How People Died in 16th Century London

In one week in London in September, 1665, no fewer than 47 different causes of death were reported, including consumption, fever, dropsy, being frightened, grief, worms, vomiting, and plague. We know this because of a record called a Bill of Mortality, a broad sheet that was printed to list the number of burials in and around the city of London by district and the causes of those deaths.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Vanessa Harding about Bills of Mortality and what they can tell us about life and death in early modern London.

The subject of this podcast was suggested by listener Keith Denny. If you have an idea for an episode, please email notjustthetudors@historyhit.com or via Twitter @NotJustTudors.

This episode was edited by Anisha Deva and produced by Rob Weinberg.

For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store