'Pest house' (isolation hospital in times of plague), Tothill Fields, Westminster, London. Lithograph, c. 1840.

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25270i
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'Pest house' (isolation hospital in times of plague), Tothill Fields, Westminster, London. Lithograph, c. 1840. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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Description

Tothill was a vantage point around the site of Westminster Abbey. A permanent 'pest-house' was established there in 1638; it was also known as 'the sheds'. When the great plague truly bit in, the area around it became a burial ground for the plague dead when graveyards overflowed. As such it became a feared place: the ground could not be consecrated under church law

Physical description

1 print : lithograph ; image 16.3 x 20.3 cm

Lettering

The pest houses, Tothill Fields. Commonly called the five chimnies. Formerly the residence of Dick Hubbard

References note

Compare this with the etching by C. Pye after E. Dayes in Hunter's 'History of London' (published 6 August 1796, facing p. 503, vol. 1). The perspective is exactly the same, but the season and mood is very different. The withered tree on the left in our print is in full leaf and cows and horses mull in the pond
For further information: W. Bell, 'The Great Plague in London' (Bracken Books, 1994), p. 47-8

Reference

Wellcome Collection 25270i

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