The New Churchyard: from Moorfields Marsh to Bethlem burial ground, Brokers Row and Liverpool Street

Abstract

• Archaeological investigations for Crossrail at Liverpool Street revealed the development of this area, from the medieval marsh of Moorfields to municipal, non-parochial, burial ground and later suburb. The New Churchyard, or ‘Bethlem’ as it was later known, was established after the severe plague of 1563 and was in use from 1569 to 1739; some 25,000 people in total were buried here. Detailed osteological analysis of one quarter of the 3354 burials excavated supports documentary evidence that the burials included migrants and many of the city’s poor. Some were the victims of recurrent epidemics and outbreaks of plague when mass, but orderly, graves were dug. This publication is one of two exploring the archaeological research for Crossrail at Liverpool Street. Explore the Roman findings from the site in Outside Roman London: roadside burials by the Walbrook stream. The Crossrail archive for Liverpool Street is available online.