On this day in 1604, the Clerk and the Middle Warden were each ordered to bestowe 4d worth of herbs and flowers every Court day.
From the middle ages herbs and sweet smelling flowers were strewn on floors of houses and other buildings along with reeds, rushes, or straw, to mask the unpleasant smells emanating from the occupants and the local surroundings. Certain plants, such as Sweet Fennel and Pennyroyal, would also help deter pests such as fleas.
Queen Elizabeth I was particularly fond of Meadowsweet. John Gerard wrote in his famous Herbal: 'Queene Elizabeth of famous memory, did more desire it than any other herb to strew her chambers withall.'
The images are an illustration of Meadowsweet from Gerard's "Herball" and a portrait of Gerard from the frontispiece from the 1636 edition of his book.
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