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Great Plague of London
Between 1665 and 1666 plague ravaged London, killing an estimated 100,000—nearly a quarter of the city's population—forcing the court and wealthy res…
Timeline
- 1665London · Greater LondonFrom spring 1665 plague was brought into London from other towns and began spreading through poor districts and around the docks; authorities imposed quarantine and marked infected houses, but the epidemic still spread rapidly.
- 1665London · Greater LondonSummer and autumn 1665 saw the peak of deaths, with weekly bills of mortality soaring; Charles II and the court moved to Oxford and elsewhere, and large numbers of residents fled, leaving London deserted and gripped by panic.
- 1666London · Greater LondonBy early 1666 deaths had fallen markedly and the plague gradually receded, but the city's population had plummeted and the economy suffered; the social trauma set the stage for the subsequent Great Fire and rebuilding.
Sources
- Great Plague of London https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Plague-of-London
- The Great Plague — Historic England https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/1665-1666-the-great-plague/