September 14th – On this day in 1665, John Tillison wrote, in a letter to Dr Sancroft:
“Death stares us continually in the face in every infected person that passeth by us; in every coffin which is … carried along the streets. … The custom was … to bury the dead in the night only; now, both night and day will hardly be time enough to do it. … [L]ast week, … the dead was piled in heaps above ground … before either time could be gained or place to bury them. The Quakers … have buried in their piece of ground [Bunhill Row] a thousand … . Many are [also] dead in … other places about the town which are not included in the bill of mortality”.