Across medieval England, from Lands End to the ever-shifting
border with Scotland, there lived two million people. Today that number would fit in Greater
Manchester, leaving the rest of the country an uninhabited wasteland. In the 15th Century though, even
London could only muster 40,000 inhabitants while Hull had a population of just
3000. Not only did all but a few of
Hull’s inhabitants resided within the town walls, actually most lived on just a
small number of streets leading off the Market Place. Even back then location matter when it came
to property and people were willing to sacrifice space in order to live in a
desirable central location.
With neighbours crammed together it wasn’t surprising that
disagreements occurred. In 1449 two
merchants called John Forest and William Riplingham who lived on Vicar Lane
fell out. William had built an extension
that caused extra water to run into John’s garden when it rained, while John’s
own building works blocked the light into one of William’s rooms. Luckily Laylandi weren’t to be bred for
another four centuries or a peace might never have been reached. Eventually the warring parties did call a
truce and each agreed to put up with their existing inconveniences but
hostilities would immediately resume should either man do any more home
improvements without permission.
Cases of anti-social behaviour could also be found at the
Sheriff’s Court where many cases sound rather familiar. Fines were often handed out for fly tipping
into the street and the river Hull.
There was industrial pollution, with tanners reprimanded for using the
town’s dykes to soak their hides.
Butchers regularly obstructed other road users by tethering their horses
outside their shops. Innkeepers were
monitored that they kept to specified opening hours and prevented unruly
behaviour on their premises. Wine
couldn’t be sold at less then 12 pence a pint, however beer was seen as a
staple part of the working man’s diet and like bread its price was regulated to
keep it affordable.
Thicker than ales today, beer was seen as a safe and
nutritious drink for the common man and an ideal source of energy to power him
right through the working day. After the
Black Death as wages rose so did consumption of beer and by the 15th Century the average man was drinking at least 3 pints a day. Hull’s medieval citizens weren’t miraculously
immune to the effect of all this alcohol.
The doorway of the King’s Head Inn, now standing in the quiet and sedate
Hull and East Riding Museum, would once have witnessed raised voices and
tempers as well as supporting several persons feeling somewhat unsteady on
their feet.
Photo: Lowgate/Market Place, Hull
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