In front of the Plaza de los Obispos n. 1, next to the renovated Old Spitalfields Market, you can see a 14th century Charnel House, a shop for human bones disturbed during the excavation of graves within the cemetery. This archaeological find was discovered in 1999 and has since been preserved for all to see.
Parts of the masonry are believed to date back to the 12th century. Long before House Charnel was built, the Romans used the area as a cemetery. A lead Roman coffin was found near this site that contained the body of a woman.
The medieval site offers a window into the area’s past. Spitalfields was home to one of the largest hospitals in the country and a cemetery that yielded the remains of more than 10,000 Londoners.
If you are in the area to explore Old Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane, or Shoreditch, this ancient monument is worth a visit to understand the origins of the area.
From the plate in place
The crypt of the chapel of Santa María Magdalena and San Edmundo Obispo built around 1320 and located in the cemetery of the Priory and Hospital of Santa María Spital. In the chapel above, services were held to dedicate the bones below. After St. Mary Spital was closed in 1539, most of the bones were removed, and the crypt was turned into a house until it was demolished around 1700. The crypt was left forgotten under the terraced house gardens and later on Stewart Street until it was found in archaeological excavations in 1999.
Direction
1 Bishops Square
London
E1 6AD
Nearest metro station
Liverpool Street
Accessibility
There is a glass floor outside 1 Bishops Square (offices designed by Norman Foster) and you can look up at the Charnel House. There are steps and an elevator to get to the underground level and there is a glass wall so you can get a great view.
Access to the lower level is closed in the evenings, mainly to prevent rough sleepers from getting down there.
Near Budget Hotel: Tune Liverpool Street
