Crossrail digs into Bedlam’s burials
A REPUTED rapist and black magic advocate who was murdered by an angry mob. Victims of the plague. A former Lord Mayor of London. These are just a handful of the people buried under Liverpool Street, whose remains are being unearthed as part of the Crossrail project.
More than 5,000 people buried in what was the infamous Bedlam burial ground have been identified, and in March around 3,000 skeletons will be excavated as part of a Crossrail-led research project.
The names of some of those identified through records from the 16th and 17th centuries have been released. They include Dr John Lamb, also known as Lam or Lambe, who was an astrologist and adviser to the First Duke of Buckingham. He is thought to have been stoned to death by an angry mob following allegations of rape and black magic.
Another is Sir Ambrose Nicholas, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1575.
Crossrail workers recently discovered the gravestone of Mary Godfree who died in September 1665, as a result of the Great Plague, which peaked that year.