Lazar Houses

Lazar houses were hospitals for infectious diseases, especially leprosy. They were places of quarantine and the inmates were kept prisoners to prevent the spread of infection. Leprosy, now rarely heard of in Britain, was a much feared disease and leper hospitals were not allowed to be built inside the City walls.

A leper hospital stood between Mile End and Stratford. (Stow said that during Edward II's reign a lazar house was built between Mile End and Stratford, Bow.)

Another in 1274 stood just north of where Essex Rd bridges Regents Canal.