Even if you’re a dedicated ornithologist, you might not be familiar with the 'Winchester Geese'. By the time Cross Bones Graveyard closed in 1853, it was the final resting place of an estimated 15,000 paupers from the surrounding slums. At one end of the cemetery you’ll see a large rusty gate decorated with flowers, toys, jewellery, ribbons and feathers. They’re silent memorials to the Winchester Geese – medieval prostitutes licensed by the Bishop of Winchester to work in the brothels of the area, which lay outside the law of the City of London.
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