I have been trying to find out more about the everyday lives of people in the past, and today I wanted to learn about something not very often discussed. It is something that would have affected every single person living in London, every single day. I wanted to try and find out about how the city of London may have smelled during the Tudor age.
When the Tudor period began in 1485 with the rise of Henry VII, London was already an extremely crowded and busy place. London was a small, dense city crammed closely around the River Thames and the population was growing quickly. People from all across England had started to move into the city looking for work. The city did hold opportunity but it was also a place where sanitation was almost non existent. The streets were narrow and very tightly packed together, and the houses were mostly made of timber. The buildings also leaned towards each other, sometimes almost touching overhead so sunlight and fresh air often struggled to get through.
One of the strongest smells in Tudor London would have been from waste. There was no modern sewage system, the popular idea that everyone threw chamber pots out of windows is exaggerated. Many homes used cesspits or night-soil collectors, although waste did still end up in streets and waterways. Rivers flowing through London, such as the Fleet, became heavily polluted. The River Thames, which was the heart of the city’s trade and transport, started to become a dumping ground for rubbish, animal remains, and human waste. Imagine what it was like on warm days, It must have been so overwhelming.
The River Thames was often the quickest and most common way to move around London, as the streets were difficult to navigate. The river was busy with lots of small rowing boats called wherries, operated by watermen who ferried passengers, just like taxis do today. Travellers would see merchant vessels unloading goods, fishing boats, and sometimes magnificent royal barges. The journey could be have probably been loud and bustly with life but also unpleasant, due to the smell of the waste dumped into the river, and dangerous currents near London Bridge sometimes caused boats to overturn. The thought of this turns my stomach. Despite this, the Thames was still the lifeblood of Tudor London. I don’t know about you but when I see the barges travelling down the river in TV shows, It always look serene and a very relaxing and pleasant experience. Except of course if you were unfortunate enough to be headed to the Tower. I never thought about how unpleasant it must have been.
Markets added to the city in so many ways, they were lively places that were filled with crowds and traders calling out to try and sell their goods. But the smell would have be intense. Fish markets in particular produced really strong smells, especially in the warmer weather when the fish quickly began to spoil. Butchers worked in the streets, slaughtering animals and leaving behind their waste. Horses were as you know the main mode of land transport and for trade, and they added their own smell to the mix.
Soap boiling and dye works were also contributors the aroma of the city. The method used for these trade involved boiling fats and lye which would have created very unpleasant and thick fumes.
These industries also produced strong smells. Tanneries were another problem, leather was a hugely important material in Tudor England, it was used to make shoes, belts, and many items needed for everyday life. The process of tanning animal skins involved soaking them in mixtures that included urine and other substances. The smell produced by this process was as you can only imagine was exceptionally unpleasant. Because of this, tanneries were often on the edges of the city, but the wind could still carry the smell into the city.
Fires were of huge importance, houses would have been cold and damp and fires were needed for both heat and for cooking. There were no smoke free options so the houses and the streets became full smoke. Mingled in with all the other smells it must have been awful. Herbs and flowers were sometimes used to try and mask the smells, people were known to carry scented pomanders or bunches of herbs. They believed pleasant smells could protect them from disease carried in bad air. I don’t believe it was a case of being used to it, although their tolerance must have been higher.
Despite this, London was still a popular place. Merchants, craftsmen, sailors, and servants all crowded into the city.
Thinking about history in this way helps me to see it from a more everyday life perspective . It reminds us that the people who lived in Tudor London were real people with real experiences. Not just names in history book that are from a strange land. It is important to learn about the everyday lives, not just the grand events we often read about in books.
If you had lived in Tudor London, do you think you would have quickly become used to the smells of the city, or do you think it would have been one of the hardest parts of daily life to tolerate?
Image info:
View of London, Westminster and Southwark, as they appeared A.D. 1543
Artist: 19th century engraving by Nathaniel Whittock from a drawing by Antony van den Wyngaerde. Whittock made innumerable changes.
Date: 1849
Source: Maps of Old London - copy of originals in Bodlean Library.
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