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CHAPTER XXXIV.
HIGHBURY—UPPER HOLLOWAY—KING'S CROSS.
Jack Straw's Castle—A Famous Hunt—A Celebrity of Highbury Place—Highbury Barn and the Highbury Society—Cream Hall—Highbury Independent College—"The Mother Redcap"—The Blount Family—Hornsey Road and "The Devil's House" therein—Turpin, the Highwayman—The Corporation of Stroud Green—Copenhagen Fields—The Corresponding Society—Horne Tooke—Maiden Lane—Battle Bridge—The "King's Cross" Dustheaps and Cinder-sifters—Small-pox Hospital—The Great Northern Railway Station.
In 1271 the prior of the convent of Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, at Clerkenwell, purchased an old manor house here, as a summer residence, and it was afterwards rebuilt higher to the eastward, changing its name from Tolentone to Highbury In the reign of Richard II., when Wat Tyler and his bold Kentish men poured down on London, a detachment under Jack Straw, Wat's lieutenant, who had previously plundered and burnt the Clerkenwell convent, pulled down the house at Highbury. The ruins afterwards became known as "Jack Straw's Castle." It is thought by antiquaries that the prior's moated house had been the prætorium of the summer camp of the Roman garrison of London.
Many of the old conduit heads belonging to the City were at Highbury and its vicinity, one of these supplied the parish of St. Giles's, Cripplegate; and Mr. Lewis mentions another remaining in 1842, in a field opposite No. 14, Highbury Place. It might have been from Highbury that the hunt took place, noted by Strype as occurring in 1562, when the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and many worshipful persons rode to the Conduit Heads, then hunted and killed a hare, and, after dining at the Conduit Head, hunted a fox and killed it, at the end of St. Giles's, Cripplegate, with a great hallooing and blowing of horns at his death; and thence the Lord Mayor, with all his company, rode through London to his place in Lombard Street.
One of the former celebrities of Highbury Place was that well-known chief cashier of the Bank of England, honest old Abraham Newland. For twenty-five years this faithful servant had never slept out of the Bank of England, and his Highbury house was only a pleasant spot where he could rest for a few hours. He resigned his situation in 1807, on which occasion he declined an annuity offered by the Company, but accepted a service of plate, valued at a thousand guineas. He left £200,000, besides £1,000 a year, arising from estates. He made his money chiefly by shares of loans to Government, in which he could safely speculate. He was the son of a Southwark baker.
Another distinguished inhabitant of Highbury was John Nichols, for nearly half a century editor of the Gentleman's Magazine, and partner of William Bowyer, the celebrated printer. His "Anecdotes of Hogarth," and his "History of Leicestershire," were his chief works. He was a friend of Dr. Johnson, and seems to have been an amiable, industrious man, much beloved by his friends. He died suddenly, while going up-stairs to bed, in 1826.
Highbury Barn (built on the site of the barn of the prior's old mansion) was originally a small ale and cake house. It was the old rendezvous of the Highbury Society as far back as the year 1740. This society was established to commemorate the dropping of a Schism Act, cruelly severe on Protestant Dissenters, and which was to have received the Royal sanction the day Queen Anne died.
"The party," says a chronicler of the society, "who walked together from London had a rendezvous in Moorfields at one o'clock, and at Dettingen Bridge (where the house known by the name of the 'Shepherd and Shepherdess' now stands), they chalked the initials of their names on a post, for the information of such as might follow. They then proceeded to Highbury; and, to beguile their way, it was their custom in turn to bowl a ball of ivory at objects in their path. This ball has lately been presented to the society by Mr. William Field. After a slight refreshment, they proceeded to the field for exercise; but in those days of greater economy and simplicity, neither wine, punch, nor tea was introduced, and eightpence was generally the whole individual expense incurred. A particular game, denominated hop-ball, has from time immemorial formed the recreation of the members of this society at their meetings. On a board, which is dated 1734, which they use for the purpose of marking the game, the following motto is engraven:—'Play justly; play moderately; play cheerfully; so shall ye play to a rational purpose.' It is a game not in use elsewhere in the neighbourhood of London, but one something resembling it is practised in the West of England. The ball used in this game, consisting of a ball of worsted stitched over with silk or pack-thread, has from time immemorial been gratuitously furnished by one or another of the members of the society. The following toast has been always given at their annual dinner in August, viz.:— 'The glorious 1st of August, with the immortal memory of King William and his good Queen Mary, not forgetting Corporal John; and a fig for the Bishop of Cork, that bottle-stopper.' John, Duke of Marlborough, was probably intended as the person designated Corporal John." The Highbury Society, says an authority on such subjects, was dissolved about the year 1833.
At a little distance northward of Highbury Barn was another dairy-farm called Cream Hall, where Londoners came, hot and dusty, on shiny summer afternoons, to drink new milk and to eat custards, smoking sillabubs, or cakes dipped in frothing cream. Gradually Highbury farm grew into a tavern and tea-gardens, and the barn was added to the premises, and fitted up as the principal room of the tavern, and there the court baron for the manor was held. Mr. Willoughby, an enterprising proprietor who died in 1785, increased the business, and his successors added a bowlinggreen, a trap ball-ground, and more gardens. A hop-garden and a brewery were also started, and charity and club dinners became frequent here. The barn could accommodate nearly 2,000 persons at once, and 800 people have been seen dining together, with seventy geese roasting for them at one fire. In 1808, the Ancient Freemasons sat down, 500 in number, to dinner; and in 1841, 3,000 licensed victuallers. There is now a theatre and a dancing-room, and all the features of a modern Ranelagh. The Sluice House, Eel Pie House, and Hornsey-wood House were old haunts of anglers and holiday-makers in this neighbourhood.
Highbury Independent College was removed from Hoxton in 1826. The institution began in a house at Mile End, rented, in 1783, by Dr. Addington, for a few students to be trained for the ministry. The present site was purchased for £2,100, by the treasurer, Mr. Wilson, and given to the charity. The building cost upwards of £15,000. "The Congregationalist College at Highbury, an offshoot from the one at Homerton," says Mr. Howitt, "was built in 1825, and opened in September, 1826, under the superintendence of Drs. Harris, Burder, and Halley, for the education of ministers of that persuasion. Amongst the distinguished men whom this college produced are the popular minister of Rowland Hill's Chapel, Blackfriars Road, the Rev. Newman Hall, and Mr. George Macdonald, the distinguished poet, lecturer, and novelist. Mr. Macdonald, however, had previously graduated at the University of Aberdeen, and had there taken his degree of M.A. In 1850 the buildings and property of the College of Highbury were disposed of to the Metropolitan Church of England Training Institution, and the business of the college transferred to New College, St. John's Wood, into which the three Dissenting colleges of Homerton, Coward, and Highbury, were consolidated."
A well-known public-house the "Mother Redcap," at Upper Holloway, is celebrated by Drunken Barnaby in his noted doggerel. The "Half Moon," a house especially celebrated, was once famous for its cheesecakes, which were sold in London by a man on horseback, who shouted "Holloway cheesecakes!"
In an old comedy, called Jacke Drum's Entertainment(4to, 1601), on the introduction of a Whitsun morris-dance, the following song is given:—
"Skip it and trip it nimbly,
Tickle it, tickle it lustily,
Strike up the tabor for the wenches favour,
Tickle it, tickle it, lustily.
"Let us be seene on Hygate Greene
To dance for the honour of Holloway.
Since we are come hither, let's spare for no leather,
To dance for the honour of Holloway."
"Skip it and trip it nimbly,
Tickle it, tickle it lustily,
Strike up the tabor for the wenches favour,
Tickle it, tickle it, lustily.
"Let us be seene on Hygate Greene
To dance for the honour of Holloway.
Since we are come hither, let's spare for no leather,
To dance for the honour of Holloway."
Upper Holloway was the residence of the ancient and honourable Blount family, during a considerable part of the seventeenth century. Sir Henry Blount, who went to the Levant in 1634, wrote a curious book of travels, and helped to introduce coffee into England. He is said to have guarded the sons of Charles I. during the battle of Edgehill. His two sons both became authors. Thomas wrote "Remarks on Poetry," and Charles was a Deist, who defended Dryden, attacked every one else, and wrote the life of Apollonius Tyaneus. He shot himself in 1693, in despair at being refused ecclesiastical permission to marry the sister of his deceased wife. The old manor house of the Blounts was standing a few years ago.
Hornsey Road, which in Camden's time was a "sloughy lane" to Whetstone, by way of Crouch End, seventy years ago had only three houses, and no side paths, and was impassable for carriages. It was formerly called Devil's, or Du Val's, Lane, and further back still Tollington Lane. There formerly stood on the east side of this road, near the junction with the Seven Sisters' Road, an old wooden moated house, called "The Devil's House," but really the site of old Tollington House. Tradition fixed this lonely place as the retreat of Duval, the famous French highwayman in the reign of Charles II. After he was hung in 1669, he lay in state at a low tavern in St. Giles's, and was buried in the middle aisle of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, by torchlight. The tradition is evidently erroneous, as the Devil's House in Devil's Lane is mentioned in a survey of Highbury taken in 1611 (James I.) Duval may, however, have affected the neighbourhood, as near a great northern road. The moat used to be crossed by a bridge, and the house in 1767 was a public-house, where Londoners went to fish, and enjoy hot loaves, and milk fresh from the cow. In 1737, after Turpin had shot one of his pursuers near a cave which he haunted in Epping Forest, he seems to have taken to stopping coaches and chaises at Holloway, and in the back lanes round Islington. A gentleman telling him audaciously he had reigned long, Dick replied gaily, "'Tis, no matter for that, I'm not afraid of being taken by you; so don't stand hesitating, but stump up the cole." Nevertheless, the gallows came at last to Dick.
Stroud Green (formerly a common in Highbury Manor) boasts an old house which once belonged to the Stapleton family, with the date 1609. It was afterwards converted into a public-house, and a hundred and thirty years ago had in front the following inscription—
"Ye are welcome all
To Stapleton Hall.
"Ye are welcome all
To Stapleton Hall.
About a century ago a society from the "Queen's Arms" Tavern, Newgate Street, used to meet annually in the summer time at Stroud Green, to regale themselves in the open air. They styled themselves "The Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Corporation of Stroud Green," and the crowd that joined them made the place resemble a fair.
Copenhagen Fields were, it is said, the site of a public-house opened by a Dane, about the time when the King of Denmark paid his visit to his brother-in-law, James I. In Camden's map, 1695, it is called "Coopen Hagen," for the Danes who were then frequenting it had kept up the Danish pronunciation. Eventually, after the Restoration, it became a great tea-house, and a resort for players at skittles and Dutch pins.
The house was much frequented for its teagardens, its fine view of the Hampstead and Highgate heights, and the opportunities it afforded for recreation. Hone was told by a young woman who had been the landlady's assistant that in 1780 a body of the Lord George Gordon rioters passed Copenhagen House with blue banners flying, on their way to attack Caen Wood, the seat of Lord Mansfield, and that the proprietor was so alarmed at this, that at her request Justice Hyde sent a party of soldiers to protect the establishment. Soon after this a robbery at the house was so much talked of, that the visitors began to increase, and additional rooms had to be built. The place then became famous for fives-playing, and here Cavanagh, the famous Irish player, immortalised in a vigorous essay by Hazlitt, won his laurels. In 1819 Hazlitt, who was an enthusiast about this lively game, writes, "Cavanagh used frequently to play matches at Copenhagen House for wagers and dinners. The wall against which they play is the same that supports the kitchen chimney; and when the ball resounded louder than usual, the cooks exclaimed, 'Those are the Irishman's balls,' and the joints trembled on the spit." The next landlord encouraged dog-fighting and bull-baiting, especially on Sunday mornings, and his licence was in consequence refused in 1816.
In the early days of the French Revolution, when the Tories trembled with fear and rage, the fields near Copenhagen House were the scene of those meetings of the London Corresponding Society, which so alarmed the Government. The most threatening of these was held on October 26, 1795, when Thelwall, and other sympathisers with France and liberty, addressed 40,000, and threw out hints that the mob should surround Westminster on the 29th, when the king would go to the House. The hint was attended to, and on that day the king was shot at, but escaped unhurt. In 1794 many members of the Corresponding Society, including Hardy, Thelwall, Holcroft, and Horne Tooke, had been tried for treason in connection with the doings of the society, but were all acquitted.
After Horne Tooke's acquittal, he is reported to have remarked to a friend, that if a certain song, exhibited at the trial of Hardy, had been produced against him, he should have sung it to the jury; that, as there was no treason in the words, they might judge if there was any in the music.
COPENHAGEN HOUSE. (From a View taken about 1800.)
As he was returning from the Old Bailey to Newgate, one cold night, a lady placed a silk handkerchief round his neck, upon which he gaily said, "Take care, madam, what you are about, for I am rather ticklish in that place just now." During his trial for high treason, Tooke is said to have expressed a wish to speak in his own defence, and to have sent a message to Erskine to that effect, saying, "I'll be hanged if I don't!" to which Erskine wrote back, "You'll be hanged if you do."
In April, 1834, an immense number of persons of the trades' unions assembled in the Fields, to form part of a procession of 40,000 men to Whitehall, to present an address to his Majesty (which, however, Lord Melbourne rejected), signed by 260,000 unionists, on behalf of some of their colleagues who had been convicted at Dorchester for administering illegal oaths. Among the leaders appeared prominently Robert Owen, the socialist, and a Radical clergyman in full canonicals, black silk gown and crimson Oxford hood.
Maiden Lane (perhaps Midden or Dunghill Lane), an ancient way leading from Battle Bridge to Highgate, and avoiding the hill, was once the chief road for northern travellers. At present, bone-stores, chemical works, and potteries render it peculiarly unsavoury.
Battle Bridge is so called for two reasons. In the first place, there was formerly a small brick bridge over the Fleet at this spot; and, secondly, because, as London tradition has steadily affirmed, here was fought the great battle between Suetonius Paulinus, the Roman general, and Boadicea, the Queen of the Iceni. It is still doubtful whether the scene of the great battle was so near London, but there is still much to be said in its favour. The arguments pro and con are worth a brief discussion. Tacitus describes the spot, with his usual sharp, clear brevity. "Suetonius," he says, "chose a place with narrow jaws, backed by a forest." Now the valley of the Fleet, between Pentonville and Gray's Inn Lane, backed by the great northern forest of Middlesex, undoubtedly corresponds with this description, but then Tacitus, always clear and vivid, makes no mention of the river Fleet, which would have been most important as a defence for the front and flank of the Roman army, and this raises up serious doubts. The Roman summer camp near Barnsbury Park, opposite Minerva Terrace, in the Thornhill Road, we have already mentioned. There was a praetorium there, a raised breastwork, long visible from the Caledonian Road, a well, and a trench. In 1825 arrow-heads and red-tiled pavements were discovered in this spot.
KING'S CROSS. (From a View taken during its demolition in 1845.)
In 1680 John Conyers, an antiquarian apothecary of Fleet Street, discovered in a gravel-pit near the "Sir John Oldcastle," in Coldbath Fields, the skeleton of an elephant, and the shaft and flint head of a British spear. Now it is certain that the Romans in Britain employed elephants, as Polybius expressly tells us, when Julius Caesar forced the passage of the Thames, near Chertsey, an elephant, with archers in a houdah on its back, led the way, and drove the astonished Britons to flight. Another important proof also exists. In 1842 a fragment of a Roman monumental inscription was found built into a cottage on the east side of Maiden Lane. It was part of the tomb of an officer of the twentieth legion, which had been dug up in a field on the west side of the road leading to the Caledonian Asylum. This legion formed part of the army of Claudius which Paulinus led against Boadicea. Mr. Tomlins, however, is inclined to think that a fight took place at Battle Bridge during the early Danish invasions.
The great battle with the Romans, wherever it took place, was an eventful one, and was one of the last great efforts of the Britons. Suetonius, with nearly 10,000 soldiers, waited for the rush of the wild 200,000 half-savage men, who had already sacked and destroyed Colchester, St. Albans, and London. His two legions were in the centre, his light-armed troops at hand, while his cavalry formed his right and left wings. Boadicea and her two daughters, in a war-chariot, was haranguing her troops, while the wives of her soldiers were placed in wagons at the rear end of the army, to view the battle. The Britons rushed to the attack with savage shouts, and songs of victory; the Romans received their charge with showers of javelins, and then advanced in the form of a wedge, the Britons eagerly opening their ranks, to surround and devour them up. The British chariots, armed with scythes, made great havoc among the Romans, till Suetonius ordered his legionaries to aim only at the charioteers. The Britons, however, after a stubborn fight, gave way before the close ranks of disciplined warriors, leaving some 80,000 men upon the field, while the Romans, shoulder to shoulder, are reported to have lost only 400 men. The line of wagons with the women proved a fatal obstruction to the flight of the Britons. The last fact to be recorded about the Romans at Battle Bridge is the discovery, in 1845, under the foundation of a house in Maiden Lane, of an iron urn, full of gold and silver coins of the reign of Constantine.
Gossiping Aubrey mentions that in the spring after the Great Fire of London the ruins were all overgrown with the Neapolitan cress, "which plant," says he, "Thomas Willis (the famous physician) told me he knew before but in one place about town, and that was at Battle Bridge, by the 'Pinder of Wakefield,' and that in no great quantity." In the reign of Edward VI., says Stow, a miller of Battle Bridge was set in the pillory in Chepe, and had his ears cut off, for uttering seditious words against the Duke of Somerset. In 1731, John Everett, a highwayman, was hung at Tyburn, for stopping a coach and robbing some ladies at Battle Bridge. The man had served in Flanders as a sergeant, and had since kept an ale-house in the Old Bailey.
In 1830 Battle Bridge assumed the name of King's Cross, from a ridiculous octagonal structure crowned by an absurd statue of George IV., which was erected at the centre of six roads which there united. The building, ornamented by eight Doric columns, was sixty feet high, and was crowned by a statue of the king eleven feet high. Pugin, in that bantering book, "The Contrasts," ridiculed this effort of art, and contrasted it with the beautiful Gothic market cross at Chichester. The Gothic revival was only just then beginning, and the dark age was still dark enough. The basement was first a police-station, then a public-house with a camera-obscura in the upper storey. The hideous monstrosity was removed in 1845. Battle Bridge, which had been a haunt of thieves and murderers, was first built upon by Mr. Bray and others, on the accession of George IV., when sixty-three houses were erected in Liverpool Street, Derby Street, &c. The locality being notorious, it was proposed to call it St. George's Cross, or Boadicea's Cross, but Mr. Bray at last decreed that King's Cross was to be the name.
Early in the century the great dust-heaps of London (where now stand Argyle, Liverpool, and Manchester Streets) were some of the disgraces of London; and when the present Caledonian Road was fields, near Battle Bridge were heaped hillocks of horse-bones. The Battle Bridge dustmen and cinder-sifters were the pariahs of the metropolis. The mountains of cinders and filth were the débris of years, and were the haunts of innumerable pigs. The Russians, says the late Mr. Pinks, in his excellent "History of Clerkenwell," bought all these ash-heaps, to help to rebuild Moscow after the French invasion. The cinder-ground was eventually sold, in 1826, to the Pandemonium Company for £15,000, who walled in the whole and built the Royal Clarence Theatre at the corner of Liverpool Street. Somewhere near this Golgotha was a piece of waste ground, where half the brewers of the metropolis shot their grains and hop-husks. It became a great resort for young acrobats and clowns, (especially on Sunday mornings), who could here tumble and throw "flip-flaps" to their hearts' content, without fear of fracture or sprain.
In 1864 Mr. Grove, an advertising tailor of Battle Bridge, bought Garrick's villa, at Hampton, for £10,800. In 1826, opposite the great cinder-mountain of Battle Bridge, was St. Chad's Well, a chalybeate spring supposed to be useful in cases of liver attacks, dropsy, and scrofula. About the middle of the last century 800 or 900 persons a morning used to come and drink these waters, and the gardens were laid out for invalids to promenade.
The Great Northern Railway Terminus at King's Cross occupies more than forty-five acres of land. For the site of the passenger station, the Small-pox and Fever Hospital was cleared away. The front towards Pancras Road has two main arches, each 71 feet span, separated by a clock tower 120 feet high. The clock has dials 9 feet in diameter, and the principal bell weighs 29 cwt. Each shed is 800 feet long, 105 feet wide, and 71 feet high to the crown of the semicircular roof, without a tie. The roof is formed of laminated ribs 20 feet apart, and of inch-and-ahalf planks screwed to each other. The granary has six storeys, and will hold 60,000 sacks of corn. On the last storey are water-tanks, holding 150,000 gallons; and the grain is hoisted by hydraulic apparatus. The goods shed is 600 feet in length, and 80 feet wide; and the roof is glazed with cast glass in sheets, 8 feet by 2 feet 6 inches. Under the goods platform is stabling for 300 horses. The shed adjoins the Regent's Canal, which, from thence, enters the Thames at Limehouse. The coal stores will contain 15,200 tons. The buildings are by Lewis and Joseph Cubitt. The railway passes under the Regent's Canal and Maiden Lane, beneath Copenhagen Fields, over the Holloway Road, through tunnels at Hornsey and elsewhere, and over a viaduct at Welwyn, with forty-two arches, 30 feet wide, and 97 feet high (Timbs).
Page 38. Panel 2. The figure on the left, Norton, has a not-coincidental visual similarity to Iain Sinclair.
Adam Bezecny adds, “the picture of Norton on Page 38, Panel 1, is similar to a picture of Norton on page 91 of Slow Chocolate Autopsy, one of the parts more similar to a graphic novel. He is facing away from the reader in the same casual pose, surveying.”Colin McKeown writes, “Also worth noting that his dialogue is written in the Sinclair style. Sinclair's prose is noted for these clipped and pithy remarks.”
Stephen Lavington writes, “a lot of the cryptic references in Norton's speech spring directly from the cooption of Iain Sinclair's writing style as well as appearance. This would make sense, as Sinclair's non-fiction is a dense collage of passing references and wordplay which attempts to capture the tangential/subliminal links of his psychogeography. This is aptly fitted to the speaking-style of a man perpetually flitting through history. Sadly this does not explain the answers to the "crossword clues" dialogue.”
Paul Hostetler contributed this quote from Alan Moore about Norton:
Well, Norton was one of Iain’s alter egos. I think he has a limp that Iain had at the time when he was writing at the time, which he’s since got rid of and sorted out. Iain had, I consider, made himself fair game by making his semiautobiographical Norton character and making him this time-traveling prisoner of
The striking figure in the middle is Boudica (?-60/1 C.E.). Boudica was a Queen of the Iceni tribe of East Anglia , England
In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of divers colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch.
(Not that it should surprise anyone that Kevin O’Neill gets things like this right, of course)
Ian Gould adds, “Boudica’s revolt was provoked by the rape of her daughters – which ties into Jenna’s story.”
Panel 4. Joe Clark writes, “Could this be Robin Hood, with Little John, Maid
I think Ana Vidazinha has it right:
I believe the left figure is King Alfred.
BATTLE BRIDGE, St Pancras - is at the north end of Gray's inn lane nearly a mile from Holborn and west end of Pentonville nearly three quarters of a mile from the Angel Islington. It is now called King's Cross after a new edifice so called which is now erecting at the intersection of the roads. It is said to have received its former name as having been the site of a sanguinary battle between Alfred and the Danes. (in A topographical dictionary of London and its environs By James Elmes)
Here's a photo of a statue of King Alfred:
Page 39. Panel 1. Ian Gould (Peter Borowiec also caught this) adds, “the character on the far right is William Shakespeare. The corpulent chap with the pie might be Jack Horner. From the Wikipedia entry:
In the nineteenth century the story began to gain currency that the rhyme is actually about Thomas Horner, who steward to Richard Whiting, the last abbot of
A number of people pointed out that Horner has Billy Bunter’s pants and conjectured that Horner is Bunter’s ancestor. Blair Breeding writes, “The fat man holding the pie, is Georgie Porgie from the rhyme and the old lady appears to be Judy (from Punch and Judy),”
Lance French adds that this scene takes place at the Globe Theatre, hence the presence of Shakespeare.
Jeff Newberry writes, “The fellow on the right of the frame has got to be William Shakespeare. My feeling is that Shakespeare’s taking in this scene of slapstick and that it will find its way into one of his comedies, though I can’t reference the play to seal the deal.”
Greg Daly writes, “I had initially assumed Shakespeare himself, but I can't help but think of how we were told in Black Dossier that Greyfriars had been a nursery for spies since 1500 or so. Could it be Jack Wilton, the League's version of Sir Francis Walsingham?”
Denny Lien writes, “Presumably that's Shakespeare at the right, watching his fellow Londoners to get inspiration for plays (a fat thief and glutton = Falstaff, a cheerful gravedigger (?) =gravedigger in HAMLET ??)”
Blair Breeding writes, “Before Norton appears before Mina and Raffles we see him witnessing a Fat boy running with a pie and then in the next panel of Norton we see him in what looks like the aftermath of a great destruction. This could be a reference to the 'gluttony' which caused the great fire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Boy_of_Pye_Cornerand http://www.flickr.com/photos/ehowson/228447694/ ”
Panel 2. The “George M. Plummer” mentioned on the wanted poster is a reference to George Marsden Plummer, Scotland Yard inspector gone wrong and one of Sexton Blake’s arch-enemies.
John Andrews (Peter Dyde also caught this) says, “King's Cross was built on the site of a small pox and fever hospital, which may explain why the character in the middle is covering up his face.”
Tom Proudfoot disagrees: “The rosy glow makes me think this maybe after the Great Fire of
Panel 4. “...since Allan and I were in Arkham.”
This event was described in Black Dossier.
The “Great Nort–“ is a reference to the Great Northern Railway, a major British railway company whose London
Page 40. Panel 2. “Gaslight understudies.”
I confess to being a little mystified by this. I can see Raffles being described as an understudy to Arsene Lupin–Lupin was, after all, the better Gentleman Thief, as a character, as a thief, and in story terms. (Maurice Leblanc, Lupin’s creator, was a better writer than E.W. Hornung, Raffles’ creator). But who would Mina be an understudy to? Van Helsing? Or perhaps to late 20th century popculture characters like Buffy? Although on later reflection...perhaps 1910 Mina et al are understudies to the later version of the League, the Century: 2009 version, rather than understudies to the earlier Victorian version. Maybe Norton sees the 2009 version of the League as the ultimate one?
Ian Gould says, “’Gaslight understudies’ may mean that Carnacki et al are “understudies” to the better known and more flamboyant 1890’s LOEG with Hyde, Griffith and Nemo. Or it might in some way be a reference to the play and movie Gaslight (known as Angel Street in the US) which is set in London and involves a man attempting to drive his wife insane as part of a scheme to cover up a murder.”
Dave van Domelen says, “He may be comparing the 1910 iteration of the League unfavorably to the one seen in vol 1. Panel 3: He may be referring to the dead trail of the massacre later in this issue, which was not related to the Moonchild dreams.”Robert Dempsey says, “I read it as an implicit criticism of the relative inferiority of the 1910 League to the 1898 version. There is arguably less literary “firepower” present in this league, a trend which continues into the ‘50s, and which I guess could be read as a commentary as a decline in the power of the British Empire as embodied in the power of its literature.”
Josiah Shoup says,
Whereas I do like the idea of Alan Moore giving props to Arsene Lupin, I don't think that the High Priest of Glycon thinks as highly of the character as I do; I can't remember if it's in The Black Dossier or the Almanac in volume two, but at one point Moore refers to Fantomas as Lupin's "superior in crime," which is a comparison I disagree with; Fantomas's crimes are only "superior" to Lupin's if you give bonus points for a high body-count, and Lupin has crossed swords with Sherlock Holmes, which has to count for something!
And speaking of the Detective, I think that Norton is calling Raffles an understudy of Sherlock Holmes. The Raffles stories came out in the wake of Holmes's popularity, and they were written by Conan Doyle's brother-in-law. Also, E.W. Hornung makes use of a Watson-esque, first-person narrator. Hornung also uses the Conan Doyle trick of writing post-mortem stories about A.J. Raffles by setting them at a time before the character died, which is just like Doyle making The Hound of the Baskervilles a prequel to "The Final Problem."
I think it's more than fair to call Raffles an understudy of Holmes in light of all that.
As for Mina Murray, I think Norton meant that she was a "gaslight understudy" of Count Dracula. You could look at her time spent with the Count as an eduction of sorts, and she was brought into the League back in volume one primarily because M. was intrigued by her prior association with the Romanian monster. I think that the lady has proved herself quite a bit since then, but I still think it's fair to call her an understudy of the Count.
Stu Shiffman says,
I wonder if Moore was thinking of the Raffles pastiche series by Barry Perowne that appeared in the 1970s in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and were collected in several volumes, Raffles of the Albany (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1976) etc. I like them a lot! Perowne (real name Philip Atkey (1908-1985)) had previously revived the character in the 1930s pulps, updated to that period, but this later series was set in the Victorian/Edwardian period with the return of Raffles after the Boer War.
And then there was Farmer with his wonderful pastiche "The Problem of the Sore Bridge
Bill Thomson writes, “"Gaslight" is possibly a reference to the play of that name by Patrick Hamilton (an author much admired by Iain Sinclair).
Panel 3. “Coffins at Carfax.”
This is a reference to the events of Dracula.
Tom Wright adds, “In the non-fiction book London Orbital, Iain Sinclair repeatedly talks about both the coffins at Carfax and the Martian landing at “Blood for oil.”
“Blood for oil” was the charge leveled at the American government for its involvement in both wars with
Peter Borowiec (John Pickman also noticed this) has it, I think: “I assume that "blood for oil" refers to the war in Qumar that will appear in part three.”
Bill Thomson writes, “"Blood for Oil", a chapter on Sinclair's London Orbital is entitled “Blood & Oil” and elucidates futher the links between Dracula and
Tim Chapman takes it further: “'Blood for oil' is a reference to the relevant section of Sinclair's'
“Patrick Keiller mapping the Martians’ crater.”
Patrick Keiller is a British filmmaker and author best known for his film Robinson in Space (1997), in which the unseen Robinson tours
Tim Chapman writes, of Sinclair’s London Orbital: 'In his 1997 film, Robinson in Space, Patrick Keiller's narrator takes Robinson on an outing to inspect the Martian's crater, at Horsell Common, near
“Dead trails. Abandoned panics.”
I have no idea.
Brian Beriman writes, “This is the end of book one where they have reached a dead end and have given up on Carnacki's visions--they have abandoned their panic to find the truth.”
Panel 4. "Crowley Manque."
As Denny Lien, among others, points out, Crowley doesn't exist in the world of League, Haddo does. So this means that Sinclair exists in our world as well as the world of the League.
Panel 5. “July Seventh. Paradise backpackers. A constellation of cigarette burns on Archer’s back. The stars are right.”
“July Seventh” and “Paradise backpackers” are references to the Islamic suicide bombers who killed 52 people on July 7, 2005. Each of the three attacked trains had recently left King’s Cross St. Pancras railway station. I’m not sure what “a constellation of cigarette burns on Archer’s back” is a reference to–the constellation of Sagittarius is “the Archer,” and “the stars are right” might be a reference to Sagittarius’ alignment on 7/7/2005. Of course, “the stars are right” is a cliche in cosmic horror fiction.
Gary Wilkinson (also noted by Lee Horner) writes, “I though it might have referred to Jeffrey Archer - who was infamously photographed paying off a prostitute, Monica Coghlan. I had thought it was at Kings Cross but google tells me it was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Coghlan#Jeffrey_Archer and http://www.nypress.com/article-4027-monica-coghlan-the-tiny-hooker-with-the-big-trick.html
Joe McNally adds,
Many of Norton's gnomic utterances - Keiller, Litvinov, Archer, King's Cross - refer, however obliquely, to Iain Sinclair's own literary obsessions and his collection of non-fiction essays "Lights Out For The Territories" in particular. It may or may not be coincidence that Alan Moore's "From Hell" is quoted and discussed extensively throughout the collection.
The "constellation of cigarette burns on Archer's back" is probably to do with disgraced British peer and popular novelist Jeffrey Archer; Kings Cross has historically been a centre of prostitution, and Archer's reputation finally fell following the revelation that he had lied under oath about having visited prostitutes during the course of a libel prosecution against a British newspaper. Part of the evidence at that original trial dealt with a supposed pattern of 'marks' on Archer's back; he was invited to remove his shirt in court, but demurred. Sinclair tried - and failed - to meet with Archer during the writing of "Lights Out..."
Bill Thomson adds, “"the constellation of cigarette burns on Archer's back" undoubtedly refers to the British politician Jeffrey Archer who in the late 1980s sued for libel a newspaper which had alleged he had availed himself of the services of a prostitute named Monica Coughlin. During her evidence on behalf of the paper, Coughlin mentioned the existence of distinctive markings on Archer's back. Thanks to an infamously partial summing up by the trial judge, the case was settled in favour of Archer. Some years later, Archer was convicted of perjury and jailed. Monica Coughlin was killed in a hit and run "accident". Read into this what you will....”
Darren Maughan adds a clue: “The stars - could be a reference to the newspaper The Daily Star which alleged (later proved correct when Archer was convicted of perjury) of sleeping with a prostitute. Archer sued the Star and won a record libel award.”
Tim Chapman adds that “Sinclair describes his meeting with him at Archer's penthouse flat (which was previously owned by John Barry and features in the classic Vincent Price film 'Theatre of Blood') in Lights out.”
Panel 6. “Misplaced memorials.”
I trust one of my British readers can fill me in on what Moore
Greg Daly writes, “I can think of at least one misplaced memorial at King's Cross, which is the sign for Harry Potter's platform 9 and three quarters. Obviously, this should be between platforms nine and ten, but in the station it's between platform eight and nine. This is because JK Rowling was clearly unfamiliar with King's X when she wrote the books, as 9, 10, and 11 are a separate section from the rest of the station. The 9 and three quarters sign is up on a wall. There's a useful explanation and picture at the Wikipedia entry.”
Gary Wilkinson writes, “There's a memorial to those who died in the fire. It was moved during the recent redevelopement of the station.” Joe McNally adds,
Another chapter in Lights Out deals with Kings Cross. The"misplaced memorials" reference might be connected to the long-gone monument which gave the area its name - from the Wikipedia entry on Kings Cross:
In 1830 a monument to King George IV was built at the junction of Gray's
James Burt writes, “In the Iain Sinclair edited collection City of
Robin Layfield contributes the exact quote, from page 578:
The man explains: the memorial to the King's Cross disaster has been removed, put into store. Refurbishment. If we search hard enough we'll find an information poster: a memorial to the memorial. The fire, beneath the Piccadilly Line, on 18 November 1987, killed thirty-one people. The plaque has been taken to
Peter Slack writes, “It certainly describes the themes of much of Sinclair’s writing (and that of AM in Voice of the Fire and
“Forgotten fires.”
I’m assuming this is a reference to the King’s Cross fire on 18 November 1987, which killed 31 people in the King’s Cross St. Pancras station. I’m not particularly sure why this counts as “forgotten”–even I, American that I am, knew about it. (Is the King’s Cross fire memorial plaque in the station misplaced somehow?)
Richard East writes, “I think one forgotten fire may be the one Boudica caused during her sacking of Andrew Brown writes, “You're right: the memorial to the victims of the Kings Cross fire was removed from the station to the
“Rimbaud, Verlaine, lyric grease.”
Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) and Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) were two of the major French poets of the fin de siècle. Rimbaud & Verlaine lived for several months in 1872 and 1873 at 8 Royal College Street
Of “lyric grease,” which I admit to having failed to puzzle out, Blair Breeding suggests “Also 'LYRIC GREASE' may refer to the Lyric Theatre and grease paint worn by the actors.”
“Boadicea’s urban legend under platform ten.”
Boadicea (a.k.a. Boudica) is, according to urban legend, buried under platform ten of King’s Cross railway station. It was formerly believed that Boudica’s final battle was fought at the village of Battle
“A quarter platform over, the franchise express, gathering steam.”
In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, the students embark for Hogwarts School of Wizardry at Platform 9 3/4 in King’s Cross.
Rev. Terry Fleming writes that “I believe the reason JK Rowling put Harry Potter's mystical portal at platform 9 and 3/4 was because of the legend that Boadecia was buried there.”