The Black Death

Lucy visits Suffolk Archives to look at the Court Rolls for Walsham le Willows, which shows a spike in death taxes being paid due to deaths from the black death. The Rolls are a microstudy for all of Britain during the black death pandemic.

Lucy visits a pub in Walsham and draws a map of English ports to show how the black death spread from Europe. She reads from a book which details how the black death traveled from Genovese ships to Marseille and Avignon where half the people have died. France is only 24 hours away from Walsham le Willows.

How did the Black Death change Britain? Lucy Worsley examines the latest science and explores how the vast death toll affected religious beliefs, class structure, work and women.