Colebrook Street marked the boundary of St Mary’s Abbey. It is said that two historic figures once lodged in the street. In the 17th century, Nell Gwynn, Charles II’s mistress, took up residence. And in the early 19th century the poet
John Keats wrote his ode ‘To Autumn’ during a stay in the city. The poem was inspired by a walk through the Water Meadows to the Hospital of St Cross.