medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
In medieval St. Paul's Churchyard was a charnel pit and a
structure variously called the Charnel House or Charnel Chapel,
which included a cloister. I've exhausted a few online
resources, and _The London Encyclopedia_ but can't
authoritatively identify the location of the charnel chapel. I
seem to recall from previous browsing and research, however,
that it was in the northern part of the churchyard. Perhaps a
Londoner can confirm this.
The presence of a large collection of bones and other human
remains--some 1,000 wagonloads were eventually carted off to
Bunhill Fields--and a chapel with a cross might well account for
the vivid description from the Walsingham's Chronicon Angliae
(1259 to 1422): "...at the north door of St Paul's in London,
where there was nothing of the spirit, but only putrid stumps
crawling with worms..." (as quoted by Marjorie Greene).
The charnel house or chapel was pulled down in 1549 by Protector
Somerset and the stones--how grim--used to build the original
Somerset House, which was demolished and replaced in the 1770s.
Al Magary
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