Black plague

[bradford]

Where were all the bodies buried from the great plague?

[Doolallygirl]

Blackheath common, London. SW. If you visit it, you will see lots of crows (ravens? can't remember, it's the bird of death) on the common. I think it was from the great plague anyway, can someone back me up?

[Toffee]

I think their were many pits. Daniel Defoe talks of a large one in Aldgate parish Churchard. The plague also killed dogs cats rabbits etc. The London Lord Mayor ordered all dogs and cats to be executed to stop them spreading the disease. I believe all the animals were buried at Houndsditch, but this may be apocryphal.

[WoWo]

Yep right Doolallygirl, most of the dead from London were buried in Blackheath hence the name. Thats one of the reasons the London underground doesn't extend that far into South East London (plus other factors such as better overground links and various cavern systems going from Chislehurts to Blackheath).

[pigface]

Spitalfields in N London comes from Hospital fields. Many plague victims were taken here and disposed of (it was originally on the outskirts of the city.

[Doolallygirl]

WoWo I always wondered why I couldn't get a tube to my house and now I know! That's fascinating. Spose it all makes sense really when you think about it though doesn't it? Chislehurst caves are wicked and my nan was evacuated there in the second world war and her dad owned the sweet shop down there. It would be a shame to pull them down just for a tube link. Cheers for the info.

[Janetex]

Except, of course, the ones we had to eat after the butcher died.

[IggyB]

blackheath was established with that name 200 years or so before the "Black Death" plague of 1349-50... the whole plague pit theory is an urban legend

[WoWo]

Cheers IggyB, just did a bit of research and of course your correct, nothing to do with the black death. Sorry if I mislead anybody. But the bit about the tubes still stands, due to the complex caves it was too risky to build tunnels in that area, but like I say there is sufficient over ground services.

[Doolallygirl]

So explain the birds then. You don't get normal pigeons or sparrows, just loads of these evil looking black birds. Gotta be some weird theory to it...

[bobtheduck]

wow great question and great answers people very interesting

[GuavaHalf]

I understood that many of London's dead were taken along the Thames and buried in pits along banks of the river in Kent. The town of 'Gravesend' in Kent is said to mark the furthest extent of the graves. This may however be a bit of a myth.

[Doolallygirl]

Below piece taken from http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/plague/ experts.html The idea that Blackheath got its name from its use as a burial pit goes all the way back to the medieval period, when it was almost certainly used for the disposal of the dead during the 'Black Death'. Virtually every part of London has a local tradition about plague pits under, say, the local school or the bakers. Certainly there were pits dug all over the place. The sheer number of bodies meant that the traditional church yards became, as one contemporary put it, 'overstuft' very quickly.

[Doolallygirl]

Is it true that the plague ended in Gravesend in Kent, and that is where it gets its name? Or is this just an urban myth? S W, London I'm afraid this is probably just another urban myth, probably based on the fact that Gravesend and places like Deptford were significant areas of trade and naval operations. Consequently they were often identified as places where the plague might start or end.

[BrumBob]

In the ground

[humming bird]

Burned. Read Barbara Tauchmann.."the Calamitous 13th Century" Or also called "A distant Mirror". Fantastic book. If I recall well, some 60 pc of Europe fell to the plague. The social revolution was dramatic. Cheers

[tye]

Well, i may be able to shed some light onto this. Even though i was under the impression for many years as the plague victims being buried on Blackheath. I have found many sources in and around Blackheath that substaciate this fact. I have however found web sites that claim this is untrue. I do kow however Gravesend got its name from the Blackdeath. I live not far from there and in the local church there is a memorial to pokahontas and the blackdeath. Hope i have helped