The Town: Its Memorable Characters and EventsHunt, Leigh
History
The Town: Its Memorable Characters and Events
Hunt, Leigh
London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- History
Upon Paul's Wharf Hill, to the north-east of Baynard's Castle, were a
number of houses within a great gate, which are said by Maitland to
have been designated, in the leases granted by the dean and chapter,
as the _Camera Dianæ_, or Diana's Chamber, and to have been so
denominated from a spacious building in the form of a labyrinth,
constructed here by Henry II. for the concealment of the fair Rosamond
Clifford. We need scarcely say that this tradition has all the air of
a fable. The author we have just named, however, assures us that "for
a long time there remained some evident testifications of tedious
turnings and windings, as also of a passage under ground from his
house to Castle Baynard; which was no doubt the King's way from thence
to the _Camera Dianæ_,"[72] or the chamber of his "brightest Diana."
What the testifications may in question really have amounted to, we
cannot pretend to say; but Diana, not being a family name, as in the
case of another royal favourite, Diana of Poitiers, seems a strange
one to have been given to the lady already christened by so poetical
an appellation as Rosamond, and so different in her reputation from
the chaste goddess. We should, for our parts, rather suppose that the
dean and chapter had been moved to call the place Diana's chamber by
some tradition, or a conceit of their own, connecting it with the
temple of that goddess, said to have formerly stood on the site of the
neighbouring cathedral; or if the name was really a very ancient one,
and in popular use, it may perhaps be taken as lending some slight
confirmation to the notion of the actual existence of that heathen
edifice, and may "help," as Iago phrases it, "to thicken other proofs
that also demonstrate thinly." Diana's Chamber, however, may have been
so called from its being hung with painted tapestry, representing some
story of the goddess. Inigo Jones, by the way, is said by Lord Orford
to be buried in the church of St. Bennet, Paul's Wharf, which stands
immediately to the south of the spot where we now are, at the corner
formed by the meeting of Thames Street and St. Bennet's Hill.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account