How much did things cost in 1956?

These are some prices of a few items in 1956.

	1956 price	Inflation adjusted
Gallon of petrol	5s 4d	£5.10
Pint of beer (bottled) [*]	2s	£1.90
Espresso in a coffee bar	7d to 1s 3d[1]	55p to £1.20
20 cigarettes [*]	3s 10d	£3.60
Loaf of bread (white, unwrapped) [*]	10½d	83p
Loose leaf tea [*] 4oz	1s 7½d	£1.50
Sugar 1lb [*]	8d	63p
Pint of milk [*]	7d	55p
Butter ½lb [*]	1s 10½d	£1.80
Cheddar cheese 1lb [*]	3s 2d	£3
Margarine 1lb [*]	1s 9d	£1.70
Lard 1lb [*]	1s 6½d	£1.50
Eggs 1 dozen [*]	3s	£2.80
Potatoes lb [*]	2½d	20p
Cabbages lb [*]	4d	32p
Onions lb [*]	6d	47p
Eating apples lb [*]	1s	95p
Oranges lb [*]	1s ½d	95p
Ground coffee 8oz [*]	4s 2d	£4
Cocoa lb [*]	4s 6d	£4.30
Coal - 1cwt [*]	7s ½d	£6.60
Bush TV56 17"television	80 guineas	£1,600
Bush DAC 90 radio	£16 10s	£310
Pam 710 transistor radio (Britain's first transistor radio) [2]	£31 10s	£600
Qualcast Powered Panther lawn mower	£25 15s 9d	£490
The Daily Mirror newspaper	2d	16p
Average house price	£2,003	£38,000
Ford Anglia car	£541	£10,000
Electrolux refrigerator	58 guineas	£1,200
Hoover washing machine	£47 16s	£910
Invincible Popular vacuum cleaner	£21 10s 3d	£410

Some shops priced more expensive items in guineas. A guinea is one pound and one shilling or £1.05.

The inflation adjusted prices are based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

For a comparison of prices in 1956 adjusted for incomes see Income adjusted prices for 1956

By Steven Braggs, December 2021, updated May 2022

References

[1] 'Coffee comes to town', published in The Manchester Guardian 6 April 1956, page 13

[2] 'Radio! Radio!', third edition by Jonathan Hill, published by Sunrise Press, page 288

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