Read The Black Death in London Online

Authors: Barney Sloane

Tags: #History, #Epidemic, #London

The Black Death in London

THE

BLACK

DEATH

IN LONDON

THE

BLACK

DEATH

IN LONDON

BARNEY SLOANE

‘In the year of Our Lord 1349, a violent pestilence broke out beyond measure in the whole of the Kingdom of England, and especially in the City of London, where the people superabounded. So great a multitude eventually died that all the cemeteries of the aforesaid city were insufficient for the burial of the dead. For this reason, many were compelled to bury their dead in places unseemly, not hallowed or blessed; some, it was said, cast the corpses into the river.’
1

Cover illustration:
An engraving from
An Introduction to English Church Architecture from the Eleventh to the Sixteenth Century
(Volume 2) by Francis Bond.

First published 2011

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

This ebook edition first published in 2013

All rights reserved

© Barney Sloane, 2011, 2013

The right of Barney Sloane to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

EPUB ISBN
978 0 7524 9639 9

Original typesetting by The History Press

CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 
Foreword

 

  

 

 
Acknowledgements

 

  

 

 
Abbreviations

 

  

 

 
Introduction

 

 
One

 

 
The Beginning

 

 
Two

 

 
The Pestilence in London

 

 
Three

 

 
The Great Mortality

 

 
Four

 

 
Pestilence in Later Fourteenth-Century London

 

 
Five

 

 
Social Consequences of the Plague

 

 
Appendix

 

 
London’s Contribution to Understanding the Black Death

 

  

 

 
Notes

 

  

 

 
Bibliography

FOREWORD

T
HE FIRST onslaught of the Black Death in 1347–53 remains the greatest single catastrophe to have struck mankind in recorded history. A vast literature exists which examines and often vigorously debates its origins, its causes and its impacts on cities and manors, on economies and society, and on the very beliefs held by people over 600 years ago. Internationally, two major recent studies, Ole Benedictow’s
The Black Death 1347

53:A Complete History
and Sam Cohn’s
The Black Death Transformed,
set both the European stage and readily demonstrate the vigour of the debate.
2
England itself has been particularly well served since Francis Gasquet’s treatise as long ago as 1893 on
The Great Pestilence,
and more recently by Philip Ziegler’s highly readable
The Black Death
(1969), the essays in Mark Ormrod and Philip Lindley’s
The Black Death in England
, and Colin Platt’s
King Death
(both 1996); as well as a host of more detailed articles. London, however, is less visible in detail, although both Jens Röhrkasten and Barbara Megson have made important contributions to the study of the city’s mortality during plague outbreaks.
3

As a professional archaeologist, I came face to face with the effects of the epidemic on London during excavations at the Black Death cemetery of East Smithfield near the Tower of London, which unearthed hundreds of skeletons of the victims. But remarkably, given the relative abundance of its documentary records, the detailed story of how London succumbed, suffered and eventually adapted to this awful disease has never been told. This attempt to fill that gap reveals some rather surprising aspects of the city’s reaction to the plague, it raises some fundamental questions about the level of mortality and it examines the later outbreaks (1361, 1368 and 1375) that dogged the reign of Edward III to set out comparisons and contrasts with the first terrible blow.

This book is not specifically about the causes of the plague, its identification with one or another pathogen, or the science of its spread (although a summary of current debate is provided). Rather, it has been my aim to develop a detailed historical narrative from documents and archaeology to provide as complete an understanding of the horrifying test to which the nation’s capital was put. I hope that this analysis provides a springboard for further research into the impact of the Black Death on London. This is an essentially human story populated with many names of real people who came face to face with one of our worst nightmares and lived, or died, in London more than six centuries ago.

Barney Sloane

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I
WISH to thank specific organisations, friends and colleagues who have helped me considerably in the development of this book. First and foremost I would like to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to Caroline Barron (Royal Holloway) who provided encouragement and many very helpful suggestions in developing the text. Christopher Phillpotts reviewed and transcribed the relevant surviving manorial documents for Stepney. Claire Martin and Jeremy Ashbee gave their valuable time to undertake further examination and transcription of original documents. For further contributions to the historical research, I would like to thank Dr Mark Forrest for sharing his data on Gillingham in advance of publication. Ann Causton, Robert Braid, Sam Cohn, Graham Dawson and Penny Tucker provided further help. I have benefited greatly from the generosity of archaeologists involved in the excavation or analysis of material from this period, and here I would very much like to thank Ian Grainger and Chris Thomas of the Museum of London Archaeology, the late Bill White of the Centre for Human Bioarchaeology at the Museum of London, and Dr Sharon DeWitte (Albany University). For additional advice in structuring the text and contents I record my gratitude to Professor Roberta Gilchrist (University of Reading), and Dr John Clark (Museum of London); and for helpful comments I would like to thank Jenni Butterworth, Nathalie Cohen, Peter Mills, and Professor James Wood.

ABREVIATIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arch J 

 

Archaeological Journal 

 

CAD 

 

H.C.M. Lyte (ed.), 1915,  
A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds,
Vol. 6 (London)

 

CAN 

 

H. Chew & W. Kellaway (eds), 1973,  
London assize of nuisance 1301–1431: A calendar

 

CCR 

 

 
Calendar of Close Rolls

 

CCRBL 

 

W.H. Turner, 1878,  
Calendar of Charters and Rolls preserved in the Bodleian Library
(Oxford)

 

CCRC 

 

R.R. Sharpe (ed.), 1913,  
Calendar of the Coroners’ Rolls of the City of London
AD
1300–1378
(London)

 

CFR 

 

Anon, 1921,  
Calendar of the Fine Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office, Volume VI, Edward III, 1347–56
(London)

 

CHW 

 

R.R. Sharpe (ed.), 1889, 1890,  
Calendar of wills proved and enrolled in the Court of Husting 1258–1688,
2 Vols (London)

 

CIPM 

 

H.C.M Lyte (ed.), 1916,  
Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol. IX, Edward III
(London)

 

CLB F 

 

R.R. Sharpe (ed.), 1904,  
Calendar of Letter-books preserved among the archives of the corporation of the City of London: Letter-book F c.
AD
1337–1352
(London)

 

CLB G 

 

R.R. Sharpe (ed.), 1905,  
Calendar of Letter-books preserved among the archives of the corporation of the City of London: Letter-book G c.
AD
1352–1374
(London)

 

CLB K 

 

R.R. Sharpe (ed.), 1911,  
Calendar of Letter-books preserved among the archives of the corporation of the City of London: Letter-book K Temp Henry VI
(London)

 

CLPA 

 

H. Chew (ed.), 1965,  
London Possessory Assizes: a calendar
(London Rec Soc Vol. I)

 

CPL 

 

W.H. Bliss & C. Johnson, 1897,  
Calendar of entries in the Papal Registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland: Papal Letters, Vol. 3,
AD
1342–1362
(London)

 

CPMR 

 

A.H. Thomas (ed.), 1926,  
Calendar of the Plea and Memoranda Rolls of the City of London, Vol. I, 1323–1364

 

CPP 

 

Calendar of Papal Petitions 

 

CPR 

 

Calendar of Patent Rolls 

 

Fasti 

 

 
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541
: Vol. 5 (St Paul’s, London, 1963)

 

Foedera 

 

T. Rymer, 1741,  
Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujus-cunque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae et alios quosvis imperatores, reges, pontifices, principes, vel communitates, ab ineunte saeculo duodecimo, viz. ab anno 1101. ad nostra usque tempora, habita aut tractata: ex autographis, infra secretiores Archivorum regiorum thesaurarias per multa saecula reconditis, fideliter exscripta,
Vol. 5

 

Hist Gaz 

 

D.J. Keene & V Harding, 1987,  
Historical gazetteer of London before the Great Fire: Cheapside; parishes of All Hallows Honey Lane, St Martin Pomary, St Mary le Bow, St Mary Colechurch and St Pancras Soper Lane
(London)

 

LMA 

 

London Metropolitan Archive 

 

MOSJ 

 

Museum of the Order of St John, Clerkenwell, London 

 

PLoS Pathog 

 

Public Library of Science: Pathogens Journal (www. plospathogens.org/home.action) 

 

Proc Archaeol Inst 

 

C. Given-Wilson, P. Brand, A. Curry, R.E. Horrox, G. Martin, W.M. Ormrod, J.R.S. Phillips, 2005,  
The Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, 1275–1504
Leicester, Scholarly Digital Editions (CD-ROM)

 

PROME 

 

Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute 

 

TLAMAS 

 

Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society 

 

TNA 

 

The National Archive 

 

VCH London 1 

 

W. Page (ed.), 1909,  
A history of the county of London
: Vol. 1: London within the Bars, Westminster and Southwark

 

VCH Middx 1 

 

W. Pugh (ed.), 1969,  
A history of the county of Middlesex,
Vol. 1

 

VCH Middx 2 

 

W. Page (ed.), 1911,  
A history of the county of Middlesex,
Vol. 2

 

VCH Middx 5 

 

T.F.T. Baker & R. Pugh (eds), 1976,  
A history of the county of Middlesex,
Vol. 5

 

VCH Oxford 4 

 

A. Crossley & C.R. Elrington (eds), 1979,  
A history of the county of Oxford,
Vol. 4: The City of Oxford

 

WAM 

 

Westminster Abbey Muniments 

 

WSA 

 

Wiltshire and Swindon Archives 

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