The Winchester Goose

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gooseberries were testicles, goose-grease is vaginal juices. Related: did you ever hear the euphemism for where babies come from “ under a Constable, John (2007). Secret Bankside: Walks In the Outlaw Borough. London: Oberon Books, pp. 28–29, 80–81, 120–121. Nomenclator 439: A sore in the grine or yard, which if it come by lecherie, it is called a Winchester Goose, or a botch [F&H]. can possibly thank Shakespeare, although he probably only popularised this one) begins without consideration of where it might end up.

station up to the river – was considered to be outside the jurisdiction of both London and Surrey, and fell under the authority of the Bishop of Winchester. For a few hundred years it If those children are like their parents, you might observe that a wild goose never laid a tame egg: that traits are inherited and predetermined. They plied their trade and unfortunately, on occasion, contracted and spread venereal disease. Syphilis, in particular, was a killer in those days. In fact, a Saxon graveyard has just been unearthed in Ipswich, Suffolk and among three hundred skeletons, many been found bearing clear signs of the disease. The prostitutes of Bankside became known as Winchester Geese and a dose of goosebumps became a euphemism for contracting venereal disease.

Word History

The antiquarian William Taylor wrote in 1833: “There is an unconsecrated burial ground known as the Cross Bones at the corner of Redcross Street, formerly called the Single Woman's burial ground, which is said to have been used for this purpose." [1] By 1769 it was being used as a cemetery for the poor of St. Saviour's parish. Up to 15,000 people are believed to have been buried there. [8] Closure and sale [ edit ]

Kettler, Sarah Valente and Trimble, Carol. The Amateur Historian's Guide to Medieval and Tudor London, 1066-1600. London: Capital Books, p.155. goose. If it’s fair to give two people the same thing (and especially if one might consider not doing so on account of their sex), you might say that what’s good

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I have heard ancient men of good credit report, that these single women were forbidden the rights of the Church, so long as they continued that sinful life, and were excluded from Christian burial, if they were not reconciled before their death. And therefore there was a plot of ground, called the single woman’s churchyard, appointed for them, far from the parish church.” a b Constable, John (1999). The Southwark Mysteries. London: Oberon Books. pp.264–265, 304–305. ISBN 9781849438537.

a b c Lovejoy, Bess (21 October 2014). "The London Graveyard That's Become a Memorial for the City’s Seedier Past", Smithsonian.com. Getting a dose of the clap was referred to as being ‘bitten by a Winchester goose’ or getting ‘goose bumps’. The humour, no doubt, intended to detract from the sometimes dire consequences. There was no effective treatment and death was long and slow – often leading to insanity.Era 9 July 15/3: Blunders of Great Dramatists [...] In Troilus and Cressida [...] Pandarus talks of a ‘Winchester goose’. The stews” closed in the 17th century, and by the dawn of the Victorian era, Southwark was one of the worst slums in London, dense with crime and cholera, a place even policeman feared to tread. Cross Bones was repurposed into a pauper’s graveyard that served the parish of St. Saviour’s. In 1833, the antiquarian William Taylor wrote: “There is an unconsecrated burial ground known as the Cross Bones at the corner of Redcross Street, formerly called the Single Woman's burial ground, which is said to have been used for this purpose.” The area’s inhabitants led miserable lives, and suffered indignities even after death: Cross Bones was a favorite hunting ground for the bodysnatchers who unearthed corpses for use in anatomy classes at Southwark’s Guy's Hospital, among other places. Next on this [west bank of the Thames] was sometimes the Bordello, or Stewes, a place so called of certain stew-houses privileged there, for the repair of incontinent men to the like women... I have heard of ancient men, of good credit, report, that these single women were forbidden the rites of the church, so long as they continued that sinful life, and were excluded from Christian burial, if they were not reconciled before their death. And therefore there was a plot of ground called the Single Woman's churchyard, appointed for them far from the parish church. [6] Far from being displeased by the presence of these licentious houses, the good bishop taxed them with gusto – as recorded in the court rolls. However, the more respectable etymology source Online Etymology Dictionary disagrees with this etymology:

Oh, this is a good medicine for my aching bones! Oh world! World! World! In this way the poor servant is hated! Oh traitors and matchmakers, how honestly are you made to work, and how badly are you rewarded? Why should people love what we make possible, but hate us when we do it? What poem can describe this What argument can I used to object to this? Let me see: [Singing] I liked how Ms Arnopp placed Isabella as one of the women attending Katherine during her imprisonment, a clever idea and completely feasible; I assume those women were not named, in accounts of the time. This enabled us to see how Anne and Katherine were perceived by those around them. The descriptions of Joanie's meagre life on the other side of the river (literally and metaphorically) sat in stark comparison, though Joanie did not seem any less happy than Isabella; they're both gutsy, likable characters, and their situations give a clear illustration of the lot of women in those days. The Sebastian Foxley Medieval Murder Mysteries series: 2016 The Colour of Poison; 2016 The Colour of Gold; 2017 The Colour of Cold Blood; 2017 The Colour of Betrayal; 2018 The Colour of Murder; 2018 The Colour of Death; 2019 The Colour of Lies; 2020 The Colour of Shadows Hausner, Sondra L. (18 July 2016). "The spirits of Crossbones Graveyard: time, ritual, and sexual commerce in London". Bloomington: Indiana University Press – via Internet Archive.

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were under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Winchester. (emphasis added; "Pox" was one of the names given to the disease now called Syphilis) After the public complained that the overcrowded cemetery offended public health and decency, Cross Bones was closed in 1853 on the grounds that it was “completely overcharged with dead.” An 1832 letter from parish authorities had noted the ground was “so very full of coffins that it is necessary to bury within two feet of the surface,” and that “the effluviem is so very offensive that we fear the consequences may be very injurious to the surrounding neighborhood.” (At the time, people feared the city’s burgeoning population of foul-smelling corpses was partly responsible for the city’s cholera epidemic. The true culprit, the water supply, was discovered later.) The land was sold for development 30 years later, but the sale declared void under the Disused Burial Grounds Act of 1884. Locals resisted further attempts at development, although the land was briefly used as a fairground, until complaints about the showmen’s “steam organs and noisy music” became overwhelming.