6 - ‘Thro’ Freezing Snows, and Rains, and Soaking Sleet’: A Time to Die

Summary

Thus far the Muse has trac'd in useful Lays,

The proper Implements for Wintry Ways;

Has taught the Walker, with judicious Eyes,

To read the various Warnings of the Skies.

Now venture, Muse, from Home, to range the Town,

And for the publick Safety risque thy own.

John Gay, Trivia (1716)

It is possible to consider the relationship between accidents and time in two key ways, first with reference to yearly seasonality, and second by exploring trends across a longer time period. Whilst the previous chapters have made use of a range of sources to elaborate the character of accidental sudden violent death in the metropolis, this chapter focuses principally upon a single source: the weekly Bills of Mortality provide data collected and published in a form that is highly supportive of time- related analyses. The first analysis, of seasonality, is presented through the lens of the calendar year, its seasons and environmental and economic conditions. The second takes a view of the number of fatalities reported annually during the years 1654 to 1735. That analysis seeks to elaborate trends in both the overall rates for sudden violent death and, where they occurred in sufficient numbers, particular causes of death. It is clear that the seasons had a significant impact on the types and frequency of accidents experienced by early modern Londoners, and also that there were links between certain death rates and economic trends across the period.

Seasonality

Winter

London winters in the late seventeenth century were cold, so cold that on several occasions the River Thames became extensively frozen. Whether it was frozen or not, with a bitter wind coming off the Thames and funnelling up the river-side streets and alleys most Londoners sensibly chose to stay indoors as much as possible during the winter months. Shorter days also restricted the opportunities for metropolitan travel, whether to engage in outside work or to frequent the city's markets. And those markets, too, and also the port, saw a lessening of commercial activity as wider national and international networks of production, transport and trade slowed or even ceased to function. With a decrease in the numbers of workers and pedestrians on the streets of the city, exposure to hazard was inevitably reduced. So it was that recorded accident events during these months occurred at a lower level than at other times of the year.