Light, Privacy, and Neighbors: Windows in Late Medieval and Early Modern London

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 Court and by less formal action in the Court of Aldermen, discussing the effect of decisions on the ...