Medieval London
Here is a link to another incredible London map from the 16th century.
And here is a splendid “film” on the development of the Palace at Westminster.
This is the Shambles of York. Crispin lives on the Shambles in London, similar to this one. It was the place for butchering and selling meat. Couldn’t have smelled very good. See how the street almost closes in on itself? It became very crowded in London and other large European cities. People built upward before they stretched the boundaries of the town itself. Of course London did grow outward as well, taking over farmland and plains. There was only a bit of overseeing the building projects but there were laws in place to try to protect the public and prevent encroachment on other people’s property. And, of course, the crown collected their fees and fines for all of it. But they tended to overbuild in the middle ages and paid for it with horrible fires in London, one reason straw roofs were outlawed there. I believe the new Globe Theatre in London is the only structure within the city to be allowed a thatched roof in many hundreds of years.
Below are views of Canterbury Cathedral, the choir, the nave, and the tomb of Prince Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince, father to Richard II, and brother to John of Gaunt the duke of Lancaster. The cathedral is a magnificent medieval structure and is the current seat of the Church of England. In King Richard’s time, the cathedral—and many other churches including Westminster Abbey—were going through extensive rennovations. These great churches rarely remained untouched and preserved. Like we do today, new designs are desired and expansion is necessary.
Christchurch cathedral in Canterbury was and is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had the distinction of presiding at coronations of the monarchs of Britain. He still performs this function.
