The Real Sunken Madley

The location of Amanda Cadabra was inspired by the picturesque village of Monken Hadley. It is, indeed some '13 miles north of the Houses of Parliament and 3 miles south of the Hertfordshire border'.

The oldest existing recording of the name dates from 1136 and it was sometimes called Monkenchurch. Cottages and a Manor House were later built and until about 30 years ago the villages had a pub, a teashop and a post office. There really was Battle of Barnet fought there in 1471, and the medieval church was rebuilt afterwards.

I hope you enjoy the photographs below. I'll be writing more about the real Sunken Madley. Would you like me to let you know when it's ready for you to read?

You can ask me to delete your email address at any time. Until then, I promise to keep it safe and not share it with anyone else.

Winding road through the village

Gates of one of the large houses

A turret overlooking the village

Cottages just outside the gates

Resident feeding geese

Cottages

A London bus going through the village

Through the gate

View of the village through the church arch

The cottages next to the church

Like the Cadabra’s church, St Ursula-without-Barnet, in Sunken Madely, Monken Hadley’s St Mary is adorned with beautiful stained-glass windows. The couple in the monument could have modelled for Lord and Lady Dunkley of Sunken Madley Manor.





Floor tiles

Picturesque cottages yards from Monken Hadley Common’s western gate.





The Sinner’s Rue, Sunken Madley renowned pub, has local parallels in The Olde Mitre Inn and The Monken Holt, yards from Monken Hadley. The Waggon and Horses with it’s roaring fire (and legally fuelled, unlike The Sinner’s Rue!)  is further afield in Borehamwood, to the north of Monken Hadley. It is situation on the famous Roman road of Watling Street, which was originally a trackway used by the Britons over a thousand years ago. It would have been in existence at the time that Sunken Madley and the magical language of Wicc’yeth were forming.






Aldenham and nearby villages in Hertfordshire
Aldenham church
The Three Compasses Pub
Aldenham churchyard with red tulips along the path
Hertfordshire village pub
Letchmore Heath cottages
Patchetts Green Pub interior
Lych gate Aldenham church
Aldenham Memorial Hall
Old Pub interior Patchetts Green
Old house near Aldenham
The Hertfordshire Village of Hertingfordbury
Lunch at the White Horse. Prawn cocktail served in a glass on a tablein the sunshine in front of the 16th century pub
Inside The White Horse, Hertingfordbury
Cottages dating from 17 century
The Hertfordshire Village of Hoddesdon
Pinner in Middlesex - 'The Lost Kingdom'
Share0
Tweet0
Pin0
Insert Image

Chapter 01

It was a blissfully sunny August Sunday, and, as the villagers expected, Amanda Cadabra and her irascible feline companion were making their way towards their favourite picnic spot. Jonathan, the dazzlingly handsome but incurably shy assistant librarian, had raised a hand in greeting as they’d passed.

Amanda Cadabra and The Nightstairs

Chapter 01

It was a blissfully sunny August Sunday, and, as the villagers expected, Amanda Cadabra and her irascible feline companion were making their way towards their favourite picnic spot. Jonathan, the dazzlingly handsome but incurably shy assistant librarian, had raised a hand in greeting as they’d passed.

Latest Sequel

Available on Kindle. Buy Your Copy Today!

Four strangers, one missing dog and a body. But Sunken Madley is just a quaint, peaceful English village. What does the 1000-year-old ruined priory have to do with it? The answer, as it so often does, lies in the past.

 Buy on Amazon
>
Verified by MonsterInsights