Mary Davis

Mary Davis was an English soprano, dancer and actress, born around 1650 and buried in London in February 1708. She belongs to the theatrical and courtly life of the English Restoration.

As a girl, in the early 1660s, she was already noted for her dancing. In late 1667, the song "My lodging it is on the cold ground" caught the attention of Charles II, who made her his mistress. At court she sang and danced in masques and performed the role of Venus in Blow's Venus and Adonis. In 1686 she married the composer James Paisible.