Livestock in the City
Medieval London was a crowded city with many animals kept within its walls—horses for transport, cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry for food.
Stables and pens were common, and animal waste accumulated in streets and yards, contributing heavily to the city’s odors.
The Butchers’ District
Areas like Smithfield were centers of meat production, with slaughterhouses and markets packed with animals awaiting butchering.
Blood, offal, and animal remains littered these places, creating an overpowering stench of decay.
Disposal Practices
The disposal of animal waste was haphazard. Offal was often discarded into nearby alleys or the river, attracting vermin and spreading smells.
Garbage and Household Waste: The Filth in the Streets
Domestic Waste Management
Households produced waste including food scraps, broken pottery, ashes, and human waste.
Without formal waste collection services, garbage was commonly thrown into the streets, alleys, or communal dumps.
Rubbish Heaps and Dumps
Garbage piles accumulated in certain areas, decomposing in the open air and generating offensive odors.
The smells were compounded by stagnant water collecting in gutters and ditches.
Impact on Residents
These conditions attracted rats, flies, and other vermin, exacerbating public health issues.Residents living near dumps endured particularly bad odors. shutdown123