Image courtesy of Wikipedia. Source: Walter Thornbury and Edward Walford Old and New London. Cassell, Peter & Gaplin, 1873-8, 2.541. This copy taken from Tufts University Archives. [1]
Evocative street names abound in London but one that definitely hints at a troubled past is Bleeding Heart Yard just off Hatton Gardens.
Ready for a good yarn? The story goes that the 17th century society beauty Elizabeth Hatton in 1626, jilted the Spanish ambassador here with terrible consequences. The couple were seen at a society ball nearby but at dawn she was found dead in the courtyard, torn limb from limb with her heart still pumping blood onto the cobble stones. Of course the ghost of the murdered lady still haunts the courtyard. Goes without saying.
Charles Dickens was so taken with the yard (understandably), he based some of his characters here in his book Little Dorrit.
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A photograph of Bleeding Heart Yard, London, taken January 16th 2010.