1600’s
Calthorpe Community Garden,
Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8LH
Standing 160cm tall in the gardens at Calthorpe Community Centre is Mary Woolaston, aka ‘Black Mary’. Creator Marcia Bennett Male is the only black female classically trained stone carver in the UK, so it is fitting that her design for ‘Black Mary’ was chosen for Calthorpe.
But what’s Mary’s story? In the 1600’s century she ran a healing well in the King’s Cross area of London. Known for its chalybeate properties (meaning water rich in iron salts – you’re on your own for the pronunciation though). The healing well was prized for its health benefits for various cures and ailments, and such places were popular in the 17th – 19th centuries.
The spot of Mary’s business (known as ‘Black Mary’s Hole’) became largely forgotten over time and there is little information about it, although history does seem to suggest the well was a stone’s throw from where Mary now stands.
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