In the City of London, St Matthew’s Day was the day that they elected Governors to Christ’s Hospital, it was followed by a service at Christchurch attended by Aldermen, Sheriffs, the Lord Mayor and a procession of the children attending the school.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
Christ’s Hospital was founded in 1552 by a settlement arranged by Edward VI after the Reformation. The abolition of the Monasteries by Henry VIII caused a huge problem for the City of London, with the destruction of education and social services managed by monks and nuns. Henry VIII had already re-established St Bartholomew’s to look after the Poor Sick in the City. To complete the post dissolution, Edward IV established three Royal Hospitals to sort out additional problems. Bridewell Hospital became an orphanage and place of correction for wayward women. St Thomas Hospital for the homeless and poor sick of South London. Christ’s Hospital was to provide schooling. The school was originally near Newgate and Christchurch Church, which was originally the Choir of the Greyfriars Church.
The school was set up in 1552 and was for boys and girls. The Mathematical School was added in the late 17th Century to provide navigation skills for sailors.
Flogging the boys
In 1815, a shocking event took place. An MP named Sir Eyre Coote entered the Mathematical school. He shooed the younger boys away but paid the older ones to participate in mutual flogging. He was discovered by the school nurse doing up his breeches. George Cruikshank, a vaunted caricaturist, created a cartoon of the occasion, and it is extraordinary how it was treated far from seriously.
Cruikshank Cartoon
The blue-coated boys of Christ’s Hospital, eventually moved to Hertford but are now in Horsham. They maintain their City affiliation and still come to the City on or around St Matthews Day and take part in the Lord Mayor’s Show. The school is a public school, but has a large percentage of its students funded by bursaries. In 2016 former pupils opened up about historic sexual abuse leading to the prosecution of 6 teachers of Christchurch.
Also on St Matthews Day, the historic Bush Hotel in Farnham distributed bread to the poor. This began in 1660 a local benefactor bequeathed one pound annually to pay for the bread.
Queensberry House to the right, home of the The Queensberry House Cannibal. The Scottish Parliament in the background. Royal Mile, Cannongate in the foreground. (Photo: K. Flude)
Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh
One of my favourite books on Edinburgh is by Ian Rankin. It is one of the Inspector Rebus series. What makes Rankin a great crime writer is how the author makes Edinburgh central to the story. It adds realism to his stories. As you read the stories you enjoy learning about Edinburgh, its culture, history, people, streets and topography. And get insights into Edinburgh’s moods.
Model of the Scottish Parliament, with Queensberry House in the bottom right hand corner.
I haven’t read all the Rebus books but the one I want to feature is ‘Set in Darkness’ published in 2000. It is set in the period immediately after the success of the Scottish Referendum to set up a Scottish Parliament. The story also takes us back to 1979 when the first Scottish Referendum ‘failed’.
The Queensberry House Cannibal
The book begins with a body found in Queensbury House, which is being preserved and incorporated into the new Scottish Parliament buildings.
Scottish Parliament Building (photo by the author)
This setting was suggested by the well-known tale of the Queensberry House Cannibal; James Douglas the 3rd Marquess of Queensberry and, for a time, the Earl of Drumlanrig. The tale begins on the day, in 1707, that the Scottish Parliament agreed to disband itself. The Parliamentarians voted for an Act of Union with the United Kingdom.
On that day, the young Lord was left alone in Queensbury House with no one to look after him, except a kitchen boy. James had mental issues, and when the adults came home, they discovered that he had eaten the kitchen boy by spit-roasting him. The ghost of the boy is said to haunt the house. Or so the story goes. It’s always treated as a true story, but there is a suspicion it was a black calumny on those who agreed to the end of the Scottish Parliament.
The Restoration of the Scottish Parliament 11th September 1997
So, as today is the anniversary of the day the Scots voted Yes to a restoration of its Parliament (11th September 1997), let’s have a look at the long history of devolution. We will take the story backwards.
The referendum asked the Scots two questions. The first was: did they support a separate Parliament for Scotland? The second. Should it have the power to vary levels of taxation? 74.3% voted yes to the Parliament, and 63.5% voted yes for powers of taxation. On the 1st July 1999 the Scottish Parliament was set up by the Blair Government. The new Parliament was elected by the Additional Member system of proportional representation. The country is split into regions, the regions into constituencies, and each constituency elects a member of the Scottish Parliament by first part the post system. Each region has a party list of additional potential members, and the seats are allocated between the parties to make the final result as proportion as possible. This is said to combine the advantages of constituency MPs, and PR.
The ‘Failed’ 1979 Referendum
But this wasn’t the first vote for a measure of independence. In 1979, the Scottish Act set up a referendum for a Scottish assembly. James Callaghan was the Prime Minister, and the act followed a Royal Commision on the Constitution. The Referendum was won with a majority of 52%, but an amendment to the Act had a stipulation that there had to be a vote of at least 40% of the registered electorate for the vote to succeed. It won only 32% of the 62% turnout so the Act failed. (if only Cameron had done something similar for the Brexit Referendum!).
So it would be another almost 20 years before the Scots got their own debating chamber.
1707 Act of Union
The Scots lost their Parliament on the 1st May 1707 when the Act of Union with England was enacted. The Scottish Parliament had been in existence since the early 13th Century. The Scots had no House of Commons, but its unicameral Parliament had representatives from the Three Estates: prelates representing the Church; Aristocrats representing the nobility, and Burgh Commissioners representing the Towns. Later, Shire Commissioners were added to represent the countryside.
The decision to disband the Parliament of Scotland was very controversial, and blamed on the self-interest of the Nobility against the wishes of the people. Scotland had lost out on the huge profits being made by the Empire by England, excluded as the Scots were by the Navigation Acts from trading freely within the British Empire. So the Scots set up their own Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies which invested in the disastrous Darién scheme,
The idea was to build a colony on the Isthmus of Panama. 80% of the participants in the settlement died, and the 20% of Scottish wealth which was invested in the scheme was lost. Many of the Scottish members of Parliament lost money in the Scheme, and compensation and bribery offered by the English encouraged the Parliamentarians to accept the advantages of free trade within the British Empire and to join the Westminster Parliament.
Joint Monarchies
In 1603, the Scottish and English monarchies joined in the person of James VI of Scotland who became James 1st of England on the death of his childless aunt, Queen Elizabeth 1. But the Scots kept their own Parliament and legal system. There were attempts to bring a closer Union, but these all failed until 1707.
England Overlording it?
From the early beginnings of Scottish existence as an independent nation, the English Monarchy claimed to be the feudal overlord of Scotland. Scotland was normally able to deny this until the reign of Edward I. After the battle of Bannockburn the Scottish made a declaration of their complete independence from England at Arbroath. It was sent to the Pope who accepted it. This helped the Scots defy England until 1603 when the two monarchies joined.
September 3rd was Cromwell’s Lucky Day. This was because it was the date of two of his most famous victories. On September 3rd 1658 he refused to accept that he was dying because it was his lucky day. Unluckily, he was wrong.
The Battle of Dunbar September 3rd 1650
Engraving of Charles I
After the execution of King Charles I, the Scots chose Charles II as their King. This changed the Scots from allies of the English Parliament to enemies. The Lord General of the New Model Army, Thomas Fairfax, refused to lead an attack on their erstwhile allies. So Oliver Cromwell was promoted to command. He launched a preemptive attack but the army was ill prepared, and the campaign seemed in danger of failing. They took Arthur’s seat and bombarded Edinburgh and Leith from its heights. But they could not take Edinburgh.
In need of supplies, Cromwell retreated to Dunbar, which is on the North Sea, close to the Firth of Forth. The Scots advanced on Dunbar, and Cromwell came out to meet them. After a hard battle, the English Calvary outflanked the Scots and the Battle was won. Pride, Monk, Lilburne and Lambert were all involved in the Battle. Cromwell claimed to have killed 4,000 Scots and captured 10,000. Scottish sources suggested over 1,000 Scottish casualties and 5,000 prisoners.
The Battle enabled Cromwell to seize control of Edinburgh, and Leith. So he could then cross the First of Forth and attack Fife, where he was also successful.
Cromwell interpreted the overwhelming victory as a
“A high act of the Lord’s Providence to us [and] one of the most signal mercies God hath done for England and His people”.[ (Wikipedia)
Meanwhile, the Scottish Army marched South in to England. in an attempt to raise the support of English Royalists. King Charles II was now with them, They hoped Cromwell would be held up in Fife, but he wasn’t. He secured Perth and put General Monck in charge in Scotland. Lambert was sent to harrass the Scottish Army as they marched south. Meanwhile, Cromwell forced marched his way to the Tyne. General Harrison had collected fresh troops from Newcastle and joined Cromwell. Thomas Fairfax came out of retirement and raised troops in Yorkshire. The Southern troops were collected at Banbury by General Fleetwood. 14,000 militia men from the trained bands of London joined the march to intercept the Scottish Invasion.
The Battle of Worcester September 3rd 1651
The decisive battle took place at Worcester, which the Royalist occupied. It was an unusual battle in that it took place on both sides of the River Severn. Cromwell delayed the start of the battle to build two pontoon bridges. This meant he could reinforce his troops on either side of the River. It also delayed the start of the battle to his lucky day.
The pontoon bridges proved decisive. The Parliamentary side had over 30,000 troops while the Royalists only 16,000. Cromwell could shore up besieged formation with troops from the other side of the River. The Royalists were pushed back to the High Street. Here, they rallied to allow King Charles II to escape. And that was the end of the Second English Civil War. (The first being the defeat of Charles I, the second the defeat of Charles II).
Charles II made a hair-raising escape from England, hiding in an Oak Tree. Eventually, finding a ship on the South Coast at Shoreham, in Dorset to take him into a long exile. (see my post on Charles’ escape here🙂
Of the Scottish army, perhaps 3,000 men were killed and 10,000 taken prisoners. Some prisoners were conscripted into the New Model Army and sent to fight in Ireland. Many of the rest (perhaps up to 8,000) were forced into indentured labour. They were sent to New England, Bermuda, the West Indies or the Fens. Others were taken to London and detained in prison camps. One of which was at Tothill Fields in Westminster. Conditions were often appalling, leading to death by disease and malnutrition.
American Presidents pay their respects to the ‘famous’ Battlefield.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited the site of the Battle in 1786. Adams reported:
‘The people in the neighborhood appeared so ignorant and careless at Worcester that I was provoked and asked “And do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbors and your children that this is holy ground, much holier than that on which your churches stand. All England should come in pilgrimage to this hill, once a year”‘
And indeed will now only see the battle as one of the many battles of the Civil War. Generally, we are not aware of its special significance.
Cromwell’s Death September 3rd 1658.
By now, the Monarch in all but name, Cromwell, the Lord Protector fell ill, probably of malaria. Then, when weakened, his kidney stone infection turned to septicemia. On August 30th, there was a mighty storm, the like Europe had not seen for hundreds of years. And there was talk of the Lord taking him away in the furious storm. As he weakened he was asked to name his successor. He appeared to affirm when the name of his son Richard was spoken to him. But, it wasn’t very clear. He rallied, perhaps hoping that if he could survive to September 3rd, he would overcome his illness.
On the day, he said to his doctors ‘I tell you I shall not die this hour; I am sure on’t …. I speak the Words of Truth upon surer grounds than Galen and Hippocrates furnish you with.’
But he died on his lucky day. He was given a splendid funeral and was buried in state among the Kings and Queens in Westminster Abbey. And then in 1660 dug up, executed posthumously at Tyburn and buried under the Gibbet.
Love this monument in St Margaret’s Uxbridge to Dame Leonora Bennet.
She lies there resting on her arm with an insouciant air. She had three husbands before spending the rest of her life on good works. And the sculptors John and Matthew Christmas seem to me portray her as an attractive woman.
Love the contrast with the glimpse into the Charnel House below with the jumbled bones almost fighting to get out.
The Tomb of Leonora Benet. St Margaret’s Church, Uxbridge.The scene from the charnel house at the bottom of the tomb of Leonora Benet. St Margaret’s Church, Uxbridge.
The Master of St Giles, National Gallery. ‘St Giles and the Hind’ This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or fewer.
St Giles
Today, is St Giles’ Feast Day. His story is mostly unknown, but his legend holds that he was a hermit who had a pet Hind in the Arles District of France sometime after the fall of the Roman Empire. The hounds of King Wamba (a Visigothic King) were chasing the deer, and shot an arrow into the undergrowth. The King and his men followed to discover Giles wounded by the arrow, protecting the hind, who he held in his arms. The hounds were miraculously stayed motionless as they leaped towards the hind. Wamba, which apparently means ‘Big paunch’ in Gothic, also had a Roman name: Flavius. Giles was injured in the leg, although the image above shows the arrow hit his hand. Wamba set him up as an Abbot of a Benedictine Monastery.
St Giles is, therefore, the patron saint of disabled people. He is also also invoked for childhood fears, convulsions and depression. He was very popular in medieval Britain, with over 150 churches dedicated to him, including four in London. Perhaps the two most famous are St Giles Without Cripplegate in London and St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.
St Giles Cripplegate, photographed by the Author at night from the Barbican Centre.
St Giles Cripplegate
St Giles was built in the 11th Century, rebuilt in the 14th Century and again in 1545-50 after nearly being destroyed by fire. It survived the Great Fire of London, being just beyond the extent of the Fire. But it was badly damaged in the Blitz, although the Tower and the outer walls survived.
Oliver Cromwell married Elizabeth Bourchier here. John Foxe of the Book of Martyrs, John Speed, the Cartographer, Martin Frobisher, the explorer and John Milton, the Poet were buried here.
Shenanigans with Milton’s Coffin
Milton’s coffin was opened in 1793 and he was said to have looked as if he had just been buried. One of those present, then, had a go at pulling Milton’s teeth out. A bystander helped by hitting his jaw with a stone. The few teeth Milton had left in his head were divided between the men, who also took a rib bone and locks of his hair. The Caretaker then opened the coffin for anyone who wanted to see the corpse!
From the London City Wall Trail.
Cripplegate
St Giles is without Cripplegate. It is one of the Gates in the City Wall (originally the North Gate of the Roman Fort). It may be named because St Giles made it agood place to gather for those trying to beg alms for their disabilities. An alternative explanation it from the Anglo Saxon crepel, which is an underground tunnel which is said to have run from the Gate’s Barbican to the Gate. Or perhaps because of the cure of cripples when Edmund the Martyr’s remains passed through the Gate in 1010.
The Corner Tower of the London City Wall, the Barbican in the background, and the tower of St Giles’ Church behind the Tower. Photo by the author
First Published in September 2024, and revised in 2025.
Kalendar of Shepherds illustration of September showing harvesting grapes and the astrological signs for Virgo (August 23 – September 22) and Libra (September 23 – October 22)
It is that time of the year when you say ‘Where has the Summer gone? It can’t be September already?’ But, meteorology, speaking, Autumn starts today. September 1st was chosen on a numerical basis for ease of measuring rather than any profound floral, agricultural or solar reason. So, there are three Gregorian Calendar months for each season, and each season starts on the first of the month. Autumn: September, November and December.
Autumn, Harvest, Fall
Autumn comes from Latin (autumnus) which went into French and then into English. The season was also called Harvest (which went into Dutch herfst, German Herbst, and Scots hairst -Wikipedia) or from the 16th Century: the ‘fall of the year’ or ‘fall of the leaf’ which spread to America as Fall.
Summer’s Ending
It still feels like summer. In England, we often have a glorious September, and what we can an ‘Indian’ Summer, an unexpectedly warm period in mid-September to October.
Solar Autumn
Of course, for the real Autumn, we have to wait for the Equinox, the beginning of Astronomical or Solar Autumn. This year, it is on Monday, September 22nd, 2025, 7:19 pm.
Astrological September
The star signs for astrological September are: Virgo which is linked to Aphrodite (Venus) the Goddess of Love and Libra which is linked to Artemis (Diana), virgin goddess of many things, including hunting, wild animals, children, and birth.
Star signs for September
September
September gets its name from the Romans, for whom it was the 7th Month of the year (septem is Latin for seven). Later, they added two new months so it became our 9th Month. (For more on the Roman year, look at my post here).
It is called Halegmonath in the early English language, or the holy month, named because it is the month of offerings, because of the harvest, and the mellow fruitfulness of September? Medi in Welsh is the month of reaping, and An Sultuine in Gaelic which means the month of plenty.
Roman personification of Autumn from Lullingstone mosaic
Early Modern September and the autumn of Life
Here is an early 17th Century look at September from the Kalendar of Shepherds – for more on the Kalendar, look at my post here.
From the Kalendar of Shepherds
The Kalendar has an additional shorter look at September (see below). And it continues with its theme, linking the 12 months of the year with the lifespan of a man – 6 years for each month. So September is a metaphor for man at 56 years of age, in their prime and preparing for old age.
September from the Kalendar of Shepherds. The last sentence beginning ‘and then is man’ shows the link between September and the beginning of the autumn of life.
Season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness‘
John Keats (1795 – 1821) wrote a great poem called ‘To Autumn’:
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep, Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers: And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cider-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,— While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft, And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
Written September 19, 1819; first published in 1820. This poem is in the public domain and available here:
The Court House, Chipping Campden, poor photo by the Author! Where the mystery of the Chipping Campden Murder began
When I take Road Scholar groups to Chipping Campden, in the Cotswolds. We pass the Court House (pictured above) where I tell the story of the disappearance of William Harrison. Last time, looking at my old ragged notes, I noticed that the disappearance took place on the 16th August.
On that day in 1660 70 yr old William Harrison left the Court House where he was the Steward. The Steward went for a 2-mile walk, collecting rents. When he didn’t return, his wife sent out a man servant, John Perry, to bring him home. Neither had returned by the next morning.
Harrison’s son went out to search for his dad, and found John Perry. The two of them searched for Harrison without luck. Meanwhile, Harrison’s neckband and shirt were found with his hat. The clothes were said to be blood stained, but as those who read Sherlock Holmes will know, there was no certain test for blood stains (a test was introduced in the late 19th Century).
But the identification of blood stains led to suspicion of John Perry. He said he was innocent, but he buckled under questioning, maintaining it was nothing to do with him. B he claimed his brother and mother murdered Harrison for his money. Perry soon changed his testimony about his brother and mother and eventually pleaded insanity. All three were hanged.
Two years later, Harrison returned home, claiming to have been abducted by pirates and sold into slavery in Turkey before escaping and returning to England.
This is, pretty much, the bones of the story I have told my groups over the last 15 years. But what is wonderful about my job and this ‘Almanac of the Past:, is that you get to dig that little bit deeper than the local guidebook.
The first new ‘fact’ I discovered was that Harrison was Steward to the Lady Juliana Noel. She has a very prominent monument in St James Church, near the Court House and has long fascinated me. I will write more about her one day. Meanwhile, have a look at my post on her Dad, Baptist Hicks and how the family came to be Lords of the Manor of Chipping Campden, and Campden Hill, Notting Hill.
Back to my new discoveries about the Crime! John Perry, his mother and brother were actually tried twice for the crime. The first judge refused to try them for murder in the absence of the body. But they were encouraged to plead guilty to robbery, as they would then be eligible for an amnesty for first time convictions introduction by the new King Charles II on his restoration. So they were convicted.
However, another Judge was willing to try them in the absence of a body, and they were, after all, tried for the murder. But having pleaded guilty to robbery (to avoid the risk of being executed), they had no real defence to the charge and were sentenced to be hanged.
Nor was the hanging simple: Joan Perry, the mother, was hanged first because she was said to be a witch who was preventing her sons from pleading guilty. After she was hanged, her sons still maintained their innocence The oldest son was then hanged. But the youngest son still claimed his innocence and was hanged too.
The hangings took place on the hill above Broadway, the highest point of the Cotswolds, where Broadway Tower now stands, and a famous beauty spot. Mother and son were buried under the Gibbet, but John Perry was hanged in chains and kept on display as a warning to others not to follow his example.
As to William Harrison’s story of his abduction, it sounds a little unlikely in rural Gloucestershire. To a modern mind, it seems more likely that he felt the need to leave home, or had some form of breakdown, or did he collude with the Perry’s to steal money from the Noel Estate? I wonder how he reacted when told that three people lost their lives because of him?
But, it has been suggested that Harrison was kidnapped by people involved in the English Civil War who had secrets to keep which Harrison as Steward might have known. He said English people had kidnapped him and put on a ship to America which was attacked by ‘Turkish’ (maybe Barbary Pirates).
The case led to a ‘no body, no murder’ rule which survived until 1954. But in modern times a body is not essential to a successful prosecution for murder, particularly in domestic murder cases, provided there is sufficient evidence to prove the case.
The case is normally referred to as ‘The Chipping Campden Wonder’ and it has often been written about, for example by Linda Stratmann. I have been wondering why it was so named, there being nothing wonderful about a murder or an abduction. But I have just found a ballad that was written about the case that might explain it. This claims that Joan Perry was indeed a witch, Harrison was attacked and buried in a pit but was, somehow, magically conveyed to Turkey, from which he eventually escaped to return to Chipping Campden. The Wonder is presumably the saving of Harrison and transportation to Turkey? The ballad clarifies that there was therefore no miscarriage of justice, as the Perrys were involved with diabolical doings, and that the Grace of God saved Harrison despite the best efforts of the Perrys.
‘Amongst those wonders which on early are shown, In any age there seldom hath béen known, A thing more strange then that which this Relation, Doth here present unto your observation. In Glocestershire as many know full well, At Camben Town a Gentleman did dwell, One Mr. William Harrison by name, A Stewart to a Lady of great fame.
A Widdow likewise in the Town there was, A wick wretch who brought strange things to pass, So wonderful that some will scarce receive, […]hese lines for truth nor yet my words beleive.
[…] such as unto Cambden do resort, Have surely found this is no false report, Though many lies are dayly now invented, This is as true a Song as ere was Printed.
Therefore unto the story now give ear, This Widow Pery as it doth appear, And her two sons all fully were agréed, Against their friend to work a wicked déed.
One of her Sons even from a youth did dwell, With Mr. Harrison who loved him well, And bred him up his Mother being poor, But sée how he requited him therefore.
For taking notice that his Master went, Abroad to gather in his Ladies rent, And by that means it was an usual thing, For him great store of money home to bring.
He thereupon with his mischevous mother, And likewise with his vile ungodly Brother, Contriv’d to rob his Master, for these base And cruel wretches were past shame and grace.
One night they met him comming into Town, And in a barbarous manner knockt him down, Then taking all his money quite away, His body out of sight they did convey.
But being all suspected for this déed, They apprehended were and sent with spéed, To Glocester Goal and there upon their Tryal, Were guilty found for all their stiff denyal.
Jt was supposed the Gentleman was dead, And by these wretches robd and Murthered, Therefore they were all thrée condem’d to death, And eke on Broadway-hill they lost their breath.
One of the Sons was buried with his Mother, Vnder the Gibbet, but the other Brother, That serv’d the Gentleman was hang’d in Chains, And there some part of him as yet remains.
But yet before they died they did proclaim Even in the ears of those that thither came, That Mr. Harison yet living was And would be found in less then seven years space.
Which words of theirs for truth do now appear For tis but two year since they hanged were, And now the Gentleman alive is found Which news is publisht through the Countrys round
But lest that any of this truth shall doubt, Ile tell you how the business came about This Widow Pery as tis plainly shown Was then a Witch although it was not known.
So when these Villains by their mothers aid Had knockt him down (even as before was said) They took away his money every whit, And then his body cast into a pit.
He scarce was come unto himself before Another wonder did amaze him more, For whilst he lookt about, he found that he Was suddainly conveyd unto the Sea.
First on the shore he stood a little space And thence unto a rock transported was, Where he four days and nights did then remain And never thought to see his friends again.
But as a Turkish ship was passing by Some of the men the Gentleman did spy, And took him in and as I understand, They carried him into the Turkish Land.
And there (not knowing of his sad disaster) They quickly did provide for him a Master, A Surgeon or of some such like profession, Whose service he performed with much discretion.
It séems in gathering Hearbs he had good skill, And could the same excéeding well distil, Which to his Master great content did give, And pleas’d him well so long as he did live.
But he soon dyd, and at his death he gave him, A piece of plate that so none should enslave him, But that his liberty be might obtain, To come into his native land again.
And thus this Gentleman his fréedom wrought; And by a Turky Ship from thence was brought; To Portugal, and now both safe and sound, He is at length arrived on English ground.
Let not this séem incredible to any, Because it is a thing afirmed by many, This is no feigned story, though tis new, But as tis very strange tis very true.
You sée how far a Witches power extends, When as to wickedness her mind she bends, Great is her Malice, yet can God restrain her, And at his pleasure let her loose or chain her.
If God had let her work her utmost spight, No doubt she would have kild the man outright, But he is saved and she for all her malice, Was very justly hang’d upon the Gallows.
Then let all praise to God alone be given, By men on earth as by the Saints in heaven, He by his mercy dayly doth befriend us, And by his power he will still defend us.’
The ‘Agas’Map of 16th Century Map of London showing the Abbey of the Minoresses of St Clare with the yellow circle and St Botolphs in mauve just outside Aldgate. from the Map of Early Modern London project.
Today is the Feast day of St Clare of Assisi. An area of the City of London, called the Minories, is still to this day named after the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. This was was founded in 1294. The Abbey was part of the Order of St Clare or the Poor Clares as they were known . A minoress was a nun from the Order of Friars Minor (aka Franciscans) .who were also known as the Minoresses of St Clare.
Fresco of Saint Clare and sisters of her order, church of San Damiano, Assisi Wikipedia
Clare Sciffi was born in Assisi to a rich family. On Palm Sunday, 20 March 1212 Clare left her house, after refusing offers of an advantageous marriage. She had been inspired by hearing St Francis the founder of the Franciscan Monks who was also from Assisi. St Francis facilitated her transfer to Benedictine Nunneries. Her sisters followed her, one renamed Agnes became an Abbess and eventually a saint in her own right. Her family tried repeatedly to take her back into secular life. Eventually, they gave in – apparently when they saw that she had cut her flowing locks off and donned a plain robe.
A small nunnery was set up for them next to the church of San Damiano. More women joined, and they became known as the “Poor Ladies of San Damiano”. They undertook to live impoverished, and secluded.
The Franciscan friars were an itinerant order where the Friars preached to the people and were supported by begging. But this was not possible for women at that time so they lived a simple life of labour and prayer.:
‘The nuns went barefoot, slept on the ground, ate no meat, and observed almost complete silence.’ Wikipedia
Here is a site that gives information about the new Museum that will be established on the site of the Poor Clares. It also gives an outline history of the site.
The following link explores the illustrious noble women who choose to be buried in the Minories. It shows how important the Poor Clares were considered to be. It was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539.
Summer is the best time to fish for Eels. Mid May to the end of July. But they can be caught all year around. Jellied Eels have been a staple of East End diets since the 18th Century. They were to be found in many stalls dotted around the East End, from vendors venturing into pubs and in Pie and Mash shops. Tubby Isaacs is perhaps, the most famous. Jellied eels are still sold in a diminishing number of places in the East End. Manze’s Eel, Pie, and Mash shop at 204 Deptford High Street, London was listed in December 2023. The shop opened in 1914 and was a pioneer of commercial branding. This is the fourth Manze’s shop to be listed: Tower Bridge Street, Chapel Market Islington, and Walthamstow High street. The current owner of the Deptford shop is retiring and so the shop will close.
There are three Pie and Mash shops near me in Hackney. The one in Dalston has become a bar. In Broadway Market it is now an optician. But the one in Hoxton Market is surviving, and all three have retained their distinctive interiors. On the River Lee Navigation is another piece of Eel history which is the excellent Fish and Eel Pub at Dobbs Weir.
Pie and Mash Shop. Established 1862, closed down 2021. Broadway Market, Hackney (photo, copyright the author)
My mum loved jellied eels. It took me until I was over 60 before I could bring myself to try them. And I have no wish to repeat, what for me, was a revolting experience.
By JanesDaddy (Ensglish User) – English Wikipedia – [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1663124
Gervase Markham in his ‘The English Husbandman’ of 1635 provides instructions on how:
To take Eels in Winter, Make a long bottle or tube of Hay, wrapped about Willow boughs, and having guts or garbage in the middles. Which being soaked in the deep water by the river side, after two or three days the eels will be in it and you may tread them out with your feet.
Eel traps at Bray, on the River Thames (Henry Taught 1885)
Romans, Saxons and Eels
Eels have been eaten for thousands of years. Apicius, author of a famous collection of Roman Recipes tells us of two sauces for eels:
Sauce for Eel Ius in anguillam
Eel will be made more palatable by a sauce which has pepper, celery seed, lovage, anise, Syrian sumach, figdate wine, honey, vinegar, broth, oil, mustard, reduced must.
Another Sauce for Eel Aliter ius in anguillam
Pepper, lovage, Syrian sumach, dry mint, rue berries, hard yolks, mead, vinegar, broth, oil; cook it.
Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica, which tells of Britain as a land with “the greatest plenty of eel and fish.” Several fish traps have been found in and around the Thames, one for example in Chelsea.
Aristotle, Freud and the Deep Sargasso Sea
But eels had a great mystery no one knew where they came from or how they reproduced. Aristotle thought they spontaneously emerged from the mud. Sigmund Freud dissected hundreds of Eels, hoping to find male sex organs. It was only on 19th October 2022 that an article in the science journal Nature disclosed the truth. The article was ‘First direct evidence of adult European eels migrating to their breeding place in the Sargasso Sea‘. Ir proved beyond doubt that the theory that Eels go to the sea near Bermuda to spawn was, incredibly, true.
Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island . Ordnance Survey In 1871 to 1882 map series (OS, 1st series at 1:10560: Surrey (Wikipedia)
But Eels also have their place in Rock and Roll History. Eel Pie island is on the Thames, near Twickenham and Richmond. It is famous for its Eels. But was home to an iconic music venue. The Eel Pie Hotel hosted most of the great English Bands of the 50s. 60s, and 70s. The roll call of bands here is awesome. The Stones, Cream, Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd, you name it, they were here:
David Bowie, Jeff Beck, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree. Buddy Guy, Geno Washington, Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger. John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Ten Years After, Chicken Shack, and one of my all-time favourite bands. the Savoy Brown Blues Band. And I have forgotten the Nice, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Joe Cocker, and the Who. And many more!
The Rolling Stones played at the Railway Tavern, Richmond on Sunday, February 24, 1963. Here they were spotted by people from the nearby Eel Pie Hotel. They were booked for a 6 month residency, which they began as virtually unknown and ended as famous.
This was first published as part of another post in 2022, and revised and republished on 28th November 2023, 2024.Moved from November 28th to July 23rd in 2025
(I moved it to make room for a post on Mrs Shakespeare. Also, because I cannot find anything to substantiate the opening statement that the Eel Season had its second day on November 28th. All evidence I find says the best fishing is in the Summer.
Civitas Londinum is a bird’s-eye view of London first printed from woodblocks in about 1561
John Stow tells us that there were bonfires and street parties in London throughout June and July. These were held on the Vigils of Saints’ Feast Days. The Vigil is the evening before a festival. A custom that might owe a little to the Celtic choice of dusk as the beginning of the new day.
Front cover of the Survey of London by John Stow
Stow was the author of the ‘Survey of London‘ first published in 1598. Unfortunately, he does not give a list of the vigils thus celebrated. He only mentions those of St John the Baptist and of St Paul and St Peter. For these he gives a very vivid description, which I included in my post on June 24th here.
The other festivals would be for prominent Saints, particularly those with London Churches or Chapels named after them. These might include: St Botolph, St Alban, St James, St Thomas, St Margaret, St Wilgerfortis, St. Mary Magdalen, St Bridget, St James, as well as Saints John, Peter, and Paul. I’m guessing that City wide street parties would be reserved for the most important Saints. But with local celebrations for the Saint on the local Church. I am assuming these celebrations were ended or much reduced after the Reformation.
This is what Stow says of the Vigil celebrations.
‘In the months of June and July, on the vigils of festival days, and on the same festival days in the evenings after the sun setting, there were usually made bonfires in the streets, every man bestowing wood or labour towards them; the wealthier sort also, before their doors near to the said bonfires, would set out tables on the vigils, furnished with sweet bread and good drink, and on the festival days with meats and drinks plentifully, whereunto they would invite their neighbours and passengers also to sit and be merry with them in great familiarity, praising God for his benefits bestowed on them. These were called bonfires as well of good amity amongst neighbours that being before at controversy, were there, by the labour of others, reconciled, and made of bitter enemies loving friends; and also for the virtue that a great fire hath to purge the infection of the air. ‘
John Stow is one of the most important sources for Tudor and Medieval London. He was a Londoner, buried in St Andrews Undershaft (see map above), who wrote up all he could glean about London. I use him all the time – for example, on my Wolf Hall Tudor London Walk. Stow’s Survey of London can be accessed online, in full, here: or via the wonderful online Agas Map, from which the map above came from.
![By JanesDaddy (Ensglish User) - English Wikipedia - [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1663124](https://www.chr.org.uk/anddidthosefeet/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1280px-Eels_1385-1024x768.jpg)
