The New Murrey and Blue blog

While watching Episode 5, Series 1, of the Sky History series Curse of the Ancients, I saw a report that was devoted to the mid-14^th century mass grave discovered at Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire. Mid-14^th century and mass grave usually equals one thing, the Black Death, and this is no exception. What does make it an exception is that it is right out in the countryside at an isolated abbey where usually the burials would only be that of the brethren. But these remains are from men, women and children, and the programme decided that this was because the number of deaths simply overwhelmed all the usual church offices and a mass burial at the abbey itself was the only option.

You can read more about the abbey and the grave here.