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Finsbury Field is located in northen London outside the London Wall. Note that MoEML correctly locates Finsbury Field, which the label on the Agas map confuses with Mallow Field (Prockter 40). Located nearby is Finsbury Court. Finsbury Field is outside of the city wards within the borough of Islington (Mills 81).
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Finsbury Field is located in northen London outside the London Wall. Note that MoEML correctly locates Finsbury Field, which the label on the Agas map confuses with Mallow Field (Prockter 40). Located nearby is Finsbury Court. Finsbury Field is outside of the city wards within the borough of Islington (Mills 81).
Finsbury Field was most easily recognized on maps by its windmills. Three windmills are depicted on the Agas map and are mentioned in the We can see the ladder providing
access and the long tail pole used to turn the mill into the wind. The
presence of a hooded sack-hoist indicates that the mill was used for
grinding corn and not for draining the surrounding marsh. These windmills
were situated on bone heaps
(Fisher 58).
Previous spellings for Finsbury are given as Vinisbir (
(Mills 81-82). Finsbury
Field was also occasionally known as High Field and Medow Ground.manor of a
man called Finn,
from an Old Scandinavian personal name and
Middle English bury
Finsbury and Moorfield were both part of a large fen, not drained until
When the great fenne or Moore, which watereth the wals of the Citie on the North side, is frozen, many yong men play vpon the yce, some striding as wide as they may, doe slide swiftly: others make themselues seates of yce, as great as Milstones: one sits downe, many hand in hand doe draw him, and one slipping on a sudden, all fall togither: some tie bones to their feete, and vnder their heeles, and shouing themselues by a little picked Staffe, doe slide as swiftly as a bird flieth in the ayre, or an arrow out of a Crossebow. Sometime two runne togither with Poles, and hitting one the other, eyther one or both doe fall, not without hurt: some breake their armes, some their legges, but youth desirous of glorie in this sort exerciseth it selfe agaynst the time of warre. Many of the Citizens doe delight themselues in Hawkes and houndes, for they haue libertie of hunting in Middlesex, Hartfordshire, all Chiltron, and in Kent to the water of Cray. Thus farreFitzstephen of sportes. (Stow 35)
This is one of the first recorded instances of ice skating.
Moorgate was built into the city wall in by which means this field was
made the worse for a long time
(Stow 2:76).
The numerous mentions of Finsbury Field reveal a
variety of uses. There are occasional remarks about the windmills: In his
sixth yeer,
(Baker 87). One play
refers to the Battle of Finsbury Field: as never was Citizen beaten,
since the great Battaile of Finsbury-Field
(Brome sig. B6v). A ſate in ſyght of certayne people, / Noddyng, and blyſſing, ſtaryng on poules ſteeple
,
from which we can discern that Finsbury was
a good place from which to observe the city (Heywood sig. A5r). Finsbury is also mentioned in
givest such sarcenet surety for thy oaths / As if thou never walk’st further than Finsbury(Shakespeare 3.1.1797-1798). We can infer that, as Finsbury was a popular recreational area on the northern edge of London, ordinary citizens might spend a day’s outing there.
The activity for which Finsbury Field was most
popular, however, was archery. Figures depicting archers can be seen on both the
Agas Map and the Copperplate Map. Finsbury Field
was well known for archery, and there are records of the field being used for
this purpose as far back as
Shooting in the long bow being of it selfe very laudable, and our English nation in all ages surpassing therein all others(E.B. sig A2). A series of rules are then given for proper use of the course, followed by the list of marks, or targets. Early modern recreational archery differed most obviously from modern practice in that rather than hitting a target at close range, early archers attempted to outdo each other by landing their arrows closest to a distant wooden, and later stone, mark. The archer who hit closest to the mark won the honor of choosing the next mark. These marks were three to four feet tall and were given a variety of names, such asAnd yet (a matter to be lamented) this laudable exercise of late dayes hath become cold in this land, famous London retaining the most ardent desire to maintaine the same, as appeareth by the daily concourse of Citizens most especially in that choice place Finsburie
The popularity of Finsbury Field and the
surrounding fields as a place for archery was not always well received by
property owners in the area. Several conflicts arose over the years when owners
tried to close off their land, and there are several reports of angry citizens
tearing down hedges and filling ditches in an attempt to take back the fields
for the purpose of practicing archery. The citizens appear to have had the
support of the king: statutes were passed in the reign of
(Longman and Walrond 166).
In faste
before firing. However, the popularity of archery
continued to decline and only 21 Finsbury Marks remained by