History notes

About 200,000 people lived in London in 1600. About four million people lived in the whole of Britain.Image via Wikipedia

Medieval London was only a couple of miles across. Concentrated north of the Thames, it hugged the river bank from the Tower of London in the east to Charing Cross and Whitehall in the west. The most northerly point was the priory of St Bartholomews which sat close to the windmills in Moorfields. There was only one bridge across the river.

Shooter's Hill in Greenwich is the highest point in south London. It got its name from the archers who used to practice their during the Middle Ages. It used to have a gallows at the bottom with the bodies of the hanged being put in a gibbet at the summit. In 1661 Pepys noted riding "under a man that hangs at Shooters Hill and a filthy sight it was to see how the flesh is shrunk from his bones".

Oxleas Wood lies close to Shooter's Hill.

A horse and rider can travel about 20-30 miles in a day. At walking speed they will do a mile in 15-20 minutes. At a trot they will complete a mile in 7-8 minutes. It is about seven miles from Shooter's Hill to the City of London.