Havering-atte-Bower — the nightingales that were cursed away

London · United Kingdom · Haunted site

Edward the Confessor asked God to silence the nightingales disturbing his prayers. They have not sung inside the park bounds since.

On the hill at London's north-eastern edge stood Havering Palace, a royal residence reaching back to Edward the Confessor in the eleventh century. According to a legend first written down by William Camden in the seventeenth century, the king was disturbed at his devotions by nightingales singing in the surrounding woods. He humbly begged God to be delivered from the sound, and the prayer was answered: no nightingale was ever heard again within the bounds of the park, only beyond the pales. Villagers have insisted for centuries that it holds true, and the parish name — Havering-atte-Bower, 'at the king's chamber' — keeps the memory alive. The palace is long gone; what remains is the village green, the old stocks and whipping post by the roadside, and a silence at the wood's edge that is hard to explain away.

FAQ

Where is Havering-atte-Bower — the nightingales that were cursed away located?

Havering-atte-Bower — the nightingales that were cursed away is in London, United Kingdom.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.