Jetties, Pentices, Purprestures and Ordure

Abstract

Pageants, processions and Royal Entries were regular and significant events in the streets of London between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, but the streets were perhaps surprisingly unsuited for such events. The condition of most roads, streets and lanes was very poor. A mixture of paved and unpaved surfaces, soil, gravel, stones, domestic waste, trade waste, mud and dung was the norm. In addition to such conditions under foot, the clear passageway along these thoroughfares was often encroached upon by indiscriminate additions to buildings which had hitherto formed the natural boundaries of streets. Local officials in London wrestled with the seemingly never-ending problems of human and animal waste and built encroachments upon the streets. The purpose of this chapter is to establish the nature of street conditions and their preparation for the execution of pageants and processions.