The Great Plague, Science and Medicine

"Bring out your dead!"

The death cart was an unfortunate necessity for dealing with the sheer number of people who had fallen victim to this terrible disease. In the 1600s, the death cart was as common as the rubbish truck that drives past your house every week. Sadly (a bit like our own bin men in snow at Christmas time), it took a while for them to be collected. Before that, dead bodies were just thrown out into the street and left rotting in the middle of the road. Nowadays we can’t imagine doing this, can we? Then the doctors of the times said the bodies should be left in the houses, instead of in the street, where anyone walking past could catch the disease. Then the death cart was established. It would pass by with the call ‘Bring out your dead’ and the poor relatives would bring out the bodies of their loved ones and place them on the cart.

What else did we English do to cope with the plague? What medicine was used at the time, and how exactly did people think the plague was being passed from human to human?

As we mentioned before, the first action was to keep sick people locked inside their houses, but loads more initiatives were formed to fight the disease.

The Privy Council (close advisors of the King) recommended closing all of the public areas where people would be close contact with each other and could catch the plague, such as market places. The crowded streets of London needed to be cleared. Next, it was decided to kill all the dogs and cats of London, because it was suspected these were disease carriers. However, this slaughter actually did more harm than good, because it was actually the rats that mostly carried the plague, and with all the dogs and cats gone, the rats were now free to roam about and spread the disease even further.

Knowledge of science and medicine was not as developed as now, but there were many theories. The Miasma theory of disease was put forward by the brightest minds of the time, and it stated that disease was spread by bad smells. Given the fact that the streets were overflowing with sewage and rubbish, the theory wasn’t that ridiculous. It made sense. At the time, no one knew about the bacteria and viruses that were causing the infection. So one way to deal with the plague at the time was to wear sweet smelling flowers and carry handkerchiefs to prevent inhaling bad smells.

In 1665, a book was written by the Royal College of Physicians. It had a very long title: Royal College of Physicians of London. Certain necessary directions as well for the cure of the plague, as for preventing the infection :with many easie medicines of small charge, very profitable to His Majesties subjects. London: Printed by John Bill and Christopher Barker, 1665.

It’s a really interesting read if you want to learn more about how the great minds of the time approached the plague. (Just remember that during the time, s and f were interchangable. (In case you don't understand words like Majefties, Lordfhips and moft requifite)).
The directions in the book included the following:
~ six or four doctors at least, who may apply themselves to cure the infected. Each would have their own team to help.
~ persons and goods that came from foreign lands would be in isolation for forty days to prevent further diseases.
~ slaughterhouses should also be closed because they are 'offensive' (smell-wise ... no vegetarianism here!)
~ A house known to be infected must be watched in order to make sure no one escapes and wanders the streets.
~ fires could be burned to purify the air
~ the nosegays or handkerchiefs that people carried must be held "a little in their mouths as they go in the streets" and anointed with oil for their noses.
Whether or not any of these measures were in any way successful is doubtful. Remember that all of the qualified doctors left London, which left the unqualified volunteers to do the job for them.

NEXT TIME: Important Victims of the Plague

The Great Plague of 1665

Yet another plague, but of course, that’s what The Plaguemaker is all about! The Great Plague was, surprisingly, not as bad as the Black Death of 1347, but it still managed to kill 100,000 people in London. It was also equally gruesome, and given the swift evacuation of the wealthy from the cities again, the poor were once again left to deal with the consequences of the illness and decay.

King Charles promptly left for his estate in the countryside, the higher classes followed suit. Even the doctors left London in fear of contracting the disease. Ironically, the medical profession felt they were qualified to write books and articles on the plague, even though they weren’t witnessing it first hand, and much of their anecdotal evidence was hearsay from servants or friends.

Unfortunately, the 17th century saw the plague hit the UK more than once. The number of plague deaths went up and down in waves. Over 30,000 people were killed in 1603, but the next year it went down to 896. In 1609, over 4,000 people died, but in 1610, it went down to 1,800. Over 41,000 people died in 1625, and over 10,000 in 1636.

And what happened to those who were unfortunate to contract the plague? If you thought compassion and assistance would come your way, you’d be wrong. Once the plague was known to have entered your home, the house and its inhabitants would immediately in lockdown. The incubation period for an entire family was around four to six days, so if one member of your family contracted the illness, and you were promptly banged up with them, it was extremely likely you would contract the plague within a short space of time. Worse still, the whole of London would also know that your house was infected because a large red cross would be painted across the door, with the words 'Lord have mercy on us' added for effect. There was no hiding from the vile disease.

The plague of 1665 was made worse because London was experiencing a very hot summer. And with no real sewage or disposal system, rubbish would be left all over the streets for the rats to get their teeth into. Rats brought the fleas and spread the disease, but the disease ridden fleas were also clinging on to other animals such as dogs and cats. This lack of hygiene is thought to be the major reason behind the surge of infected people during this time.

So was there anyone left to tend to the sick? As all the medical professionals had fled the city, volunteers came forward to aid the sick. Local women became nurses, but only in the sense that they checked up on people who were known to have had the plague and, if the patients could afford it, buy them food.

Obviously, people were desperate to leave London. But the only way to leave the city during the plague was to get a certificate of health. Naturally, with so many people after this vital document, a number of people began to sell forgeries. Even if you managed to get yourself out of London, life in the country was no picnic either, because of the threat of illness to country residents. So those people who were able to make it out of London were treated to a systematic regime of scraping, heating, soaking, airing, and pressing ‘flat’ to ‘eliminate "pestilential matter".'

The most reliable source of the time, Samuel Pepys, wrote many diary entries, including: "This day, much against my Will, I did in Drury-lane see two or three houses marked with a red cross upon the doors, and "Lord have mercy upon us" writ there - which was a sad sight to me, being the first of that kind that to my remembrance I ever saw." (June 17th 1665);
"To the office to finish my letters, and then home to bed - being troubled at the sickness, and my head filled also with other business enough, and perticularly how to put my things and estate in order, in case it should please God to call me away - which God dispose of to his own glory." (June 10th 1665);
"But now, how few people I see, and those walking like people that have taken leave of the world.... I to the Exchange, and I think there was not 50 people upon it and but few more like to be, as they told me, Sir G Smith and others. Thus I think to take Adieu today of London streets ...." (August 28th 1665).

NEXT TIME: The Great Plague, Science and Medicine

"She's kidding right? She wants me to go in what looks like a casserole dish Mum serves the Sunday veg in, with her actually holding the thing. Must be some sort of mad joke."

I am fully aware that our second Dresskeeper entry is once again about bowel movements, but those are the things that catch Picky’s attention when she is transported back in time. So let’s move on to our friend the Chamber pot.

When Picky is first introduced to the chamber pot, her maid is the one who brings it out to her and offers to hold up her skirts for her while she ... does what she needs to do. All of a sudden Picky realises that she no longer needs to go.

Chamber pots were kept under the bed so that it can be used quickly to answer that urgent call of nature. Many of them would also have a lid on them to keep everything inside. And if Picky thought just using it was “repulsive” then spare a thought for her poor maid, who would have had to empty out and clean up her mess after her every morning. Don’t you just love the class system?

Chamber pots were in use up until the 19th Century when the water closet was introduced. They are still used in some rural areas around the world. And you may be more familiar with its modern cousin – the hospital bedpan.

And finally ...
Contrary to popular belief, the appropriately named Thomas Crapper was not the inventor of the toilet. He was a plumber. The flush lavatory was invented in 1596 by John Harrington. The first practical W.C., one that was not prone to water freezes in the winter, was patented by Joseph Bramah in 1778.

"The woman, apparently my mother, orders the girl to open the door. As she does, the most disgusting waft hits me, and I think I am going to throw up ... It is like 5000 of Ollie's pooey night-nappies, festering right at the front door"

Unfortunately for Picky, this problem was not dealt with properly for another hundred years. London residents quite often had to deal with anything and everything being thrown into the streets. That included human waste, rubbish and old food - and this was not helped by cattle, pigs, and other animals just roaming around and leaving their business out in the streets for passers-by to just go ahead and step in. Everyone was responsible for clearing out whatever was in front of their property - regardless of who had (literally) dropped it there - and move it into the River Thames.

Picky may have done more than just throw up however. The stench from these odours was deadly. Debates took place in Parliament that said many children died because of the horrible conditions in which they lived, and a large portion of the blame went on the lack of sanitation. In fact, during the affectionately titled 'Great Stink' of 1858, the smell was so bad that even Parliament had to close. Two weeks later, laws were finally passed to improve sanitation and introduce better sewage systems in the country.

Edwin Chadwick was very important during this time. It was his report into the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population (1854) that showed the link between poor sanitation and bad health. He believed that the bad air was the cause of disease. Although it wasn't until much later that we found out about germs and bacteria, the health of the people improved, as did their life expectancy, when the cause of all those bad smells were removed. He was not a popular man though. An article was written in The Times in 1854 accusing him of "bullying" people into health. They said that they would much rather face cholera than take his advice because "there is nothing a man so much hates as being cleaned against his will". It was honestly believed that people had died of a good washing because their skin was no longer protected by dirt. No. Seriously.