Life in Medieval England

Your toilet would have been a bucket which would have been emptied into the nearest river at the start of the day. Water had a number of purposes for peasants — cooking, washing etc.

Medieval England - daily life in medieval towns

Unfortunately, the water usually came from the same source. A local river, stream or well provided a village with water but this water source was also used as a way of getting rid of your waste at the start of the day. It was usually the job of a wife to collect water first thing in the morning. Water was collected in wooden buckets. Villages that had access to a well could simply wind up their water from the well itself.

Towns needed a larger water supply. Water could be brought into a town using a series of ditches; lead pipes could also be used. Water in a town would come out of conduit which was similar to a modern day fountain. Bathing was a rarity even for the rich. A rich person might have a bath just several times a year but to make life easier, several people might use the water before it was got rid of! It was said that a peasant could expect to be fully bathed just twice in their life; once, when they were born and when they had died!

Face and hand washing was more common but knowledge of hygiene was non-existent. No-one knew that germs could be spread by dirty hands. London had a number of public baths near the River Thames. Several people at one time would bath in them. However, as people had to take off what clothes they wore, the stews also attracted thieves who would steal what they could when the victims were hardly in a position to run after them!

Life In The Middle Ages

Regardless of how water was acquired, there was a very real potential that it could be contaminated as toilet waste was continuously thrown into rivers which would make its way into a water source somewhere. Families would have cooked and slept in the same room. Children would have slept in a loft if the cruck house was big enough.

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The lives of peasant children would have been very different to today. They would not have attended school for a start. Roofs of reeds, rushes and straw were common. It was only after that these materials were forbidden in London in favour of tile and shingles. Other places were slow to follow London's lead.

Norwich medieval town walls Wooden and Brick Buildings Although stone building was encouraged, expense meant that most houses were built of wood up until Tudor times. Then, the flourishing new brick industry and a rapidly falling timber supply swung the tide away from wood as the material of choice for most domestic building.

Cooks, barbers, and brewers were heavily regulated because of the risk their fires posed. Their premises had to be whitewashed and plastered inside and out. Each householder was required to keep a full vessel of water outside his door in summer, due to fire risk. When fires did occur it was every citizen's duty to come running with whatever equipment they had.

Often firehooks were used to haul burning thatch off a roof, and also to pull down adjacent buildings to provide a firebreak.

DAILY LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES

The Town Day The day officially began with the ringing of the Angelus bell at 4 or 5 o,clock. It announced the first mass of the day and the end of the night watchman's duty. Most shops opened at 6 AM, providing plenty of early morning shopping before the first meal of the day at 9 or 10 AM. Market Hours Morning was the active time for markets. Things quieted down after noon, and most shops closed at 3 o'clock. Some kept open until light faded, and others, such as the barbers and blacksmiths, were open until the curfew bell sounded. Foreign merchants were heavily regulated. They had to wait two or more hours before they could enter the market, giving the locals the best of the business.

Markets were noisy, raucous affairs. Merchants had to "cry the wares" as their only means of advertising, and some had to be fined for forcibly grabbing hold of passers-by in their enthusiasm to make a sale. Saturday was early closing day for shops. Usually noon was the close of business.

Sunday, however, the "Lord's day of rest", was not kept as restful as we might think. Some trades were allowed to work after Mass, and some field work was allowed to be done before it.

A few places even had the privilege of Sunday markets. Bells and Criers Bells were the main medium of telling time and making announcements.

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A Common Bell was rung to summon civic meetings, courts, and as an alarm in case of fire or attack. The town crier rang a hand bell when he walked throughout the town declaiming news and proclamations. The criers were the main source of news for town dwellers.

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They also had the task of ringing their bells to solicit prayers in memory of people who had paid for the privilege. Laud was charged with Catholic leanings, causing the failed war against the Scots, and tyrannical misuse of power. A Medieval goldsmith shop. Merchant Adventurer's Hall, York. Norwich medieval town walls. Feudalism Life in England was dominated by the feudal system. Learn about feudalism during the times in sections on the Feudalism Pyramid, Feudal Justice and the eventual Decline of Feudalism. The most important and interesting aspects and facts about feudalism in times have been comprehensively detailed including sections on the Feudalism Pyramid, Medival Feudalism, European Feudalism, the Feudal System, Feudal Justice and the Decline of Feudalism.

Medieval England - Jobs The names of the jobs of the people including the peasants and serfs who worked on the manors are described in this section together with the Medival jobs necessary for the efficient running of the castles and of the jobs and occupations found in the towns and cities of England.

Medieval England - Farming A manor varied in size, according to the wealth of its lord. In England on average six hundred acres represented the extent of an average estate.

Farming in England during this period was therefore important. Of the arable land of the manor the lord reserved as much as he needed for his own use. The lord's land was called his "demesne," or domain. The rest of the land he allotted to the peasants who were his tenants.