Andrew Marvell

Andrew Marvell, the seventeenth-century poet, satirist, wit and Member of Parliament, spent most of his adult life in Highgate.  His cottage, which was one of the buildings demolished to make Waterlow Park, was on Highgate Hill, just up from the entrance to Lauderdale House.  After the cottage was demolished the London County Council put up a plaque on the wall of the Park commemorating Andrew Marvell and his cottage, which is still there.  This photo is of that plaque when it was in a better state than it is now.  Most people walk past the plaque without noticing it.  Just a little late for his 400th birthday five years ago, on 8 October a new more colourful plaque will be put up beside the old one, commemorating a significant character in the history of Highgate.  The new plaque will include extracts from his poetry and will be unveiled by the Mayor of Camden.  Andrew Marvell tutored Oliver Cromwell’s godson during the Protectorate, and was a friend of General Henry Ireton, Cromwell’s right-hand man.  Opposite the plaque are Cromwell House (now the Ghanaian High Commission) and Ireton House commemorating their connection with Highgate.

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