To start off our Autumn 2012 season, Barney Sloane gave a talk based on his recent book on the Black Death in London.  He spoke of the media fuss when the book was launched, with journalists reporting that he didn’t think the black rats were responsible; but this only referred to a comment in the Appendix.

  In 1348 a disaster struck Western Europe which was to have a huge impact.  The Black Death started in Asia in about 1340, and moving west through Europe arrived in England sometime in late 1348, perhaps at several points of arrival.  The first mention of it in England that Barney was able to find was in early 1348 when the Prior of London’s Whitefriars went over to France on a diplomatic mission and mentioned in a letter the “threat of death”: the Black Death reached Avignon by January 1348.  Archbishop of York William Zouche wrote that the plague was now common knowledge.  People thought it was a punishment from God: the Prior of Canterbury Cathedral was to tell the Bishop of London the plague was Divine Will;  the Bishop of Bath and Wells warned of its coming.  Barney spent nine years working through original documents and records, and the British History Online website was also very useful. 

  It was possible to work out with the aid of Wills made at the time approximately when and how many deaths were happening: at the date the will was written, the person was still alive, but when it was “enrolled” (recorded) at the Hopping Court, held at the Guildhall, the person had obviously died.

  The normal death rate before the plague struck seems to have been about 35 per 1000 per annum, or about 175 per month.  Normally around 22 wills would be enrolled at the Court per year, or about two per month.  In July 1348 two wills were made, 8 enrolled, and only six wills were made in that September.  Although a chronicler says the plague was in Bristol by 15th August and in London by 29th September, it may not yet have reached London.  In November 1348 10 wills were made, 3 enrolled.  By December 1348 the number of wills was 38.  Extra cemetery space was needed by December: the Bishop of London set up the 3-acre Pardon Churchyard in Clerkenwell Road, and  another of 13-acres was set up next door.   One of 4 acres was started at East Smithfield (Barney was involved in the excavation here), where plague bodies have been found decently laid out (east-west), not tipped in, in a long mass grave.  There is an unusually high incidence of coffins, perhaps in keeping with a belief in “miasma”.  Some graves were ash-lined – perhaps sweepings from the hearth – probably put in the coffin whilst it was at home.  Some of the people were dressed – there is evidence of buckles etc. - plus there are charms and talismans such as an inscribed ring, and one person held a papal bull.  Infant burials are clustered in a group, perhaps round some sort of marker like a cross.  In January 1349 38 wills were made, 18 enrolled.  A lot of people stated in their will a wish to be buried at St Giles Cripplegate, dedicated to the patron saint of beggars, lepers and those in “sudden misery”.   
 
King Edward III suspended parliament.  The Manorial Court records for Stepney recorded that the Lord of the Manor was getting worried about not receiving his rents.  In March 1349 89 wills were made, 61 enrolled.  In Rochester the stink of the cemetery was described.

  In April 1349 106 wills were made.  People who were left legacies in wills were soon making their own.  There was a drop in court cases – such as the Court of Common Pleas - over the time of the plague.  In May 1349 52 wills were made, 121 enrolled, but by June 1349 9 wills were made and 31 enrolled.  Things were getting back to normal.  The working population having been much curtailed, Edward III tried to keep labourers’ wages down (they were in a good position to demand more);  beggars etc. must work, and at 1346 wages.  By July 1349 6 wills were made and 51 enrolled.  So the plague seems to be over.  August 1349 showed a big increase in Guardianship Cases (orphans).

The plague took just 5 months to kill half the population of London.  33,600 died in 8 months, 56% of the population.  62% of surnames died out.  Afterwards, people left money to “Fraternities” (clubs), for dowries for poor girls, to hermits and lepers and prisoners, anybody who would pray for their soul.  As to whether it was transmitted by rat fleas, Barney pointed out that Iceland had the plague, but no rats;  it was a bacterium, so could have come from fleas or body lice.  There were no brown rats here before the 17th century, only the black rat, Ratus ratus.  It was probably bubonic plague, an ancient strain, which is now (hopefully) extinct.  So we can’t base it on modern models.  We don’t know if the 17th century plague (1665) was the same disease as the 1348-9 one.  Why did it stop?  Apparently whatever was transmitting it ran out.  It was coming from somewhere and this was used up.  But it did come back.  
 
The Black Death in London by Barney Sloane, 2011  

Yvonne Masson