The Lost Days of 1752.

On Wednesday 2nd of September 1752, the people of Great Britain and her colonies went to bed that night as normal. What was going to happen that night was anything but! The entire nation awoke the next morning on Thursday 14th of September.

Many panicked that they had lost eleven days of their lives, others tutted as the rent would still be for the full month but with eleven days less work.

The alignment to the Gregorian European Calendar was seen too by some with suspicion; a shift back towards Rome!

For England that year signalled another shift. They moved the start of the year from the quarter day for settling rents and taxes on Lady Day the 25th March to the 1st of January.

His Majesty’s treasury also noticed a loss of these days so shifted the financial year end too, to ensure they did not lose those eleven days, hence why we have our current financial year end on the 5th of April.