The Peachey tomb in St Mary's Churchyard, Harrow on the Hill

Image: © Marathon Taken: 4 Nov 2015

The Parish Church of St Mary's was originally consecrated in 1094 but only the lower stages of the tower remain from then. The lancet windows date from the 12th century and the roof with carvings of angels and musicians is 15th century. The church was drastically restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1846. The view from the tower was said to take in 13 counties. Lord Byron's daughter Allegra was buried beneath the church porch in 1822 after she died in Italy. This is the Peachey tomb which was Lord Byron's favourite spot where he sat for hours when he was a boy. Beneath the tomb (which was restored by his publisher John Murray) is a marble tablet and engraved on it are four lines of the poem 'Written beneath an elm in Harrow Churchyard' which was written soon after Byron left Harrow. Byron was at Harrow School from 1801, where he remained until July 1805. From Peachey's tomb he could admire the extensive view of the Middlesex countryside. For Byron life at Harrow was very pleasant; he often wrote of it with nostalgia, although he was an undistinguished student and an unskilled cricketer. Although Byron's daughter Allegra is buried here, Lord Byron himself is buried at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. For more about Byron see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron

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