Medieval murder maps of three English cities offer window into past

Oxford’s skyline. In the 14th century, the city had a per capita homicide rate four to five times higher than London and York. Photograph: Alamy

Early on a Sunday evening in April 1299, a young scholar led Margery de Hereford inside a house in Oxford. What began with lust ended in murder: when Margery, a sex worker, demanded to be paid, the unnamed man drew a knife, struck her near the left breast and fled.

Margery may have never received justice but her story is to feature in a collection of interactive maps that use 700-year-old records of coroners’ inquests to locate and detail homicides across three UK cities.