MAKE A MEME View Large Image June 1660) was, according to popular legend, the "Wicked Lady", a highwaywoman who terrorised Nomansland common in the English county of Hertfordshire in the 17th century before bleeding to death from wounds sustained ...
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Keywords: people Lady Katherine Fanshaw (née Ferrers) (4 May 1634 - c.13 June 1660) was, according to popular legend, the "Wicked Lady", a highwaywoman who terrorised Nomansland common in the English county of Hertfordshire in the 17th century before bleeding to death from wounds sustained during a robbery. The legend is fairly well summarised on a number of internet sites, such as this one, often told with an emphasis on hauntings by Katherine's ghost. According to the legend, the well-bred Katherine was forced into a marriage at a young age, and her husband, who was often away at war or imprisoned, had sold off most of the family estates. Katherine came into highway robbery with her accomplice (and, some say, lover), Ralph Chaplin, but was shot during a robbery and later died of the wounds. The story holds that she now haunts Nomansland common and/or the ancestral family home at Markyate. Children growing up in this area the have always sung a rhyme "In the Cell there be a well, by the well there be a tree, under the tree the treasure be". There is little dispute that the "Wicked Lady" did exist. Apart from robbery, a catalogue of mayhem which occurred during the period is also attributed to this well-bred woman turned to a life of crime; burning houses, slaughtering livestock, even killing a policeman (although policemen as they are understood today, did not arrive in England until two centuries later). Much of the supposed activity might be blamed on bands of brigands and the unrest relating to the war that raged about, but it is suggested that the mayhem and the robberies ceased with the death of the highwaywoman.[1] However, although the local legend has assumed a level of authority with the passage of time, there is actually very little evidence to suggest that Katherine Ferrers was in fact the notorious highwaywoman. An article written by John Barber[1] in 2002 argues that it is improbable. However, much of the life and death of Katherine Ferrers remains shrouded in mystery, and no other credible candidate has ever been put forward as the "Wicked Lady".[2] What is known about Katherine Ferrers is that she was born into a wealthy family, the Ferrers, that by the time she was six years old, both her father and her grandfather had died (in that order), and that she was the sole heir to the fortune. Her mother, Catherine, died just two years later, in 1642, after marrying Simon Fanshaw. When the younger Katherine was not quite fourteen years old, Simon Fanshaw arranged for her to marry his nephew, Thomas Fanshaw (who was sixteen at the time). The Fanshaws were also a very wealthy family, and their estates covered much the same geographical region as the Ferrers. Both families being loyal to the crown and Protestant, a union seemed fitting, despite the inference of a young girl being forced to marry by her stepfather in order to secure greater claim to her inheritance. Support for Katherine being the "Wicked Lady" is largely circumstantial. Katherine did live during the English Civil War, and being from a Royalist family and marrying into another Royalist family, times were desperate, and throughout her short life Katherine would have watched both families' fortunes, and numerous young members of the families, slowly being lost. During that era many young gentlemen, and more than a few well bred ladies,[3] took to highway robbery as a means of preserving their dwindling estates, so it is certainly not a leap of fantasy to suggest that Katherine Ferrers may have put on a mask and ridden out at night as an armed robber. Lady Katherine Fanshaw (née Ferrers) (4 May 1634 - c.13 June 1660) was, according to popular legend, the "Wicked Lady", a highwaywoman who terrorised Nomansland common in the English county of Hertfordshire in the 17th century before bleeding to death from wounds sustained during a robbery. The legend is fairly well summarised on a number of internet sites, such as this one, often told with an emphasis on hauntings by Katherine's ghost. According to the legend, the well-bred Katherine was forced into a marriage at a young age, and her husband, who was often away at war or imprisoned, had sold off most of the family estates. Katherine came into highway robbery with her accomplice (and, some say, lover), Ralph Chaplin, but was shot during a robbery and later died of the wounds. The story holds that she now haunts Nomansland common and/or the ancestral family home at Markyate. Children growing up in this area the have always sung a rhyme "In the Cell there be a well, by the well there be a tree, under the tree the treasure be". There is little dispute that the "Wicked Lady" did exist. Apart from robbery, a catalogue of mayhem which occurred during the period is also attributed to this well-bred woman turned to a life of crime; burning houses, slaughtering livestock, even killing a policeman (although policemen as they are understood today, did not arrive in England until two centuries later). Much of the supposed activity might be blamed on bands of brigands and the unrest relating to the war that raged about, but it is suggested that the mayhem and the robberies ceased with the death of the highwaywoman.[1] However, although the local legend has assumed a level of authority with the passage of time, there is actually very little evidence to suggest that Katherine Ferrers was in fact the notorious highwaywoman. An article written by John Barber[1] in 2002 argues that it is improbable. However, much of the life and death of Katherine Ferrers remains shrouded in mystery, and no other credible candidate has ever been put forward as the "Wicked Lady".[2] What is known about Katherine Ferrers is that she was born into a wealthy family, the Ferrers, that by the time she was six years old, both her father and her grandfather had died (in that order), and that she was the sole heir to the fortune. Her mother, Catherine, died just two years later, in 1642, after marrying Simon Fanshaw. When the younger Katherine was not quite fourteen years old, Simon Fanshaw arranged for her to marry his nephew, Thomas Fanshaw (who was sixteen at the time). The Fanshaws were also a very wealthy family, and their estates covered much the same geographical region as the Ferrers. Both families being loyal to the crown and Protestant, a union seemed fitting, despite the inference of a young girl being forced to marry by her stepfather in order to secure greater claim to her inheritance. Support for Katherine being the "Wicked Lady" is largely circumstantial. Katherine did live during the English Civil War, and being from a Royalist family and marrying into another Royalist family, times were desperate, and throughout her short life Katherine would have watched both families' fortunes, and numerous young members of the families, slowly being lost. During that era many young gentlemen, and more than a few well bred ladies,[3] took to highway robbery as a means of preserving their dwindling estates, so it is certainly not a leap of fantasy to suggest that Katherine Ferrers may have put on a mask and ridden out at night as an armed robber.
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