The Devil's Acre was a notorious slum near a large, mainly Gothic abbey church that between 1540 and 1556 had the status of what?
Devil's Acre The Devil's Acre was a notorious slum near Westminster Abbey in Victorian London. The Devil's Acre was on and behind Old Pye Street, Great St Anne's Lane (now St Ann's Street) and Duck Lane (now St Matthew Street) in the parish of Westminster St Margaret and St John.
Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, was the part of the Low Countries largely controlled by Spain (1556–1714), later Austria (1714–94), and occupied then annexed by France (1794–1814). The region also included a number of smaller states that were never ruled by Spain or Austria: the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the Imperial Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, the County of Bouillon, the County of Horne and the Princely Abbey of Thorn. The Southern Netherlands were part of the Holy Roman Empire until the whole area was annexed by Revolutionary France.