2 February - 14 November The remarkable life of Nell Gwynne, most famous of the many mistresses of 'the Merry Monarch', Charles II, a classic rags to riches story, began on 2 February Nell was was the daughter of Thomas and Ellen Gwynn, her place of birth is disputed, with some sources stating Pipe Well Lane in Hereford, which was renamed Gwynne Street in the nineteenth century.