A SCOTTISH king (Malcolm IV) put Muswell Hill on the map. Legend has it that the sovereign, ‘being strangely diseased, was by some divine intelligence advised to take the water of a well in England called Muswell, which after long scrutination… was found and performed the cure,’ according to Elizabethan cartographer John Norden, who nonetheless expressed healthy scepticism at the story.
The miraculous well (which existed until 1898) and the chapel built near it quickly became beacons for penitent Londoners, who would journey to pray at the foot of Our Lady of Muswell. Once the Lady had worked her wonders, however, the pilgrims would gather in the far less saintly taverns that embroidered the chapel’s surroundings, for ‘no one objected to pleasure and merriment,’ wrote Walter Besant in his 1906 Mediaeval London, although ‘the merriment was not always seemly, nor was the pleasure always sinless’.
The Dissolution of Monasteries put a swift end to both the pilgrimages and the ensuing recreation, with the area passing from the Priory of Clerkenwell to private owners. Variously known as Muswell, Moswelia, but also Pinnersnall, the steep hill—a relic of the Ice Age—was ill suited to arable farming, but its clean air and fine views turned it into the perfect retreat for the Tudor and Stuart wealthy, not least Sir Julius Caesar, James I’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Denne historien er fra February 02, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 02, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery