1st Edition
Light, Privacy, and Neighbors Windows in Late Medieval and Early Modern London
By Janet S. Loengard
Copyright 2025
172 Pages
3 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
172 Pages
3 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
172 Pages
3 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Density of housing in late medieval and early modern London could make access to light and privacy incompatible, provoking neighbor disputes. This book examines the Custom of London on light, which reflected centuries-old ideas about the right to have, or prevent neighbors from having, windows.
The volume explores the background of the Custom and its enforcement by legal action in the Mayor’s... Read more
Introduction
1. London and the Custom
2. The Mechanics of Enforcement
3. ‘Ancient Lights’
4. The Problem with Windows
5. In Praise of Glass
6. The Fire and Its Aftermath
Biography
Janet S. Loengard is Professor Emerita of History at Moravian University in Bethlehem, PA, and also taught English legal history at Rutgers Law School. She is the editor of London Viewers and Their Certificates 1508–1558 and Magna Carta and the England of King John and has published numerous articles.
