Bedfordshire
Plague
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In 1348-1349 a terrible and very infectious disease swept through the country. This plague, known as the Black Death, was spread by rats and their fleas. In Bedfordshire the disease reached its peak between March and August of 1349.
Little is known about the effects it had on Bedfordshire but it is estimated that up to a third of the population may have died. Of the 123 benefices in the county the incumbents of at least 54 died. As a general rule the survival of the Lords of the Manor was better than that of the common people due to their better living standards. However, in Clophill Peter de St. Croix and his son both died within two months of each other.
In Dunstable, the people of the town made an offering of a bell, which they named 'Mary', to the Priory Church. The bell that is rung today during Eucharistic services may well be the same bell.
In Toddington, the Rector Geoffrey de Sewenestre died of the Black Death, he was followed by two other rectors before the end of 1349.
The Black Death greatly impoverished the county of Bedfordshire. There were not enough people to cultivate the land or to construct new buildings. This decline lasted well into the next century.
Sources:
- History of Bedfordshire 1066-1888 by Joyce Godber (Bedfordshire County Council, 1969)
- Dunstable down the ages: an outline history from prehistoric to modern times, by V. Evans & J. Schneider (Book Castle, 2002)
- Portrait of Bedfordshire, by D. H. Kennett (Robert Hale Ltd, 1978)
- The Victoria County History of Bedfordshire (1972, first published 1912)
Further Reading:
- Bedfordshire clergy and the Black Death by Ivan J. O'Dell in The Bedfordshire Magazine, Vol. 18, No. 138, pp. 54-58
The Black Death by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2005
Page last updated: 23rd January 2014