New Churchyard
The New Churchyard, or Bethlam burial ground, was a burial ground in London created to accommodate the great number of new interments required as the city hugely increased in size during the 16th and 17th centuries.
It was rediscovered in the 19th century during the development of Liverpool Street and Broad Street stations and, subsequently, during the construction of the Crossrail railway project, it became the object of a major archaeological "dig" and analysis.
History
In 16th century London, parish cemeteries were full. As an alternative, in 1569 the vegetable plot at the Royal Bethlem Hospital was walled and opened as a burial ground, staying in use until at least 1738.
It's estimated that around 10,000 people were buried on the site.
Re-discovery
Successive developments in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries in the Aldgate area have disturbed parts of the burial ground. The development of Liverpool Street and Broad Street stations in the 1860s uncovered skeletons. A full investigation occurred in the mid 1980s, prior to the development of Broadgate, and around 400 skeletons were retained for study and analysis.[1]
External links
References
- ↑ "Broadgate". Museum of London Centre for Human Bioarchaeology. Retrieved 21 September 2015.