ABSTRACT
M ost of what we know about the early development of Bethlem relates to its property holdings and transactions. Over the years, its precinct underwent enormous development. By the 16 30S there were nearly sixty houses, a couple of them being very substantial ones, occupying between an acre and an acre and a half of space (smaller than a football pitch). The precinct had changed from an open area, in which a few buildings were dotted about, to a crowded urban plot in which every foot of ground which was not used as a thoroughfare was occupied by a house, a yard or garden, or outbuildings.
