Abduction or elopement? The disappearance of Maria Glenn | The British Newspaper Archive Blog

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Abduction or elopement? The disappearance of Maria Glenn

Naomi Clifford chanced on the subject of her book The Disappearance of Maria Glenn (published by Pen & Sword in April) while browsing the British Newspaper Archive. She blogs about aspects of Georgian life at www.naomiclifford.com and is currently researching the women executed in England and Wales between 1797 and 1837.

maria glenn x 1000 (556x800)

In 1829 a young man received an anonymous letter telling him that an heiress was willing to marry him if only he would only rescue her from a large house on the Clapham Road in south London, where she was being treated cruelly by her uncle. All he needed was a friend, a ladder and a gun.

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 It was a set-up. There was no heiress and the would-be bridegroom and his helper were promptly arrested. The target of the mischief-making was probably Mr Hedger, an unpopular and harsh magistrate who lived at the address. He also had received an anonymous letter.

London Standard 31 December 1829 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
London Standard 31 December 1829 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I found this strange interlude when researching historical events near my home, but it set me thinking about the neglected subject of elopement. Soon I was avidly searching the Archive for stories of runaway marriages for a possible book. Of course, not all were straightforward tales of illicit love. Quite the opposite: many were alarming cases of coercion.

Hereford Journal 23 April 1794 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Hereford Journal 23 April 1794 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I settled on one major scandalous elopement, which had caused an almighty row, much of it played out in the press. One night in September 1817, 16-year-old Maria Glenn, said to be an heiress, left her home in Taunton in the company of the Bowditches, a local farming family. She later said she had been threatened with death and went with them only because she was terrified. On the contrary, said the young man who had bought a marriage licence in preparation for their wedding, it was all her idea.

The Taunton Courier was the first to print the story.

Taunton Courier 25 September 1817 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Taunton Courier 25 September 1817 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The words were probably written by James Scarlett, who was employed as a printer at the paper and just happened to be married to a member of the Bowditch family. The story was shot through with inaccuracies.

George Lowman Tuckett, a barrister, who was Maria’s uncle (and guardian) wrote a heart-felt objection.

Taunton Courier 2 October 1817 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Taunton Courier 2 October 1817 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The editor of the paper, John William Marriott, then decided to support Maria but later shifted his weight to the growing campaign against her. Like many others, he was having doubts about her version of events. Marriott was an old friend of (and related by marriage to) the Hunt brothers, Leigh and John, publishers of the radical weekly The Examiner, which also took the Bowditches’ side against Maria and her uncle.

Examiner 22 February 1819 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Examiner 22 February 1819 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

After numerous court cases and a dramatic twist, Tuckett responded with two extraordinary pamphlets in his niece’s defence, each containing shocking allegations of conspiracy.

Bristol Mirror 13 October 1821 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Bristol Mirror 13 October 1821 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Was Maria telling the truth? For that, I turned to sources beyond the press, but it was the Archive that opened a window into a forgotten corner of history and guided me through the ups and downs of her amazing story.

 

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