mary-le-bow

Updated: June 20, 2025

Holt originated the aphorism that "slaves cannot breathe in England:" this was in the famous Somerset case, where a slave was sold and the vendor sued for his money, laying the issues at Mary-le-Bow in London, and describing the negro as "there sold and delivered." The chief-justice said that the action was not maintainable, as the status of slavery did not exist in England.

Joel Cook - England, Picturesque and Descriptive: A Reminiscence of Foreign Travel