That England was once known as the Garden of Mary is clear from the large number of medieval City of London churches dedicated to Mary and the large amount of Marian music that survived the Reformation. The latter stood comparison with settings of Marian texts by contemporary composers in the opening concert of the Spitalfields Winter Festival (4 December) given by the specialists in this ancient and modern repertoire, Gothic Voices. The venue was the Chapel Royal of St Peter in the Tower of London, built by Henry VIII in 1515, with the history of beheadings from Anne Boleyn to the Earl of Essex brought to our attention by the chaplain, Revd Canon Roger Hall.