In 1603 the plague came to Chenies, believed to be brought from a traveller to the village inns. The burial records of the parish detail that between the 18th of August and the 22nd of October 14 people died in the village, which suggests an epidemic. 1603 is known to have been a plague year in London, and people escaping from it may well have brought infection to the two inns in Chenies. August was the month when plague was generally rife.
The first deaths were concentrated around The Goat Inn, the landlord of which was John Barfoot. Anna Barfoot’s maid was the first casualty, on the 18th August, followed two weeks later by a servant, John, and the Barfoots own son Edward. In the cottage attached to the Inn two further deaths are recorded; Alice, widow of Charles Row and Mother Lovett.
September saw six cases located at a timber-framed cottage on the Green, several from the same family and including three children.
The Red Lion saw the final outbreak in October, when the landlord, Edward Lodesman, died following the deaths of two of his children, Mary and Francis.
The file below details the full list of deaths presumed to be from the plague in Chenies in 1603.