In 1665 Milton and his wife moved into the cottage to escape the Plague in London. Despite Milton's having spent less than a year at the cottage, it is important because of its being his only residence. While at the Grade I listed 16th-century cottage, Milton completed his best known work, "Paradise Lost"; the seeds for "Paradise Regained" were also sown here. Milton's friend Thomas Ellwood called the cottage "that pretty box in St. Giles".