Ward's Book of Days.
Pages of interesting anniversaries.
What happened on this day in history.
MARCH 7th
On this day in history in 1827, took place the Shrigley Abduction
The
Shrigley abduction was a
notorious kidnapping and duplicitous marriage of a young heiress, Ellen
Turner.
Ellen
Turner was the only child of William
Turner, a prosperous cotton magnate, and High Sheriff of Cheshire, of
Shrigley Hall, Macclesfield. She was aged 15 and one of the most eligible
heiresses in the land. Ellen attracted the attention of Edward
Gibbon Wakefield, who had a previous history of enticement, having
eloped with a daughter of an officer in the Indian Civil Service, and married
her in secret ceremony. His wife was now dead and he was seeking another
victim.
On
7th March 1827, Wakefield sent a servant with a carriage to Ellen's
boarding school in Liverpool, with a message to the mistress of the school,
stating that Mr. Turner had been taken ill and required to see his daughter
immediately.
The
servant took Ellen Turner to an inn in Manchester, where she met Wakefield,
who told her that her father's business had failed and that he must take her
without delay to Carlisle, where Mr. Turner had fled to delay his creditors.
On the way to Carlisle, Wakefield elaborated that her father had reached an
agreement with his main creditor, a banking company, whereby a portion of his
property would be transferred to Ellen, provided that she were married to a
respectable gentleman, like himself. Ellen
believed this fabrication and agreed to marry him.
Wakefield
took Ellen across the border to Scotland, to Gretna Green, which had become
the elopement centre of choice, for those who wanting to exploit the more
relaxed marriage laws of Scotland. At Gretna Green, they were married in the
blacksmith’s shop, by the anvil. Wakefield
now claimed that Mr. Turner had left for Paris, and that the newlyweds were to
follow him there, and they departed at once for Dover and then to Calais.
Meanwhile,
Ellen's parents received a letter from Wakefield, who informed them that he
had married their daughter. Mr. Turner was outraged and enlisted the help of
the police, who discovered that Ellen had left for France. Mr. Turner sent his
brother, accompanied by a police officer and a solicitor, to Calais where they
tracked down the missing couple. After she learnt the truth, Ellen returned
with her uncle and Wakefield fled for Paris.
Wakefield had insufficient funds to remain in Paris, so when he returned to Britain, he was arrested in Dover and committed for trial at Lancaster. His brother, step-mother and his servant, who had assisted in the abduction, were also sent for trial. Wakefield was convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to three year’s hard labour at Lancaster Castle Prison. As the marriage had been unconsummated, it was annulled by the court.
On his release, Wakefield left for the colonies and became one of the founders of the settlement of South Australia. Ellen Turner was genuinely married, aged 17 to Thomas Legh, a notable magistrate, and sadly died in childbirth aged 19, but was survived by a son.
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