Snickets, Ginnells (with either hard or soft G), passages, entries, bóithrín, ,are always exciting elements in a landscape - allowing you to squeeze between proscribed places and go from one zone to another . They allow for a dramatic sense of arrival...
Wapping Old Stairs are one such - allowing passageway between realms.
 |
| http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4945302 |
 |
| http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidsankey/8890716873/ |
View Larger Map
The Hanging Judge - Baron Jeffreys of Wem - notorious for cruel punishments under James II, fell from power during the Glorious Revolution, when James II fled the country, Jeffreys stayed in London until the last moment, being the only high legal authority in James's abandoned kingdom to perform political duties. When William III's troops approached London, Jeffreys tried to flee and follow the King abroad. He was captured in a public house in Wapping, now named The Town of Ramsgate. he was trying to get a boat to take him to a ship from Wapping Old Stairs. This narrow passage still leads to the stairs. Reputedly he was disguised as a sailor, and was recognized by a surviving judicial victim. Jeffreys was in terror of the public when dragged to the Lord Mayor and then to prison "for his own safety". He begged his captors for protection from the mob.
No comments:
Post a Comment