The Great Plague

by Pamela Oldfield

  “I would have wagered any money St Paul’s would survive,” he told us, shaking his head as we all watched from a safe distance. “But no. See how the stones grow hot and split asunder. And see, too, the lead melts and drips down inside the church.”

  Even as he spoke the roof caved in with a fearful crash. It made the ground shake under our feet and filled the air with burning dust that threatened to choke us. We backed away sick at heart yet none could turn their back on the dreadful spectacle.

  London’s St Paul’s was being destroyed before our eyes. Surely this was a sign from God. I hoped it wasn’t the work of our enemies. If ’twas they would be celebrating in earnest. As the stonework fell it exploded on landing, sending hot splinters of stone in all directions. Merely watching the destruction was becoming dangerous. Papa decided I had suffered enough the day before and insisted that we left the scene.

  We made our way down to the riverside where all that remained of the pitiful houses were the chimneys that still stood among the black and smouldering embers. I thought of the woman in the church and wondered what had become of her.

  “A good riddance to the houses,” Papa remarked. “They were rat-infested hovels.”

  “But where will the people live?”

  “The authorities will have to rebuild and they will build better. Homes fit to live in.”

  He seemed mighty sure so I did not argue but hoped he was right. We returned home chastened to a supper of cold rabbit pie which was all Maggie could offer with the markets in a turmoil and few street sellers. I went to bed too tired to dwell on the problem. Will the fire ever stop?

  Wednesday

  A great excitement for me. Shortly before midday I was in the yard brushing Poppet when who should appear beside me but my own dear Edward. I leaped to my feet and threw my arms around his neck. He was so pleased to see me safe and well – except for my bruises and split lip. He had brought some eggs and vegetables which were most welcome – and some medicaments. He says their apothecary has all but sold out of salves for burns and soothing jellies for parched throats. So many apothecaries have been destroyed that folk are going further afield in search of medicaments.

  My letter from him went astray – probably consumed by the flames as I suspected. But to see my betrothed in person was a greater joy. I took him into the parlour away from Maggie’s flapping ears and regaled him with tales of the past few days.

  “But the fire is on the wane at last,” he told me. “ ’Tis under control. It still blazes in parts but is greatly reduced. The wind has dropped and they are busy damping down the embers. Everywhere is burnt timber and blackened stones but we have seen the worst of it. From now on we must look forward and not backward. There will be no time for regrets.”

  He sounded like Papa. He asked if I wanted to venture out with him but I said I had seen enough. To sit at ease with him in the comfort of the parlour was all I wanted. So we sat for an hour or more until he had to leave. He was on his way to see his aunt, Mistress Gratton, and to stay overnight. On the way out he whispered that he loved me and that he had a question to put to Papa later in the day.

  He would say no more so that I was in a tizzy for hours and Maggie threatened to “shake a little sense into me”. But, true to his word, he returned around eight and asked Papa formally for my hand in marriage – when I was old enough. Papa hesitated but finally he said “Yes” – as long as I am still of the same mind in three years’ time. There will be no need to find accommodation for his family have rooms above the apothecary and I am more than willing to share them with Edward’s mother and to learn from her.

  Now I am the happiest girl in the world. We invited Mistress Capperly to join us in a glass of wine by way of celebration. Next week we shall invite Mistress Gratton, Edward and his mother for supper and share a little music. How I wish Aunt Nell could be with us.

  She would be so happy for me. I said as much to Papa. “If Aunt Nell could be with us life would be perfect.” He smiled. “A perfect life would be of little value.” I should have expected that. He believes that we learn by our mistakes and grow strong by suffering. I know he is right but at least some of the bad times are over. The city has suffered mightily these past few years but I have survived with God’s help. London will rise again from the ashes and I look forward to the future with hope in my heart – and with my dearest Edward by my side.

  Historical note

  London was an important and prosperous city in the seventeenth century. However, despite the impressive buildings and many beautiful churches, most of the population lived in narrow streets in timber-framed houses. These dwellings were crowded together and conditions were, by modern standards, very uncomfortable. There was little drainage or sanitation and rubbish was collected from the cobbled streets by “scavengers” who raked it up daily and removed it to large pits in the city’s outskirts.

  Unfortunately, for most of the time rubbish, including scraps of food, was left lying about and this encouraged rats. They were a common sight and no one gave them a second glance, but these rats carried the fleas which in turn carried the deadly bubonic plague. People spent a lot of time and energy trying to get fleas out of their furnishings, clothes and hair without success. When rats from a country with plague entered England on ships, their fleas soon began to infect people and bubonic plague broke out.

  This is what happened in London in 1665. The populace, ignorant of the causes of the disease, went about their daily lives, unaware that disaster loomed.

  After the Great Fire of London in 1666 hundreds of new houses were built and new buildings were made of brick. These were not so easily inhabited by rats which meant that over time widespread plague would become a thing of the past.

  Alice’s diary is fictional, but both men and women kept diaries in the seventeenth century and many have survived. Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn both wrote about living in London during the seventeenth century and the former has become a classic.

  For women who could read and write, “books of household remedies” were kept and added to regularly. Most small wounds and minor illnesses were dealt with at home where women used herbs to treat many common ailments. Hospitals were few, and operations were performed without anaesthetics as we know them today. Great faith was placed in astrology, and superstition was widespread. Quack doctors flourished, especially during the plagues.

  There were many forms of entertainment. You could visit theatres on both sides of the river including The Globe where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed. People played instruments – the virginals, viols and lutes were popular – and composed songs. Those who could afford it took singing and dancing lessons. Poorer people went to fairs, both large and small, or watched jugglers, stilt walkers and acrobats performing in the streets. Wrestling also had a large following. Many “entertainments” involved animals: a dancing bear was a common sight, bulls were baited by dogs for people’s amusement, cockfighting was popular for men who liked to gamble, and so was horse racing.

  Food was plentiful and varied for most people. When housekeeping was sufficient, large amounts of meat, fowl and game were eaten, washed down by French wines. The poor ate bread, mutton, bacon or cheese with their home brewed ale. No one drank water if they could avoid it because it was full of impurities. Recipes survive of fruit puddings and tarts, jellies and “creams”. Fish was plentiful and oysters were cheap. Many people earned their living as “street cryers”. They carried foodstuffs such as pies or oranges in trays on their heads or in baskets over their arms. They “sang” their wares aloud to alert the housewives and servants that they were coming.

  London provided a livelihood, too, for the countless farmers who lived in the surrounding areas. Most of them brought produce in daily to sell in the markets so that fresh eggs, cream, chickens, honey and vegetables could be brought fresh to the table. The docks were another source of thriving commerce with ships saili
ng in and out from other parts of England as well as from abroad. Timber, coal, cotton, spices and many other necessities were brought to London in sailing ships of every kind. Along the congested riverbanks, warehouses abounded where many highly inflammable goods were stored. The River Thames was also the quickest way to move from one part of London to the other and boats known as wherries were always for hire, waiting at the numerous “boat stairs” to take passengers up, down or across the river.

  The seventeenth century was a troubled period politically. Britain was ruled by Parliament as well as a monarchy and there were constant disagreements over the way the country should be governed and taxed. Matters between Parliament and the monarchy grew steadily worse. Eventually few Londoners supported King Charles I and he went to York where he had powerful friends. The Civil War broke out and when it ended King Charles was arrested and executed and Oliver Cromwell declared himself Lord Protector in place of a king.

  When Cromwell died Charles II was invited to return as King although the real power remained with Parliament. Charles II was still on the throne when the Great Plague ravaged London in 1665 and when, a year later, the Great Fire destroyed most of the city.

  The country was officially Protestant and people of other faiths were regarded with the same suspicion as foreigners. During the period of the Great Plague and Fire, England was at war with either France or Holland or both. Foreigners and Catholics were often blamed for disasters like these.

  Alice’s London was a rough, noisy, bustling place where more than eighty churches rang their bells. During the Great Plague more than 60,000 people died (around a third to a half of the population of London at that time) and the survivors had to rebuild their shattered lives. After the Great Fire more than 100,000 people were left homeless (though luckily there were very few deaths). Half the city was burned to the ground and it, too, would have to be rebuilt. It would be a more modern city and it would thrive again – but Alice Paynton’s London had gone forever.

  Timeline

  1603 Queen Elizabeth I dies. James VI of Scotland becomes King James I of England.

  1605 Gunpowder Plot. Guy Fawkes tries to blow up Parliament and James I. He fails and is executed.

  1611 The King James version of the Bible is finished.

  1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock, America, in their ship the Mayflower.

  1625 Charles I becomes king.

  1633 Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), the famous diarist is born.

  1645 The Civil War. Oliver Cromwell forms the New Model Army. Charles I is defeated.

  1649 Charles I is tried and executed. The Commonwealth is set up and lasts until 1660.

  1653 Cromwell becomes Lord Protector.

  1658 Cromwell dies.

  1660 Charles II is restored to the throne.

  1665 The Great Plague.

  1666 September 2nd–5th. The Great Fire of London.

  1667 The Dutch fleet defeats the English in the River Medway.

  1685 James II becomes King of England.

  1688 The “Glorious Revolution”. James II is overthrown and he escapes to France.

  1689 William III and Mary II become King and Queen of England.

  While the events described and some of the characters in this book may be based on actual historical events and real people, Alice Paynton is a fictional character, created by the author, and her diary is a work of fiction.

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  First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2001

  This electronic edition published 2012

  Text © Pamela Oldfield, 2001

  Cover illustration © Richard Jones, 2008

  All rights reserved

  eISBN 978 1407 13291 4

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