Orders heretofore conceived and agreed to be published, by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London, and the justices of Peace of the Counties of Middlesex and Surrey, by direction from the Lords of his Maisteys most Honourable Privy Council, and now thought fit to be revived, and again published.  
WHereas in the first year of his Majesty's most happy reign over this Realm of England, an Act was made for the charitable relief, and ordering of persons infected with the Plague: whereby Authority is given to justices of Peace, Mayor, Bailiffs, and other head-Officers, to appoint within their several limits Examiner's, Searchers, Watchmen, keepers, and buryers for the persons and places infected, and to minister unto them Oaths for performance of their Offices. And the same Statute also authorizeth the giving of other directions, as unto them for the present necessity, shall seem good in their discretions. It is therefore upon special consideration thought very expedient, for the preventing and avoiding of the infection of Sickness (if it shall please Almighty God) which is now dangerously dispersed into many places within the City and Suburbs of the same: that these Officers following be appointed, and these Orders hereafter prescribed be duly observed.  

Examiner's be appointed in every Parish.  FIrst, it is thought requisite, and so ordered, that in every parish there be one, two, or more persons of good sort and credit, chosen and appointed by the Alderman his Deputy, and Common Council of every Ward, and by the justices of Peace in the Counties, by the name of Examiner's, to continue in that Office the space of two months at least: and if any fit persons so appointed as aforesaid, shall refuse to undertake the same, the said parties so refusing, to be committed to prison until they shall conform themselves accordingly.  

The Examiner's Office.  THat these Examiner's be sworn by the Alderman, or by one of the justices of the County, to inquire and learn from time to time, what houses in every parish be visited, and what persons be sick, and of what diseases, as near as they can inform themselves, and upon doubt in that case, to command restraint of access, until it appear what the disease shall prove: and if they find any persons sick of the infection, to give order to the Constable, that the house be shut up: and if the Constable shall be found remiss or negligent, to give present notice thereof to the Alderman, or the justice of Peace respectively.  

Watchmen.  THat to every infected house there be appointed two watchmen, one for the day, and the other for the night: and that these Watchmen have a special care that no person go in or out of such infected houses, whereof they have the charge, upon pain of severe punishment. And the said Watchmen to do such further Offices as the sick house shall need and require: and if the Watchman be sent upon any business, to lock up the house, and take the key with him: and the Watchman by day to attend until ten of the clock at night: and the Watchman by night till six in the morning.  

Surgeon's  THat there be a special care, to appoint women Searchers in every parish, such as are of honest reputation, and of the best sort as can be got in this kind: and these to be sworn to make due search and true report, to the utmost of their knowledge, whether the persons, whose bodies they are appointed to search, do dye of the Infection, or of what other diseases as near as they can. And for their better assistance herein, forasmuch as there hath been heretofore great abuse in misreporting the disease, to the further spreading of the Infection: It is therefore ordered, that there be chosen and appointed three able and discreet Surgeons, besides those three that do already belong to the Pest-house: amongst whom, the City and Liberties to be quartered, as the places lie most apt and convenient: and every of these six to have one quarter for his limit: and the said Surgeons in every of their limits, to join with the Searchers, for the view of the body, to the end there may be a true report made of the disease.  
And further, that the said Surgeons shall visit and search such sick persons as shall either send for them, or be named and directed unto them by the Examiner's of every parish, and inform themselves of the disease of the said parties.  
And forasmuch as the said Surgeons are to be sequestered from all other Cures, and kept only to this disease of the Infection: It is ordered, That every of the said Surgeons, shall have twelve pence a body searched by them, to be paid out of the goods of the party searched, if he be able, or otherwise by the parish.  

Orders concerning Infected Houses, and Persons sick of the Plague.  

Notice to be given of the sickness.  THe Master of every house, as soon as any one in his house complaineth, either of botch, of purple, or swelling in any part of his body, or falleth otherwise dangerously sick, without apparent cause of some other disease, shall give knowledge thereof to the Examiner of health within two hours after the said sign shall appear.  

Sequestration of the sick.  AS soon as any man shall be found by this Examiner, Chirurgeon or Searcher, to be sick of the plague, he shall the same night be sequestered in the same house. And in case he be so sequestered, then though he afterwards die not, the house wherein he sickened, shall be shut up for a month, after the use of due preservatives taken by the rest.  

Airing of the stuff.  FOr sequestration of the Goods and Stuff of the Infected, their Bedding, and Apparel and hangings of Chambers, must be well ayred with fire, and such perfumes as are requisite within the infected house before they be taken again to use, this to be done by the appointment of the Examiner.  

Shuting up of the house  IF any person shall have visited any man, known to be infected of the plague, or entered willingly into any known infected house, being not allowed: the house wherein he inhabiteth shall be shut up for certain days, by the Examiner's direction.  

None to be removed out of infected houses, but  ITem, that none be removed out of the house where he falleth sick of the infection, into any other house in the City, Burrough, or County (except it be to the Pesthouse or a Tent, or unto some such house, which the owners of the said visited house holdeth in his own hands, and occupieth by his own servants) and so as security be given to the parish, whether such remove is made, that the attendance and charge about the said visited persons, shall be observed & charged in all the particularities before expressed, without any cost of that parish, to which any such remove shall happen to be made, and this remove to be done by night. And it shall be lawful to any person that hath two houses, to remove either his sound or his infected people, to his spare house at his choice, so as if he send away first his sound, he may not after send thither his sick; nor again unto the sick the sound: and that the same which he sendeth be for one week at the least shut up, and secluded from company for fear of some infection, at the first not appearing.  

Burial of the dead.  THat the Burial of the dead by this visitation be at most convenient hours, always either before Sunrising, or after Sunne-setting, with the privity of the Churchwardens or Constables, and not otherwise; and that no Neighbours nor Friends be suffered to accompany the Coarse to Church, or to enter the house visited, upon pain of having his house shut up or be imprisoned.  

No infected stuff to be uttered.  THat no Clothes, Stuffe, Bedding or Garments be suffered to be carried or conveyed out of any infected houses, and that the Criers and carriers abroad of Bedding or old Apparel, to be sold or pawned, be utterly prohibited and restrained: and no Brokers of Bedding, or old Apparel be permitted to make any outward show, or hang forth on their Stalls, Shop-boards, or Windows, towards any Street, Lane, common Way or passage, any old Bedding or Apparel to be sold, upon pain of imprisonment: and if any Broker or other person shall buy any Bedding, Apparel, or other Stuff out of any infected house, within two months after the infection hath been there, his house shall be shut up as infected, and so shall continue shut up twenty days at the least.  
IF any person visited do fortune, by negligent looking unto, or by any other means, to come or be conveyed from a place infected, to any other place, the parish from whence such party hath come, or been conveyed, upon notice thereof given, shall at their charge cause the said party so visited and escaped, to be carried and brought back again by night, and the parties in this case offending, to be punished at the direction of the Alderman of the Ward, and the justices of the Peace respectively: and the house of the receiver of such visited person, to be shut up for twenty days.  

Every visited house to be marked.  THat every house visited be marked with a red Cross of a foot long, in the middle of the door, evident to be seen, and with these usual printed words: that is to say, LORD have mercy upon us, to be let close over the same Cross, there to continue until lawful opening of the same house.  

Every visited house to be watched.  THat the Constables see every house shut up, and to be attended with Watchmen, which may keep them in, and minister necessaries unto them at their own charges (if they be able) or at the common charge if they be unable: the shutting up to be for the space of four weeks after all be whole.  
That precise order be taken that the Searchers, Surgeons, Keepers, and Buriers are not to pass the streets, without holding a red Rod or Wand of three foot in length in their hands open or evident to be seen, and are not to go into any other house then into their own, or into that whereunto they are directed or sent for, but to forbear and abstain from company, especially when they have been lately used in any such business or attendance.  
And to this end it is ordered, that a weekly Tax be made in every parish visited, if in the City or Borough then under the hand of the Alderman of the Ward, where the place is visited: if neither of the Counties, then under the hands of some of the justice's next to the place visited, who (if there be cause) may extend the Tax into other parishes also, and may give warrant of distress against them which shall refuse to pay: and for want of distress or for assistance, to commit the offenders to prison, according to the Statute in that behalf.   

¶ Order for cleansing and keeping sweet of the Streets.  


The streets to be kept clean.  
That the rakers take it from out the houses. Laystals to be made far off from the City.   FIrst it is thought very necessary, and so ordered, That every householder do cause the street to be daily pared before his door, and so to keep it clean swept all the Week long.  
THat the sweeping and filth of houses to be daily carried away by the Rakers, and that the Raker shall give notice of his coming by the blowing of a horn, as heretofore hath been done.  
THat the Laystalles be removed as far as may be out of the City, and common passages, and that no Night-man or other be suffered to empty a Vault into any Garden, near about the City.