History Extra Podcast: Deadly Bellringing and Fatal Bacon - Grisly Accidental Tudor Deaths

Host: Thomas Gramelski | Guests: Professor Stephen Gunn | Release Date: July 20, 2025

Introduction: Unveiling Tudor Tragedies

In the "Deadly Bellringing and Fatal Bacon: Grisly Accidental Tudor Deaths" episode of the History Extra podcast, host Thomas Gramelski delves into the darkly fascinating world of 16th-century England through the lens of accidental deaths. Drawing from Professor Stephen Gunn and Dr. Thomas Gramelski’s comprehensive research, detailed in their book, "An Accidental History of Tudor England," the episode explores the myriad ways ordinary people met untimely ends. This unique perspective not only sheds light on the perils of Tudor life but also offers a kaleidoscopic view of everyday practices and societal norms of the time.

Drowning: The Leading Cause of Accidental Death

One of the most striking revelations from the research is that drowning accounted for approximately 40% of all accidental deaths recorded in coroner's inquests during the Tudor period.

• Men’s Drowning Accidents:

  • Context: Heavy labor in fields and on construction sites led to extreme exhaustion.
  • Circumstances: After a long day, men would strip off their heavy clothing and leap into nearby ponds or rivers to cool down.
  • Risks: Many lacked swimming skills, and the combination of exhaustion and potential heart issues often led to fatal drownings.
  • Quote: Professor Gunn explains, “...stripping off and jumping in the nearest pond or river to get clean. Many of them can't swim. Perhaps some of them have heart attacks because of the shock” ([03:11]).

• Women’s Drowning Accidents:

  • Context: Fetching water was a daily necessity, involving trips to wells, ponds, and rivers.
  • Circumstances: Slippery conditions and the cumbersome, waterlogged clothing made accidents frequent.
  • Risks: Falling into water while handling heavy buckets led to many drownings.
  • Quote: "Very large numbers of people are falling into the water. Their underclothing's made of thick linen and their over clothing is made of thick woolen cloth. So they get waterlogged very fast and they find it very hard to get out again once they've fallen in.” ([03:36]).

These drowning incidents highlight not only the physical dangers but also the socio-economic factors influencing daily life. Fetching water, an essential task, was perilous due to environmental and infrastructural challenges.

Work-Related Accidents: Agriculture and Industry

Accidents were not confined to leisure or routine tasks. The nature of Tudor occupations exposed individuals to significant risks.

• Agricultural Mishaps:

  • Thatching Roofs: Common in autumn due to leftover straw from harvests. Stephen Gunn notes, "...people fall off houses and barns, thatching them in the autumn... you don't do that at other times of year” ([08:15]).
  • Harvesting: Different crops harvested at various times led to specific accidents, such as falls or equipment-related injuries.

• Industrial and Domestic Work:

  • Milling Accidents: Water and windmills posed dangers due to fast-moving machinery. Workers often perished by getting entangled in moving parts or falling into mill streams.
  • Tool Accidents: Tools like knives and saws, essential for daily tasks, frequently caused fatal injuries when mishandled or during falls.

• Quote: “Milling is really dangerous. And millers have a bad reputation in the 16th century for being a bit crooked...” ([15:00]).

These work-related fatalities offer insights into the hazardous nature of Tudor occupations and the lengths to which individuals went to sustain their livelihoods.

Seasonal Patterns: Risks Fluctuate Throughout the Year

Accidental deaths varied significantly with the seasons, influenced by both environmental conditions and the nature of seasonal work.

• Winter Hazards:

  • Snowstorms: Increased risk of death due to difficulty clearing ice and fetching water from frozen sources.
  • Furniture and Infrastructure: Heavy snow could collapse structures, leading to fatalities.

• Summer Perils:

  • Heat-Related Accidents: Exhaustion and heatstroke were common, especially among laborers.
  • Increased Activity: More outdoor work and recreational activities led to a higher incidence of accidents.

• Autumn Specifics:

  • Thatching Activities: As mentioned, the increased focus on thatching roofs resulted in more falls and related accidents.

• Quote: “A lot of people fall off houses and barns, thatching them in the autumn...” ([08:15]).

Understanding these seasonal trends provides a clearer picture of how natural cycles influenced daily risks and mortality rates.

Rural vs. Urban: Diverging Patterns of Accidents

Accidental deaths did not occur uniformly across rural and urban settings, partly due to the disparity in record-keeping practices.

• Rural Areas:

  • Recording Practices: Smaller towns and rural areas like Rutland maintained detailed records of accidents, making them appear more hazardous.
  • Common Accidents: Drowning, agricultural tool mishaps, and simple falls were prevalent.

• Urban Areas:

  • Record Preservation: Large towns often failed to record accidents comprehensively, leading to an incomplete picture.
  • Types of Accidents: In towns like Newcastle and York, accidents included more complex scenarios such as collisions in congested streets, animal attacks, and structural collapses.
  • Example: In York, multiple individuals fell into frozen rivers while trying to assist animals, leading to fatalities.

• Quote: “But the key thing is that lots of towns weren't very good at handing in their records.” ([10:29]).

This discrepancy in record-keeping between rural and urban environments highlights the challenges historians face in reconstructing accurate mortality data from the Tudor era.

Social Stratification: Wealth and Vulnerability to Accidents

Accidental deaths varied across social classes, reflecting the distinct lifestyles and occupations of different groups.

• Upper Classes:

  • Unique Risks: Horse-riding accidents and firearm mishaps were more common among the wealthy, who had easier access to horses and guns.
  • Notable Incident: An incident involving George Lord Dacre, an 8-year-old nobleman, where his vaulting horse fell on him, exemplifies the dangers faced by the elite.

• Lower Classes:

  • Industrial and Agricultural Hazards: Commoners faced greater risks from machinery-related accidents, such as those in milling or farming.
  • Quote: “We have lots of weavers who have accidental, fatal accidents, but they're all being kicked by horses...” ([16:31]).

• Quote: “There are characteristic rich people's accidents and characteristic poorer people's accidents.” ([12:54]).

This differentiation underscores how socio-economic status influenced the nature and frequency of accidental deaths, with each class navigating distinct hazards.

Childhood Risks: Vulnerability of the Young

Children in Tudor England were particularly susceptible to certain types of accidental deaths, emphasizing the precariousness of childhood during this period.

• Domestic Hazards:

  • Hot Liquids: Cooking practices involved prolonged exposure to hot pots and vessels, leading to scalding accidents.
  • Household Practices: Home brewing and cheese-making resulted in multiple vessels of hot liquids being present in households.

• Animal-Related Dangers:

  • Pigs and Dogs: Pigs posed significant threats, often causing fatal injuries to infants and young children. Dogs, especially those guarding property, also contributed to accidental deaths.

• Quote: “Animals which are more dangerous in terms of direct attacks on children are pigs... And they do quite a lot.” ([26:59]).

These findings highlight the additional layers of risk children faced, both from their environment and domestic practices.

Unusual and Bizarre Accidental Deaths

The Tudor period was not only marked by common accidents but also by bizarre and inexplicable incidents that seem almost surreal by modern standards.

• Fatal Bacon: An elderly woman was killed when hanging bacon fell onto her, demonstrating the unexpected dangers of domestic tasks.

• Suffocation by Fish: A man died when a fish rolled onto him from a cart, causing suffocation. The exact circumstances remain unclear, leading to speculation about the type of fish and other contributing factors.

• Bellringing Accidents: Church bellringers faced hazards from tangled ropes, falling bells, and broken parts, often leading to severe injuries or death.

  • Quote: “Young men have a reputation for going into bell towers and going at it hammer and tongs, ringing the bells for all they're worth...” ([28:41]).

• Interpersonal Violence Misclassified as Accidents:

  • Fights and Duels: Violent altercations sometimes resulted in deaths being classified as accidental rather than homicides or suicides, blurring the lines between intentional and unintentional harm.

• Quote: “...they end up being found as an accident...” ([19:51]).

These extraordinary cases provide a deeper understanding of the unpredictable nature of life in Tudor England and the complex interplay between everyday activities and fatal outcomes.

Legal Perspectives: Defining Accidents

The classification of accidental deaths in Tudor England involved intricate legal considerations, often influenced by societal norms and judicial practices.

• Categories of Accidents:

  • Homicide by Misfortune: Deaths resulting from violent acts without intent to kill, such as severe football injuries, were sometimes legally categorized to reflect accidental outcomes.
  • Self-Defense vs. Accident: In some cases, jurors navigated the thin lines between self-defense and accidental death, especially in violent confrontations or duels.

• Judicial Challenges:

  • Anglo-Court System: The Star Chamber increasingly scrutinized questionable verdicts, adding pressure on juries to appropriately classify accidental deaths.
  • Social Influences: Verdicts could be swayed by the social status of the individuals involved, sometimes leading to biased classifications.

• Quote: “Jurors are quite clever in using the different categories that they have available.” ([20:05]).

This legal framework reflects the complexities historians face when interpreting historical records, where societal biases and limited legal categories could obscure the true nature of accidental deaths.

Conclusion: Reflections on Tudor Accidental Deaths

Professor Stephen Gunn concludes that while Tudor society faced unique challenges leading to accidental deaths, there are striking similarities to modern-day safety concerns.

• Human Behavior:

  • Attempts at Safety: Just as today, Tudor individuals employed various methods to mitigate risks, though with varying degrees of success.
  • Taking Shortcuts: Despite safety measures, shortcuts and human error inevitably led to accidents, a timeless aspect of human nature.

• Quote: “People do get hurt in the end, although they're trying to do things safely.” ([31:36]).

• Modern Parallels:

  • Engineer Mindset: “So whenever I climb on a chair in my office to reach a book down, I think, goodness, this is the kind of thing that I read about people doing in 16th century accidents.” ([33:29]).

The study of accidental deaths in Tudor England not only illuminates the inherent dangers of the past but also underscores the enduring human struggle to balance safety and efficiency.

Additional Resources

• Book: An Accidental History of Tudor England: From Daily Life to the Sudden Death by Professor Stephen Gunn and Dr. Thomas Gramelski.
• Feature Article: A detailed calendar of accidental deaths across Tudor seasons, available on historyextra.com.

This episode was produced by Jack Bateman. For more intriguing historical insights, subscribe to the History Extra podcast and join the conversation at historyextra.com.