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Lady Meux: read all about her
Many thanks to Axis , the monthly magazine for eastern Hertfordshire and its borders, for the coverage of Spice of the Devil: The...
Paul Boughton
May 61 min read
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Gone but not forgotten
This is the plaque that marks the site of Temple Bar when it was the gateway to Theobald's Park, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. It can be...
Paul Boughton
Apr 222 min read
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Felling of ancient oak and a distant echo
Whitewebbs House, now a Toby Carvery The felling of an ancient oak tree has catapulted Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, North London, once owned...
Paul Boughton
Apr 162 min read
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Home, James, And don't spare the hybrids
One of Lady Meux's hybrid zebras bred at Theobalds Park. Photograph: The Pennycuik Experiments by James Cossat Ewart The internet is...
Paul Boughton
Apr 123 min read
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Who was the mysterious Marquise?
Newspaper columnist Frederick Cunliffe-Owen La Marquise de Fontenoy figures frequently throughout Spice of the Devil: The Outrageous...
Paul Boughton
Apr 82 min read
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Lady Meux's Club
This is the Imperial Union Club, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, a gift to the working men of the town and neighbouring Enfield from Lady...
Paul Boughton
Apr 32 min read
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Discussing Spice of the Devil
If you have a few minutes to spare - 18 minutes 45 seconds to be precise - you may find this interesting. Click HERE . Spice of the...
Paul Boughton
Mar 281 min read
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Lady Valerie Meux and the Papal Medal
Lady Valerie Meux , of Theobald’s Park, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, the banjo-playing barmaid, the showgirl with a dubious reputation...
Paul Boughton
Mar 253 min read
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The mysterious journey of Lady Valerie Meux's Egyptian-style letterbox
Now this is a real treasure, an Egyptian-style letterbox that once belonged to Lady Valerie Meux and was kept in her museum at...
Paul Boughton
Mar 212 min read
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The Temple Bar-Maid's Time Capsule
Temple Bar in 1895. Image: The Guildhall Library (Corporation of London) In 2004, Temple Bar – the ancient western gateway to the City of...
Paul Boughton
Mar 203 min read
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Collector shells out £15,000 for Lady Meux's shotgun
December 2020. We are in the dark days of Covid and Lady Valerie Meux leaps back into the limelight when a shotgun which once belonged...
Paul Boughton
Mar 182 min read
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Lady Valerie Meux and the strange magic of artificial intelligence
Well, this is slightly surreal. American artist James McNeill Whistler's 1881 portrait of Lady Valerie Meux is brought to 'life' thanks...
Paul Boughton
Mar 171 min read
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How times have changed
Cedar's Park and Theobald's Park were once one and the same. Take this fascinating drone flight and see how time has changed the...
Paul Boughton
Mar 171 min read
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Meux and Mercury
The Hertfordshire Mercury, Thursday, 6th March 2025
Paul Boughton
Mar 71 min read
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Step this way ...
This is the spectacular carved oak Elizabethan staircase once graced the old Theobald's Palace in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, the...
Paul Boughton
Mar 61 min read
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What's next for Lady Valerie Meux's former home?
Theobalds Park Lady Valerie Meux’s home, The Theobalds Park, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, has been bought by Surya Hotels for £12.5...
Paul Boughton
Mar 51 min read
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What a lark! Ellen hits the high notes
Ellen Beach Yaw (1869 –1947) was an American coloratura soprano. Known as ‘Lark Ellen’ and ‘The Californian Nightingale’, her vocal range...
Paul Boughton
Feb 272 min read
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A Meux masterpiece and a mummy cocktail
American artist James McNeill Whistler's magnificent portrait of Lady Valerie Meux is now in The Frick Collection in New York. Full...
Paul Boughton
Feb 251 min read
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Fistiana
“When the boy's blood began to flow, she (Lady Meux) was delighted, and considered the ordeal was making a man of him.” – Sir Leslie...
Paul Boughton
Feb 177 min read
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“Throw me into a trance!”
A kaleidoscope of visitors once passed through the doors of Theobald’s Park, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, the home of Lady Valerie Meux...
Paul Boughton
Feb 172 min read
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