<P> During the first half of 1349 the Black Death spread northwards . A second front opened up when the plague arrived by ship at the Humber , wherefrom it spread both south and north . In May it reached York , and during the summer months of June , July and August , it ravaged the north . Certain northern counties , like Durham and Cumberland , had been the victim of violent incursions from the Scots , and were therefore left particularly vulnerable to the devastations of the plague . Pestilence is less virulent during the winter months , and spreads less rapidly . The Black Death in England had survived the winter of 1348 -- 49 , but during the following winter it gave in , and by December 1349 conditions were returning to relative normalcy . It had taken the disease approximately 500 days to traverse the entire country . </P>
where did the plague first strike in europe how long did it take to reach england
months