pepperf
Hey, parts of North London I know well! So the places they visited in today’s Dracula Daily entry are all still there, and relatively unchanged since Victorian times I think, aside from the first:
Jack Straw’s Castle:
This is a massive white-painted pub at the top of Hampstead hill, now closed. In Stoker’s time, the building looked like this:
It was badly damaged during the Blitz, and rebuilt in the 60s. The current building looks like this:
Sadly, the pub closed in 2002 and was converted to apartments, but now stands empty.
“The site is named after the rebel leader Jack Straw, who led the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381 and who is said to have taken refuge on the site until he was caught and executed.” (Wikipedia.)
From there, they walked a couple of miles across the beautiful Hampstead Heath:
And climbed into Highgate Cemetery over the back wall.
The Westenra tomb was based on this particularly gorgeous example of Victorian cemetery design:
These tombs run in a circle around a central plinth. When I visited, the guide described the tree in the middle as “the world’s biggest bonsai”, because it’s effectively in a giant pot. XD
After they leave the cemetery, they head to the Spaniard’s Inn, where they catch a cab on the road outside:
The Spaniard‘s Inn is a gorgeous old pub dating back to the 16th century. It was allegedy a regular haunt of 18th century highwayman Dick Turpin - although quite frankly every old pub in the area also makes a similar claim.
So, there you have it. It’s a beautiful, creepy, atmospheric area of London, particularly at this time of year.
