 Although the market continued to operate, in the immediate aftermath of the plague it was at a much reduced level and many stalls were left empty for some years after. The famine of 1369 overwhelmed Norwich's burial grounds, necessitating an expansion of St Peter Mancroft's churchyard. The southernmost rows of stalls in the main marketplace, which had been occupied by drapers and linen merchants, were removed to clear space for an enlarged churchyard. By 1377, the population of Norwich had fallen from at least 20,000 before the outbreak to below 6,000.
