money. Even by the standards of the day Layton kept poor records of where items were found. Despite this, the collection is considered highly important particularly to archaeologists and pre-historians.