Black Death plaque

The Channel is the moat that has made England as difficult to storm as any fortress. But whilst armies have failed, the deadliest invasion was by tiny bacilli riding on the back of black rats. These rats, stowaways on ships from plague-ridden Europe, disembarked first at Melcombe Regis: the area north of the harbour in what is now Weymouth. 

From there the epidemic spread its lethal blanket. Within weeks, the whole of Dorset was affected, and soon few households in the country had not witnessed the grisly symptoms of pustules, buboes (swollen lymph nodes), fever and intense pain. Three in five of sufferers died within ten days. 

The plaque marking this dubious distinction is on the wall of 7 Custom House Quay. 

Nearest postcode: DT4 8BE
OS reference: SY680787
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