Plaque: John Dryden attacked
Inscription
On the 19th December 1679 in the alley by the Lamb & Flag the poet John Dryden was nearly done to death by rogues hired by the Earl of Rochester.
Odd that the plaque gives the 19th and not the 18th as the date.
Site: Bowden & Dryden (2 memorials)
WC2, Rose Street, Lamb & Flag pub
This pub and the nearby streets are the subject of a post by the great A London Inheritance.
At around 8pm on 18 December 1679, Dryden was attacked in Rose Alley probably because, in his poem "An Essay upon Satire," he attacked amongst others King Charles II, one of the king's mistresses Louise De Keroualle, and the Earl of Rochester. It is generally thought that Rochester hired some henchmen to carry out the attack.
