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.
The dog was always nervous at this point in the walk. The estate perimeter was boarded up. There was nothing to see, and it had long been abandoned to the encroaching wild grasses and ivy. Even so, Flussy alwas made sure to hurry past the gates on the opposite side of the track, not even
Amanda Cadabra and The Twilight Toxin
Chapter 01
ItThThe dog was always nervous at this point in the walk. The estate perimeter was boarded up. There was nothing to see, and it had long been abandoned to the encroaching wild grasses and ivy. Even so, Flussy always made sure to hurry past the gates on
Latest Sequel
Available on Kindle. Buy Your Copy Today!
A body in the last place Amanda would want to find it. An unknown weapon, and the killer close by. Two hours for Amanda, her grumpy feline familiar, and Detective Trelawneyto infiltrate a dangerous gathering, and gather the one clue that could lead them forward on the perilous path to the killer. Dare they take it?
