A massive thank you to Oxford Universities Bodleian Library, for helping to locate a fascinating article from 'The Gentleman's' magazine, by Arthur Henry Bullen, entitled 'Muswell' which has given me new and wonderfull details about the ancient Benedictine Holy Well and Shrine of Our Lady of Muswell!
In the article there are three main points, that really blew me away.
The first was confirmation that the image of Our Lady of Muswell, presumably the statue, was indeed venerated outside of London - in many different parts of the UK infact and even on the Continent!
So how did that come about?
Well, we know that Scots King Malcolm IV was the first person to receive a miraculous cure from the outer London Benedictine Nuns Priory Well, which led to the site becoming a Catholic Pilgrim Shrine and Holy Well from the 12th C ...
Well, from my initial research, it appears that it may have been King Malcolm IV himself who was responsible for spreading this devotion.
Please see web link for an incredible document that I found on the 'People of Medieval Scotland' web site: https://www.poms.ac.uk/record/factoid/2278/
It shows that King Malcolm the IV acted as Grantor for a Hermitage, named 'Muswell', based in Buckinghamshire, which was to be attached to a nearby Augustinian monastery called Missenden.
And in this next incredible document, I found evidence which shows that this Hermitage actually belonged to a Hermit called Ralph and was specifically based in Brill, Ayelsbury, Buckinghamshire: https://heritageportal.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/Monument/MBC6478
So where else did King Malcolm IV spread devotion to Our Lady of Muswell in the UK and abroad? How exciting! I plan to find out!
The second point from the Bodleian article, that jumped out to me was that, Our Lady of Muswell Holy Well and Shrine, was also an important part of a larger Medieval pilgrimage from London to St Alban's Cathedral in Hertfordshire - the site where Britain's first Saint Alban was also martyred, in defence of the Catholic Faith.
I really enjoyed reading specific details about the Pilgrim route. Amusingly, pilgrims preferred to avoid the super steep hill up through Highgate and accessed Muswell Hill via the gentler Crouch End route instead. What sensible pilgrims! As I lived in the area for many years, I could picture these hordes of Catholic pilgrims walking along roads that I knew well. Can't wait to follow their foot steps when I return to London after completing my final year of formation up here in Largs.
And so, to the final interesting point from the Bodleain article by AH Bullen. I already knew that St Thomas Moore was a paid Steward of the Muswell Hill Benedictine Nuns Motherhouse, in Clerkenwell, ( see top of the 11th paragraph below)
... but what I never knew was that St Thomas Moore actually once lived in Muswell Hill!
I love St Thomas Moore for so many reasons, his courage and martyrdom of course but also because of one of his most famous prayers which he wrote, a prayer which dear Holy Father, Pope Francis prays everyday:
It is the Prayer for Good Humour. A prayer which acts as the perfect antidote to all and any forms of extremism in the Church and in the world, a prayer to keep us all down to earth, humble and normal.
How lovely to have St Thomas Moore as a spiritual neighbour, when I am back in Muswell Hill... Our Lady of Muswell, thank you!
Prayer for Good Humor by St. Thomas More
Grant me, O Lord, good digestion, and also something to digest. Grant me a healthy body, and the necessary good humor to maintain it. Grant me a simple soul that knows to treasure all that is good and that doesn’t frighten easily at the sight of evil, but rather finds the means to put things back in their place. Give me a soul that knows not boredom, grumblings, sighs and laments, nor excess of stress, because of that obstructing thing called “I.” Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humor. Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke to discover in life a bit of joy, and to be able to share it with others.
The King Malcolm the IV document you referenced won't display on my smartphone. Pax!