The church and the bubonic plague in later Stuart England

As we saw last month, the church has not always responded to epidemics or pandemics well.

But one sterling occasion when she did was during the outbreak of the bubonic plague in southern England in 1665.

The impact of the plague

There were outbreaks of the bubonic plague in England a number of times during the 17th century: in 1603, 1625, 1636 and 1665, with at least 30,000 dying of the plague in London alone in 1603, and 35,000 in 1625, 10,000 in 1636 and 68,596 recorded deaths in 1665. By 1665 the city population of London had reached almost half a million and this means at least one-seventh died of the plague in 1665. The eminent Puritan author Richard Baxter reckoned in his autobiography that the number of dead was closer to 100,000 people, which would be about a fifth of London’s population. Richard Baxter noted, ‘It is scarce possible for people that live in a time of health and security, to apprehend the dreadfulness of that pestilence! … O how sinfully unthankful are we for our quiet societies, habitations and health!’