Charles James Perry

Poetic Reflections On Viewing Blood Hill

From The House of Mornington, a Pastoral Drama; with miscellaneous poems. W. Watson, 1826.

Blood Hill was 'so designated, from the Circumstance of two Brothers having fought thereon, one of whom, was killed by the hand of the other: Primrose Hill adjoins it, and has afforded the Author an agreeable opportunity for Digression'.

Direct my mind from ground of fated ill,
To yonder beacon! - music-titled hill;
The modest primrose decks its sloping side,
As tho' it with its native verdure vied;
With chaste desire, reveals its sov'reign will,
And stands confest - the Queen of Primrose Hill...
Its lofty point, above the Temple's fane!
The City's crowd, aspirant seek to gain;
Leaving awhile the hum of busy care,
To cull the flow'ret, and inhale the air...

After a brief account of the awful deed the author beseeches his muse to turn from Blood Hill to Primrose Hill. The canal too gets an approving nod, and winds its way to a patriotic finale:

Beneath its slope, in silent wendings glide,
The narrow stream, on which the vessel rides;
Bearing our inland commerce to that strand,
Where kings, and palaces securely stand;
Protected by a valiant people's pow'r...

Duels were a frequent occurrence on Primrose Hill and the legend is recounted by other writers, but I haven't found any other mention of a Blood Hill. Where exactly was it? A.M Eyre, in Saint John's Wood: Its History, Its Houses, Its Haunts and Its Celebrities (Chapman & Hall, 1913), says, 'The summit, Barrow Hill, on the western side of Primrose Hill, has been beyond the memory of man bare of all vegetable substance. The popular tradition was, that there were two brothers, enamoured of the same lady, who met to decide by arms to whom she should belong. Both died at the same time, each by the weapon of his adversary!'