Hi, friends,
Some of you have expressed a desire to be kept informed about my adventures in the coming weeks as I try to trace Nell's footsteps in London - the locations of the places where she lived and loved, the theatres she knew, the streets she walked, the views she saw.
So here's my first try at at a blog! There isn't much here now, and in fact I haven't left home yet, but I'll be taking photos (geotagged by GPS on Iphone, so anyone who wants to can find these same locations!), doing research at the V&A, Museum of London, and wherever else I can, and generally trying to bring to life the London of 1650-1687.
My cover
Nell and her oranges
Gillian Bagwell
photo by Brendan Elms
Bonfire Night on Blackheath
England still remembers the Fifth of November with fireworks.
View from the Greenwich Observatory
The Queen's House in the center would have been there in Nell's day.
Nell's Greenwich
This is the King Charles wing of what is now called the Old Royal Naval College, designed by John Webb for Charles in 1664.
St. Paul's Cathedral
Nell would have known the old cathedral that burned in 1666, and would have seen the early construction of the present building.
London Bridge
This bridge was built in 1831, but there has been a bridge here since Roman times. Nell knew the old bridge well. Billingsgate Fish Market stood just on the other side of the bridge for centuries. It moved to the Docklands area in 1982.
Site of Dorset Gardens Theatre
The building in the center is on the approximate site of the Duke's Company's theatre that opened in 1674. It is on the north bank of the river just west of Blackfriars Bridge.
Grave at St. Martin in the Fields
The crypt where Nell is buried is now a cafe...
The Staple Inn
Nell would have known this building, which has stood on Holborn since 1585.
Nell Gwynn
Nell Gwynn
About Me
- Gillian Bagwell
- Gillian Bagwell’s richly detailed historical novels bring to vivid life England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Gillian uses her years of experience in theatre an actress, director, and producer to help authors give effective public readings, through workshops and private coaching/ Her life-long fascination with British history and dedication to research infuse her novels with a compelling evocation of time and place, and provide fodder for her non-fiction writing, including articles on “Frost Fairs on the River Thames” (http://www.lorisreadingcorner.com/2011/01/guest-post-giveaway-gillian-bagwell-the-darling-strumpet.html), “The Royal Miracle: The Biggest What-If in English History,” (http://www.historyinanhour.com/2012/07/14/charles-ii-royal-miracle), and “1660: The Year of the Restoration of Theatre.” Gillian blogged her research adventures for The Darling Strumpet (http://www.nellgwynn.blogspot.com) and The September Queen, including the day-by-day events of Charles II’s dramatic escape after the Battle of Worcester (http://www.theroyalmiracle.blogspot.com). Please visit Gillian’s website, www.gillianbagwell.com, for more on her books and upcoming events.
Museum of London
1667 pub sign
St. Mary le Bow, Cheapside, London
A true Cockney is someone born within the sound of its bells
Church of St. Mary le Bow, Cheapside, London
The old church is surrounded by building cranes and bustle
The Museum of London
Painting in Great Fire exhibition. About a third of London burned over the course of three days. Nell was certainly there and in the thick of it.
Cambridge
Martin and family
The V&A
Lady's silver toilet set. Nell owned a lot of silver at one time, including an elaborately decorated solid silver bed!
The V&A
Decoratively stamped and "pinked", doublet
The V&A
Baby's swaddling wrapper and lace accessories to be worn for christening or being visited. Nell's sons would have worn these elaborate little things.
The V&A
"No Body" jugs. The character was named after a play and popped up in various forms. An early version of merchandise tie-ins!
The V&A
A case clock - Charles II had a collection of various kinds of clocks in his bedroom, which all struck at slightly different times. Nell must have gone mad trying to sleep through the night...
The V&A
A buff coat of the kind worn by soldiers and others in the mid-17th century
The V&A - Restoration Silver
A wine cistern - Charles II no doubt used some like this...
The Isle of Dogs
The Lord Nelson Pub and firehouse - my old neighborhood
Greenwich from the Isle of Dogs
Darkness falls over the Thames
Greenwich from the Isle of Dogs
twilight
John Lacy
Nell's friend, teacher, and fellow actor John Lacy, in three different roles
Ordinance outlawing theatres and acting
Cromwell made acting an offense punishable by fines, public whipping, and imprisonment
Actors' Vindication
Actor William Cartwright composed this eloquent defense of actors and their profession, but published it under the name of writer Thomas Heywood
Crystal Palace Park
Laura, David, and dinosaurs
Crystal Palace Park
David and Laura with a sphinx
Isle of Dogs
View toward Millwall Park and beyond from Island Gardens
Isle of Dogs
The docks
Isle of Dogs
Canary Wharf, the new center of business in Britain
The Isle of Dogs
Looking out over the docks
The Isle of Dogs
A walk through Mudchute Farm
The Isle of Dogs
The docks - Tim, Alison, Bucky and me
The Isle of Dogs
The Lord Nelson - Alice, Bucky, Alison, Tim and Donna
Memorial, Angel, Islington, London
There's little gun crime, but 25 young men have been stabbed to death in London this year...
London Under Construction
Massive building site, St. Giles High Street
At the National Theatre
Alice, Donna, and Alison at the NT
Audley End
Garden wall with pears
Horse Guards, Whitehall, London
Nell would surely have appreciated this young guardsman - and he her!
Oxford
Doorway into college
Courtyard of The Checquers, Oxford
Another pub that's been around since the 15th century
The White Hart, Drury Lane
There's been a White Hart here at least since 1500. Nell would have known it.
The Covered Market, Greenwich
This market has been here for about 200 years. A favorite haunt of mine.
Saffron Walden, Essex
Oliver Cromwell made his headquarters at this inn
Audley End, Essex
a glorious English summer day
Audley End
A river runs through it - with ducks and a black swan!
The York, Angel, Islington
People drink on the street since the smoking ban. This is on a prehistoric crossroads.
Audley End
Gardeners at work, the same as long ago
Edward Kynaston
He played women's roles briefly after the Restoration
V&A Archives, Kensington Olympia
The reading room for the theatre archives
Oxford
University Park - Charles II walked the spaniels here.
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
Saw "Gigi" here with Donna
The Ferry House, Isle of Dogs
With Bill, the landlord of The Ferry House. There's been a pub here for 700 years.
The Gun
dinner at The Gun
The Old Vic
The theatre is going great guns under Kevin Spacey's artistic directorship
Audley End
Charles II bought this house in 1667
Saffron Walden
medieval house in Saffron Walden
Audley End
Heirloom apple variety from 1586
Audley End
Grape arbor in house owned by Charles II
Script of Secret Love
It was this play that made Nell a star
The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Charles II began building a new palace, only got as far as building on the right.
Oxford - the Radcliffe Camera
Set for a performance of The Winter's Tale!
Oxford
The Radcliffe Camera
Oxford
All Souls College from St. Mary's Church
Dinner at the Gun
View of the O2 from The River Room
Dinner at the Gun
David Hibbs and David Revolta on the terrace
Dinner at The Gun
Cheers!
Nell
Nell and her initials - she never really learned to write
The White Hart, Drury Lane
Nell would surely have known this pub
Lewkenor's Lane/Macklin Street
site of Madam Ross's brothel
Macklin Street/Lewkenor's Lane
Madam Ross's brothel was here...
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Nell's theatre, the first Theatre Royal, was smaller, and would have been a little to the right, or southeast of this walkway. Stage door sign visible ahead.
St. Mary le Strand
The site of the 134-foot maypole put up in May 1661 by a party of sailors under the Duke of York
Bush House
The approximate site of Maypole Alley
Crypt, St. Martin in the Fields
Nell is somewhere here...
St. Martin in the Fields
This is the church Nell would have known
Scurrilous doggerell
A satire on the death of Nell's mother
V&A Archives, Kensington Olympia
The V&A shares the archives with the British Museum and Science Museum
Laura and David's wedding bash
Laura and David, Calder's Wharf Community Center, Isle of Dogs, London
Laura and David's wedding bash
Laura playing with her big band