Perilous Pond was an ancient pond fed by a spring, first mentioned in 1598. Located near the junction of modern-day Old Street and City Road, it earned its name due to the many tragic drownings of people using it as a swimming hole. In 1743 the land was purchased by...
The best-surviving turf maze is on the village green beside Glaston Road on the edge of the picturesque village of Wing in the East Midlands county of Rutland. This particular example does not have a designated name. If it ever had a specific name, there are no records or legends...
The turf labyrinth at Saffron Walden, in the county of Essex, is one of the best-known and well maintained historic turf labyrinths in Europe, and it is also the largest surviving example. It is located at the east end of a large open area known as the Common adjacent to...
In November 2021 I wrote a series of blogs on my favorite novels, both in the broad Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre and in general literature. Links to those posts are in the Pemberley Library, down the page a bit under “Cinema & Literature” and the submenu “Books and Music.” One of the...
This unusual turf maze is located in a garden at Troy Farm Bed and Breakfast, a privately owned dwelling about one-mile east of the village of Somerton in Oxfordshire and 16-miles from Oxford. Troy Town Maze is in an atmospheric setting hidden among trees and close to an ancient pre-Roman...
The turf mizmaze located at Alkborough in Lincolnshire is the lone remaining labyrinth in England bearing the ancient name Julian’s Bower. It is situated in a sunken depression atop a hillside overlooking the confluence of the River Humber with the rivers Ouse and Trent. Below the maze stretches the Alkborough...
St. Catherine’s Hill, located south of the ancient city of Winchester, was the site of an Iron Age fort first built some 2,500 years ago. Winchester itself is one of the most important cities in Roman Britain, being the seat of Norman Kings and the heart of King Alfred’s Wessex....
The primitive Crusie Lamp was popular in the 1600’s to 1700’s, and still widely used into the 19th century by poor households. A simple lamp, the Crusie is basically a formed metal bowl to hold fuel (oil) with an indentation or channel to hold a wick. This was a durable...
On the eastern edge of Hilton village in Cambridgeshire is a green space upon which is cut a turf maze measuring 53 feet diameter. Of the eight labyrinths of old existing in England, the one in Hilton has some unique features. Unlike the other turf mizmazes which have unknown origins...
The Miseries of Human Life is a book written by James Beresford (1764–1840) and published in 1806, first as a single volume and then as an expanded two-volume edition later that year. Illustrated by George Cruikshank, it catalogued “in excruciating detail” the “petty outrages, minor humiliations, and tiny discomforts that...
In a remote part of North Yorkshire about 13-miles north of York on top of the Howardian Hills there is a turf maze that is the smallest of the eight remaining mizmazes in England. Much about this labyrinth is mysterious, beginning with the location. There it sits, on the side...
Today is the third blog of MAZE MONTH, following and concluding (for the most part) the history of mazes and labyrinths. Be sure to read the two previous posts (links below) before this one. This topic expanded beyond what I initially intended when diving into garden mazes —hence a whole...
This blog is a direct continuation of yesterday’s introductory post — History of the Maze — so please click to read that one first. The history behind mazes and labyrinths is surprisingly complex. I am barely scratching the surface in these two posts, which is fine for my main MAZE...
In my never-ending search for fascinating topics, I’ve been collecting data on Georgian garden follies and other landscaping features. I’ve found so many marvels, I now have enough material for multiple months of blogs! I plan to space them out over time, but have decided to devote the month of...
Today we would more accurately call these scarf-like fashion items a boa or stole. In the past, however, a “stole” primarily referred to the ecclesiastical garment, and the term “boa” was only used for the snake! Not until 1838 would “boa” begin to supplant the garment known as the tippet....
