Medieval

• Towns population

  The English population doubled between 1000 and 1300, so towns were built quickly and badly planned
• What were streets like in towns?


  Filled with litter and people threw blood and human waste onto it, water supplies were polluted by human and industrial waste
• What did animals do?

  Animals were butchered in streets and horses left dung in streets
• Why were the toilets in towns bad?


  Latrines and cesspits contaminated water supplies. Privies were emptied once a year by gong farmers
• What attempts were there to improve public health?


  They were limited.

  • In 1371 London mayors prohibited the killing of large animals within city walls
  • In 1388 Parliament passed a law fining people &20 for throwing garbage into rivers
• Where were the monasteries?


  They were in the uncrowned, isolated countryside.
• What could the church afford for monasteries?


  The Church was rich enough to afford stone pipes
• Why were monasteries good for Monks?


  The monks could read ancient ideas about cleanliness. Monks were ordered to wash regularly
• What facilities did monasteries have?


  They had excellent facilities such as the lavatories, toilets emptied into a pit