With Valentine’s Day upon us, Living In writer Abygail Fossett delves into the records and unearths a Suffolk love story with a twist…

"For the most part, the movers and shakers, landowners and lawmakers are well remembered while for the poor and uneducated, it’s a different story. There are, however, notable exceptions. In 1762, a daughter was born to a poor Suffolk family who would leave her mark on both sides of the equator. This woman’s name was Margaret Catchpole (b1762 – d1819)

Margaret’s life was immortalised in the best-selling book, The History of Margaret Catchpole, A Suffolk Girl published in 1845, by Rev. Richard Cobbold.

We believe her story began on a farm in rural Nacton. A hardy country girl, she grew a reputation for being strong and capable, proving as much when the mistress of the house was taken grievously ill and the teenaged Margaret leapt onto the nearest horse, riding bareback for several miles to hail a doctor. Like many young girls at the time, Margaret left home and went into domestic service, working for several families before settling with the writer Elizabeth Cobbold at the Cobbold family home on St Margarets Green in Ipswich.

Here, Margaret was almost part of the family, entrusted with the care of their children and taught for the first time to read and write. However, this comfortable situation soon turned sour, thanks to a man named William Laud. There is very little known about Laud, according to the Rev Cobbold’s book he was a sailor from Landguard with links to a gang of notorious smugglers.

According to legend, Margaret fell helplessly in love with Laud and, it appears, would go to any lengths to be with him. The Cobbolds disapproved of Laud, and Margaret left their service in 1795, miserable and desperate for news of her now-vanished suitor. Two years later, her wish was granted, when she received word from an associate of Laud’s. William was in London, she heard, and anxious to see her again. She must leave directly! The original idea was to 'borrow a horse,’ which was brave at best, outright madness at worst for horse theft was a capital offence. The lovestruck Margaret took little convincing. Disguised as a man, she returned to her former employers’ home and set out for London on the Cobbolds’ coach gelding. Eight and a half hours of riding through the night Margaret arrived in London, but could not evade capture for long.

Margaret disguised herself as a man and ‘borrowed’ one of the Cobbold’s horses

She was brought back to Suffolk for trial. At that point the Cobbolds were not aware of who had stolen their horse. At the intervention of John Cobbold, her initial sentence of death by hanging was overturned, and Margaret was incarcerated at Ipswich Gaol ... awaiting transportation - at the time England was at war with France and few ships were sailing to Australia. For a time, it seems, she was a model inmate. The only fly in the ointment was, as always, her love for Laud. On March 29th, 1800, the Ipswich Journal reported the escape of a female prisoner, Margaret Catchpole, aged 38. Her absence was discovered on a Wednesday morning, when a gardener noticed a ‘linen line’ protruding down the 22-foot gaol wall. Her daring escape, by all accounts, was remarkable and is described in much detail in the Ipswich Journals of the time. Laud himself had also been arrested for debt and housed briefly in the same gaol as Margaret, allowing the pair to coordinate her escape. Their plan was to marry, and this time they came tantalisingly close. They were at the shores of Orford Ness when they were intercepted by the police. A struggle ensued, and Laud was shot dead.

Devastated, Margaret was recommitted to gaol after receiving another death sentence for attempting to escape from her transportation sentence and, the following year, placed on a convict ship destined for Sydney.

Laud was undoubtedly the love of Margaret’s life, but his death marked a turning point; Margaret’s new life was free of the conflict her love for him had constantly brought her in England. In Sydney, and then Richmond, she truly began to flourish. She kept up correspondence with her uncle and, surprisingly, Elizabeth Cobbold. She told them she was employed as a servant for many of the prominent colonial families, positions which garnered her much respect in the community – “as if I was a laday.”

Although Margaret received a pardon for her crimes of passion in 1814, she remained in Australia. Her final years were spent farming rented land, running a small store and acting as a highly valued nurse and midwife. She died aged 57, contacting influenza as she nursed a dying shepherd. Margaret’s story has captivated many – she has inspired novels, stage-plays, even an opera. We like to remember her as the hardy Suffolk girl who refused to give up, a resourceful woman who could never be defeated for long.”

Photos courtesy of the Cobbold Family Trust www.cobboldfht.com

HISTORY TALKS …

Suffolk historian, Pip Wright, tells Living In … that Richard Cobbold's book was written over 40 years after Margaret’s transportation and is a long way from being an accurate account of her life.

“He never knew her as he was a baby at the time of her arrest, but he had access to people who did know her including his parents and Dr. Stebbing of Ipswich,” he says. “Cobbold romanticised the tale by making Margaret 11 years younger and prettier than she was. This messes with historical dates of the time but in spite of it all, much of the English part of the tale seems to have a good deal of truth about it. As regards Cobbold's version of Margaret's life in Australia, much is clearly wrong, but he had little to go on other than Margaret's few letters home. At the end of the day, the story has continued to attract attention. She is not forgotten - a pub in Ipswich is named after her, as well as roads and even a children's hospital ward in Australia.”