Agnes and Bartholomew cross London Bridge during a deep fog. She observes that “London Bridge is like a town in itself, and a noxious, oppressive one at that” (p. 296). This bad feeling is confirmed by what her brother tells her not to look at: decaying heads on poles – the heads of traitors hoisted at the south end.
When Shakespeare arrived in London, London Bridge was already four hundred years old and had developed into a small town, with hundreds of shops in several buildings of all kinds, which had sprung up over the centuries.
The theatres on the south bank were filled to capacity every afternoon, which meant that much of the population of London made two crossings a day, during which they were able to purchase anything they wanted. Because so many merchants wanted to enjoy the advantages of so many people using the bridge the buildings grew higher and higher, some reaching six stories, and many projected up to sixty-five feet over the river. The struts and buttresses that supported them groaned, and swayed dangerously.
One of Shakespeare’s first sights, when he crossed the bridge for the first time, would have been the heads of traitors displayed on poles at the Southwark end, with birds pecking at them. The Best Things To Do In Shakespeare's London, 16th C Style
@ignatius, each time I delve into the book, I find another little something here or there that Maggie O’Farrell leaves unexplained. I can see how that might drive a reader crazy, but I like it. Gives me an excuse to go on a historical “treasure hunt” via the internet.
Near the beginning of the book there is a short statement about the grandfather’s fall from status into disgrace re “secret dealings in the wool trade, his summons for not attending church and fines for dumping waste in the street”. Then there is the bad loan about sheepskins between the glover and Hewlands and the secret sheepskins were mentioned in the same section so I thought they were related. Later there is mention that he is never to talk about sheepskins on the attic, that there is nothing there. So I guess mentally I tied them together.