The Pea Soup Society is a collection of stories adapted from historical events in and around the Clerkenwell area. Shared here with the aim to inform and intrigue, Pea Soup Society seeks to highlight local history and inspire others to do a little digging under the cobbles around them.
July 2023
In the early hours of a cold, black Tuesday morning, a clamour was rising in the heart of Clerkenwell. From the tiny hut at the burial ground of Spa Fields, thick, black smoke was pouring into the sky, dragging upwards a redolent stench that had pervaded the area for years. Local residents shouted and banged on the door of the outbuilding, as flames from the roof slashed and stabbed at a starless night sky. Local fire engine keeper John Walters pushed his way through the crowd, crowbar in hand, and loudly demanded to be let inside. Despite resistance the door swung open, and Walters paled at the dreadful scene that now confronted him. Human ribs and socket bones were blackened and smouldering in the fire, as along the wall stacks of coffin boards lined up to stoke the flames. The wood, still wet, was spattered with human remains, and the chimney was black and thick with coffin pitch.
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