Field of the Forty Footsteps
Encyclopedia
The Field of the Forty Footsteps was part of meadow lands at the back of the British Museum, once known as the Long Fields, then Southampton Fields. As the land lay behind Montague House
, the town house of Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
, completed in 1679, it became known as Montague Fields, which contained the Field of the Forty Footsteps.
. An area bore the print of forty irregular footsteps, which gave it its name. The traditional story was that two brothers, in the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion
, took different sides and engaged each other in fight. Both were killed, and forty impressions of their feet remained on the field for many years, where no grass would grow. The encounter took place at the extreme north-east of Upper Montague Street. Another version of this story is that the two brothers were fighting for the hand of a lady, who sat on a bank and watched them as they duelled to the death. During the 18th century the site became an attraction for visitors.
In the late 18th century the poet Southey
went in search of the "Brothers' Steps" and found them about five hundred yards east of Tottenham Court Road. But by this time the forty had become seventy-six, according to his count, which he attributed to God's displeasure at the "horrid sin of duelling".
The final written account of the steps was given by the writer Joseph Moser
:
"June 16. 1800.--Went into the fields at the back of Montague
House, and there saw, for the last time, the forty footsteps;
the building materials are there ready to cover them from the
sight of man. I counted more than forty, but they might be the
foot-prints of the workmen."
Montagu House, Bloomsbury
Montagu House was a late 17th-century mansion in Great Russell Street in the Bloomsbury district of London, which became the first home of the British Museum....
, the town house of Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu was an English courtier and diplomat.-Life:He was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton and Anne Winwood, daughter of the Secretary of State Ralph Winwood...
, completed in 1679, it became known as Montague Fields, which contained the Field of the Forty Footsteps.
History
In the last quarter of the 17th century and first half of the 18th century, Montague Fields were frequented by duellistsDuel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
. An area bore the print of forty irregular footsteps, which gave it its name. The traditional story was that two brothers, in the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
, took different sides and engaged each other in fight. Both were killed, and forty impressions of their feet remained on the field for many years, where no grass would grow. The encounter took place at the extreme north-east of Upper Montague Street. Another version of this story is that the two brothers were fighting for the hand of a lady, who sat on a bank and watched them as they duelled to the death. During the 18th century the site became an attraction for visitors.
In the late 18th century the poet Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
went in search of the "Brothers' Steps" and found them about five hundred yards east of Tottenham Court Road. But by this time the forty had become seventy-six, according to his count, which he attributed to God's displeasure at the "horrid sin of duelling".
The final written account of the steps was given by the writer Joseph Moser
Joseph Moser
Joseph Moser was an English artist, author, and magistrate. He was a nephew of George Michael Moser, enamel painter and drawing-master to George III. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1774 to 1782...
:
"June 16. 1800.--Went into the fields at the back of Montague
House, and there saw, for the last time, the forty footsteps;
the building materials are there ready to cover them from the
sight of man. I counted more than forty, but they might be the
foot-prints of the workmen."
Literature
Several novels and plays based on the story surrounding the forty footsteps in question have been written, among them the following:- Jane PorterJane PorterJane Porter was a Scottish historical novelist and dramatist.-Life and work:Jane Porter was an avid reader. Said to rise at four in the morning in order to read and write, she read the whole of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene while still a child...
and Anna Maria PorterAnna Maria PorterAnna Maria Porter , poet, novelist and sister of Jane Porter, was born in the Bailey in Durham, the posthumous child of William Porter , who had served as an army surgeon for 23 years. He is buried in St Oswald's church, Durham....
, The Field of Forty Footsteps (1828), a romance in 3 volumes
- Messrs. Mayhew, The Field of the Forty Footsteps, a melodrama (1830)
- Percy Farren, The Field of the Forty Footsteps, a melodrama (1850)
- Geoffrey TreaseGeoffrey TreaseGeoffrey Trease was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 and 1997 . His work has been translated into 20 languages...
, The Field of the Forty Footsteps (MacmillanMacmillan PublishersMacmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
) (1977), children's historical novel
- Phyllis Hastings, Field of the Forty Footsteps, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1979