Mapping the Black Death

In the summer of 1665 London experienced a huge rise in the numbers of people dying from the Bubonic Plague. The Guardian has used historical data from the Bills of Mortality to chart the progression of the plague parish by parish over the course of the summer.

In Mapping London's Great Plague of 1665 the newspaper has created a dot density map showing the number of plague burials by parish per week. Underneath the dot map an interactive graph allows you to view the number of burials in total per week. You can use the graph to select a week to view on the map.

When you select a week on the graph the map updates to show the number of burials in each parish for that week. You can mouse-over the individual parishes on the map to view the number of burials in the parish for the week. Above the month you can also see the total number of plague burials in London for the selected week.