Georgian Houses, Pond Square, Highgate Village

Image: © Richard Votta Taken: 8 Sep 2008

On a bitterly cold day in 1626, Sir Francis Bacon was driving near what is now Pond Square when it occurred to him that the human body might be preserved with snow. Eager to test his theory, he bought a hen from an old woman, had it killed and drawn, and then filled it with snow. Ironically, Sir Francis Bacon caught a severe chill as a result of his experiment and was taken to nearby Arundel House where he was placed in a damp bed and died a short time afterwards. Legend has it that the hen has haunted Pond Square ever since in protest of having been killed for use in an early experiment in refrigeration. In 1943, one Terence Long was crossing Pond Square late at night when he heard the sound of horses hooves accompanied by the low rumble of carriage wheels. Suddenly, a loud raucous shriek split the silence and the ghostly chicken appeared before him and proceeded to race frantically around before vanishing into thin air. In the 1960’s a motorist whose car had broken down encountered the same apparition, as did a courting couple in the 1970’s, when it interrupted their passion by dropping suddenly from above and landing next to them!

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