The New Churchyard was a municipal and non-parochial burial ground in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Established in 1569, it was used for burial from 1570 until 1739, by which date approximately 25,000 interments were estimated to have taken place. It was created to accommodate the ever-increasing number of new interments required as London's population expanded during 16th to 18th centuries. It was known as a "churchyard" despite not being associated with a church and, from the mid-17th century, became more commonly known as Bedlam or Bethlem burial ground because its location within the "Bedlam" or "Bethlem" area (land which previously formed the precinct of the Priory of St Mary of Bethlehem (later
Bethlem Hospital
Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably ''Bedlam'', a 1946 film with Bo ...
)). The remains of the burial ground are now located under modern Liverpool Street, within the north-east corner of the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
.
As a municipal ground, it was available to any institution, parish or individual who wished to use it. People from all walks of life were buried there but especially those at the margins of society. It was nondenominational, and in practice was particularly favoured by
nonconformists. The ground was heavily used for the burial of the poor and those who died in some of London's hospitals and prisons, as well as plague victims.
In 1772, the burial ground was converted into private gardens and yards belonging to the adjoining houses, which had been built in 1737. However, burials were rediscovered during developments of the 19th and 20th centuries, chiefly during the creation of Liverpool Street (the road) in 1823–24 and the construction of
Broad Street station in 1863–65. In 1985–87, and again in 2011–15, the site was the subject of major archaeological
excavation and analysis in association with, respectively, the construction of the
Broadgate development and the
Crossrail
Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...
railway project.
Historical background
![Copperplate map Moorfields crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Copperplate_map_Moorfields_crop.jpg)
The burial ground was located in the parish of
St Botolph without Bishopsgate and in
Bishopsgate ward, just north of London's wall and where
Broad Street station once stood, a site now located under the west half of modern Liverpool Street (the road), within the north-east corner of the modern
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
. Until 1569, the site of the New Churchyard was an undeveloped plot of land located on the eastern edge of
Moorfields
Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting like a dam, ...
proper, or lower Moorfields, one of the last pieces of open land in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, near Bishopsgate. The site was originally part of the lands of
Bethlem Hospital
Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably ''Bedlam'', a 1946 film with Bo ...
and, by the 16th century, was being used as a garden. The plot became part of the lands of the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
following the
Dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
in 1541, and was being leased as a
tenterground
A tenterground, tenter ground or teneter-field was an area used for drying newly manufactured cloth after fulling. The wet cloth was hooked onto frames called " tenters" and stretched taut using " tenter hooks", so that the cloth would dry fl ...
immediately prior to its conversion into a burial ground in 1569.
Opening as a burial ground
By the late 1560s the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
recognised that London was in need of a municipal or "common" burial ground, particularly during times of epidemics and high mortality. In July 1569, the
Lord Mayor Sir Thomas Rowe issued orders to convert the land for burials. A man called John Sherbrooke, from the parish of
St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange, was recorded as the first to be buried at the ground, sometime between 19 January and 19 February 1570 (new style). The ground was to be "free for the whole Citie to burye in without payinge anything"; the only permissible charge was for grave digging which was set at 6 pence per burial. A pulpit was built at the centre of the ground and an annual public
Whit Sunday
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Ho ...
sermon was performed between 1570 and 1642, which the mayor and aldermen were expected to attend.
Closure as a burial ground
In 1737, a new road of terraced houses called Broad Street Buildings was built adjoining the burial ground to the east and north. By this time the burial ground was densely filled, but burials continued despite the presence of properties overlooking the ground. The burial ground was closed by the Corporation following a petition from the residents of Broad Street Buildings, who complained of mass graves and "intolerable steams and vapours of a most noxious and pestilential quality". A decision to close the burial ground was reached on 1 March 1739 (
new style
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...
): "...the said Burying Ground is now full of corps, and that it will be inconvenient, and dangerous to bury any more corps there till those that remain are sufficiently covered and decayed to prevent the noisome steam and stench which proceeds from such a multitude of dead corps being buryed, and not sufficiently covered, which if not prevented may be dangerous and infectious...". Although burials continued until its closure, the last named individual buried at the site was Mary Burt who died aged 105 on 9 April 1738.
Disappearance
In 1762, the Corporation attempted to sell part of the burial ground for building, but the sale was cancelled following petitions from local residents, supported by the church of
St Botolph without Bishopsgate. In 1772, the burial ground was converted into gardens and yards for the adjoining properties of Broad Street Buildings. All surface traces of the burial ground, including monuments and gravestones, were removed. Notable late 18th century residents of Broad Street Buildings included
Ephraim d'Aguilar,
David Ricardo
David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British political economist. He was one of the most influential of the classical economists along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith and James Mill. Ricardo was also a politician, and a ...
and
Benjamin D'Israeli.
Re-discovery
Parts of the burial ground were exposed during the successive developments in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The Corporation authorised the creation of Liverpool Street in 1823. The constructions of the road (circa 1823–24) included a new sewer and a boundary wall, which unearthed the "mouldering bones of several hundred human bodies" that were first "scattered about in the most indecent manner" before being "partly re-interred in one pit … and partly carted away". A notable early resident of Liverpool Street was the
Charles Roach Smith
Charles Roach Smith (20 August 1807 – 2 August 1890), FSA, was an English antiquarian and amateur archaeologist who was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the London Numismatic Society. He was a founding member of ...
, the English antiquarian and amateur archaeologist, who noted the accidental discovery of human remains at the site in the mid 19th century.
In 1863 Broad Street Buildings and its gardens were sold by the City to the
North London Railway (NLR) Company. The construction of
Broad Street station from 1863 to 1865 disinterred thousands of burials.
Despite further disturbance during the 19th and 20th centuries, the first archaeological investigation did not take place until the mid 1980s, prior to the construction of
Broadgate, and was undertaken by the
Department of Urban Archaeology (DUA). During the construction of
Crossrail
Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...
, more extensive archaeological excavation of the site was undertaken by
Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) between 2011 and 2015. Part of the dig was covered by
''Time Team'' (specials) episode 55, aired in December 2013.
Findings
Around 400 skeletons were excavated during the DUA investigation of 1985–86 and were retained for study and analysis. Only a short summary of this work was published.
MOLA's 2011–2015 excavations were the largest archaeological study of London’s population from the 16th to 18th centuries. Detailed osteological analysis was undertaken on one quarter of the 3354 burials excavated, and revealed evidence of where these individuals came from, what jobs they had, what they ate, what illnesses they suffered and what medicines they took. Other finds included grave goods, gravestones, tombs and coffins, as well as evidence on the layout and operation of the burial ground. The site also revealed rare archaeological evidence of early preventative measures taken to thwart
bodysnatchers, as well as mass burial of early 17th century plague victims.
The excavations of 2011–2015 have been documented via Crossrail's Learning Legacy website, and the
Archaeology Data Service (ADS) website. The results have also made publicly available via publication, television documentaries and museum exhibition. The publication of the 2011–2015 excavations incorporated the findings and analysis of the 1985–86 excavation.
Notable graves
Notable burials include:
*
Steven Bachiler (buried October 31, 1656), an English clergyman who was an early proponent of the
separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
in America.
*
John Biddle (or Bidle) (1615–1662), an influential English nontrinitarian, and Unitarian, often called "the Father of English Unitarianism".
*
Nicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His bo ...
(1616–1654), an English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer.
*
William Erbery
William Erbery or Erbury (1604 – April 1654) was a Welsh clergyman and radical Independent theologian. He was the father of the militant Quaker Dorcas Erbery.
Life
Erbery was born in Roath, Cardiff. He graduated from Brasenose College, ...
(or Erbury) (1604–1654), a Welsh clergyman and radical Independent theologian.
*
Robert Greene (1558–1592), an English author and dramatist.
*
Henry Jessey
Henry Jessey or Jacie (1603 in West Rowton, Yorkshire – 1663) was one of many English Dissenters. He was a founding member of the Puritan religious sect, the Jacobites. Jessey was considered a Hebrew and a rabbinical scholar. His active ...
(1603–1663), dissenting minister and scholar, founding member of the "
Jacobites
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...
" (Puritan religious sect).
*
John Lambe (or Lamb) (circa 1545–1628) was an English astrologer.
*
John Lilburne
John Lilburne (c. 161429 August 1657), also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "'' freeborn rights''", defining them as rights with which eve ...
(1614–1657), also known as Freeborn John, an English political Leveller.
*
Robert Lockyer (sometimes spelled Lockier) (1625–1649), an English soldier in Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army and a Leveller.
*
Lodowicke Muggleton
Lodowicke Muggleton (1609–1698) was an English religious thinker who gave his name to Muggletonianism, a Protestant sect which was always small, but survived until the death of its last follower in 1979. He spent his working life as a journey ...
(1609–1698), an English religious thinker, who gave his name to Muggletonianism.
*Ann Overton (circa 1613–1665) (née Gardiner), wife of Major-General
Robert Overton
Major-General Robert Overton 1609 to 1678, was a member of the landed gentry from Yorkshire, who fought for Parliament during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and reached the rank of Major General in 1652. A committed republican and religious In ...
(circa 1609–1678), who was a prominent English soldier and scholar.
*
John Reeve (1608–1658), English plebeian prophet.
*Dame Mary Rowe (died 1583), the wife of Sir Thomas Rowe,
Lord Mayor of London 1568–1569.
*
William Walwyn
William Walwyn (''bap.'' 1600–1681) was an English pamphleteer, a Leveller and a medical practitioner.
Life
Walwyn was a silkman in London who took the parliamentary side in the English Civil War. He advocated religious toleration and emerged a ...
(1600–1681), an English pamphleteer, Leveller and medical practitioner.
*Sarah Williams (1648–1708) (formerly Jenkes, née Walwyn), the daughter of
William Walwyn
William Walwyn (''bap.'' 1600–1681) was an English pamphleteer, a Leveller and a medical practitioner.
Life
Walwyn was a silkman in London who took the parliamentary side in the English Civil War. He advocated religious toleration and emerged a ...
(1600–1681) and wife of
John Williams (1636–1709),
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...
.
Records
A series of "keepers", who were appointed by the
Court of Aldermen
The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior alderman during his year of office). The Co ...
, were responsible for management of the burial ground. This position and its duties were similar to that of a
sexton. As a municipal non-parochial ground the management of the New Churchyard was overseen by the City, therefore, some administrative information survives in the records of the Corporation, principally the surviving Court of Aldermen repertories, City account books and journals of the City Lands Committee, which are all held at the
London Metropolitan Archive.
Unfortunately, there is no surviving burial register for the ground. Indeed, the ground may never have had its own burial register because registration for those buried at the New Churchyard occurred at the parish where the deceased had been resident and/or had died. As part of the 2011–2015 investigations, Crossrail undertook a volunteer project which aimed to compile an online searchable database of many of those who were buried at the site.
References
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* {{cite web , url=https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/archaeological-research-crossrail-completes-uks-largest-archaeology-programme , title=Archaeological research for Crossrail completes: the UK's largest archaeology programme , publisher=MOLA , date=26 October 2017 , access-date=12 March 2018
Cemeteries in London
Former cemeteries
Archaeological sites in London