A history of Horsham in plagues and pandemics
Interestingly, it was a pandemic that influenced the naming of some towns and villages in the district.
Towards the end of the Roman Empire, a plague ravaged Europe, killing somewhere between 13 and 26 per cent of the continent’s population.
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Hide AdThe Justinianic Plague, named after the Emperor of the time, Justinian I, was transmitted by fleas found on rodents.
Some say the outbreak made Anglo-Saxon conquests of Britain easier, as the number of invasions increased in its aftermath.
When the Saxons arrived in Sussex, it was not a land full of people, but woodland and shrubbery.
The Roman names of many places disappeared. They were renamed after what was found in the natural landscape: Horsham – a place where horses breed, Storrington – a place where storks can be found, Slinfold – a pen for sheep, Cowfold – a place for penning cattle before taking them into the woodland, and Henfield – a high field.
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