The film is based upon the novel The Life and Death of the Wicked Lady Skelton by Magdalen King-Hall, who found her inspiration in a book of ghosts and folklore by Christina Hole, entitled Haunted England. In it, Hole relates the story of the ‘wicked’ Lady Ferrers, whose spirit is said to haunt Markyate Cell, near Dunstable. Like her film counterpart, Lady Ferrers took to the road not out of a need for money, but driven by boredom and the desire for excitement and power. As night approached, she would dress in masculine clothing and leave the house by a secret door, riding abroad on a coal black horse with white socks. Making her way to nearby Watling Street, she would waylay unsuspecting travellers, relieve them of their valuables and kill anyone who offered resistance. One of her methods was to hide in a tree and jump onto passing coaches and carriages, which she would rob before the occupants knew what was going on. Although it is probable that no-one in the household knew of Lady Ferrers’s nocturnal activities, if anyone in the nearby village had their suspicions, they had the good sense to remain quiet.
Lady Ferrers was said to have had used a special, secret room, which she reached by a staircase concealed within the kitchen chimney. One night, as she was going about her infamous business, she was wounded in a fight and, seriously injured, she made her way back to this secret room only to die at the foot of the staircase.
Lady Ferrers’s spirit did not rest in peace for long. Her shade has sometimes been seen lurking by a tree, beneath which she was said to have stashed her ill-gotten gains. Other have seen her riding on the road, while yet others have glimpsed her near the kitchen chimney. She was usually blamed for whatever misfortunes occurred in the house, including no less than three serious fires.
According to Hole, during the 1870s, the then owner of Markyate Cell, Mr Daniel Adye, discovered a bricked-up doorway in the chimney while repairs were being done at the house. The workmen, all of whom were local, were aware of the tale of the Wicked Lady and refused to do any further work at the house, so that Mr Adye was obliged to recruit workers from London in order to continue the repairs, and at last the door was opened. There was a staircase behind it, which led to an empty room closed by a heavy oaken door. The workmen claimed to have heard sighs and groans, which could not be accounted for and as they made their way back to their lodgings that night, they saw the ghost of a beautiful woman swinging from a branch of a ‘haunted’ tree.
As for Lady Ferrers, she does not appear to have been too disturbed that her hiding place had been discovered. Her spirit continued to be seen on occasion, including a tea party held in the local parish.
So much for tradition, but who was Lady Ferrers, and how did she become associated with the Wicked Lady ? Lady Ferrers was born Catherine Ferrers on 4 May 1634 at Markyate Cell near Dunstable, to Knighton Ferrers and his wife, Catherine. Following the death of her two brothers, Catherine became the sole heir to both her father and grandfather. Upon the death of her father, her mother married Simon Fanshawe, but died shortly afterwards. Catherine became the ward of the Fanshawes whose Royalist sympathies during the Civil War led to the sequestration of their property and devastating financial difficulties. However, the wealth Catherine had inherited from her family made her an attractive proposition, and she was married at the age of thirteen to Simon Fanshawe’s nephew, Thomas. Due to the youth of both parties, the couple did not live together straightaway, but when Thomas came of age, he inherited his family’s estate, Ware Park, in exchange for Catherine’s inheritance, including Markyate Cell, which was used to settle the debts incurred by the Fanshawe family. Catherine and Thomas continued to live at Ware Park, however, his admittance to the Middle Temple in 1657, and his imprisonment in the Tower for his implication in a rebellion two years later, meant that Catherine spent much of her time alone in the country.
The idea of Catherine as a neglected wife, and the misuse of her inheritance by her in-laws, led to her association with local legends concerning a bored and neglected lady who took to the road as a highwaywoman. A story spread abroad that Lady Catherine met Ralph Chaplin, who was a farmer by day and a highwayman by night. He taught her the skills a successful highwaywoman would need, and they set out on a spree of crime together. At some point, however, Chaplin was shot and killed during a robbery on Finchley Common, but Lady Catherine continued alone. Her methods were brutal, often unnecessarily so, but it all came to an end when she held up a wagoner, shooting the driver, but was herself ambushed by his two companions, who had concealed themselves. She was shot, but managed to make her way back to her secret room at Markyate Cell, where she died. That she was buried at night is often seen as sinister, although it was not unusual for the time in which she lived.
The life of the real Catherine Ferrers, who died childless in June 1660 at the age of twenty-six, bears very little resemblance to her fictional counterpart. Although her family had sold Markyate Cell in 1657, and she is believed to have resided in London’s Strand while her highway activities were supposed to have been carried out, she is still associated with the Hertfordshire manor, the name of which was changed from Markyate Cell to Maryiot Cells by Magdalen King-Hall. The house was originally a Benedictine Priory, which was converted into a house in 1540. It was substantially rebuilt following a fire in 1908. When the film, The Wicked Lady, was made, the owners of Markyate Cell were concerned about sightseers and would not allow the company to use it as a location, so Blickling Hall in Norfolk was used instead, a house associated with another famous ghost, that of Anne Boleyn - but that is another story...
Lady Ferrers’s spirit did not rest in peace for long. Her shade has sometimes been seen lurking by a tree, beneath which she was said to have stashed her ill-gotten gains. Other have seen her riding on the road, while yet others have glimpsed her near the kitchen chimney. She was usually blamed for whatever misfortunes occurred in the house, including no less than three serious fires.
According to Hole, during the 1870s, the then owner of Markyate Cell, Mr Daniel Adye, discovered a bricked-up doorway in the chimney while repairs were being done at the house. The workmen, all of whom were local, were aware of the tale of the Wicked Lady and refused to do any further work at the house, so that Mr Adye was obliged to recruit workers from London in order to continue the repairs, and at last the door was opened. There was a staircase behind it, which led to an empty room closed by a heavy oaken door. The workmen claimed to have heard sighs and groans, which could not be accounted for and as they made their way back to their lodgings that night, they saw the ghost of a beautiful woman swinging from a branch of a ‘haunted’ tree.
As for Lady Ferrers, she does not appear to have been too disturbed that her hiding place had been discovered. Her spirit continued to be seen on occasion, including a tea party held in the local parish.
So much for tradition, but who was Lady Ferrers, and how did she become associated with the Wicked Lady ? Lady Ferrers was born Catherine Ferrers on 4 May 1634 at Markyate Cell near Dunstable, to Knighton Ferrers and his wife, Catherine. Following the death of her two brothers, Catherine became the sole heir to both her father and grandfather. Upon the death of her father, her mother married Simon Fanshawe, but died shortly afterwards. Catherine became the ward of the Fanshawes whose Royalist sympathies during the Civil War led to the sequestration of their property and devastating financial difficulties. However, the wealth Catherine had inherited from her family made her an attractive proposition, and she was married at the age of thirteen to Simon Fanshawe’s nephew, Thomas. Due to the youth of both parties, the couple did not live together straightaway, but when Thomas came of age, he inherited his family’s estate, Ware Park, in exchange for Catherine’s inheritance, including Markyate Cell, which was used to settle the debts incurred by the Fanshawe family. Catherine and Thomas continued to live at Ware Park, however, his admittance to the Middle Temple in 1657, and his imprisonment in the Tower for his implication in a rebellion two years later, meant that Catherine spent much of her time alone in the country.
The idea of Catherine as a neglected wife, and the misuse of her inheritance by her in-laws, led to her association with local legends concerning a bored and neglected lady who took to the road as a highwaywoman. A story spread abroad that Lady Catherine met Ralph Chaplin, who was a farmer by day and a highwayman by night. He taught her the skills a successful highwaywoman would need, and they set out on a spree of crime together. At some point, however, Chaplin was shot and killed during a robbery on Finchley Common, but Lady Catherine continued alone. Her methods were brutal, often unnecessarily so, but it all came to an end when she held up a wagoner, shooting the driver, but was herself ambushed by his two companions, who had concealed themselves. She was shot, but managed to make her way back to her secret room at Markyate Cell, where she died. That she was buried at night is often seen as sinister, although it was not unusual for the time in which she lived.The life of the real Catherine Ferrers, who died childless in June 1660 at the age of twenty-six, bears very little resemblance to her fictional counterpart. Although her family had sold Markyate Cell in 1657, and she is believed to have resided in London’s Strand while her highway activities were supposed to have been carried out, she is still associated with the Hertfordshire manor, the name of which was changed from Markyate Cell to Maryiot Cells by Magdalen King-Hall. The house was originally a Benedictine Priory, which was converted into a house in 1540. It was substantially rebuilt following a fire in 1908. When the film, The Wicked Lady, was made, the owners of Markyate Cell were concerned about sightseers and would not allow the company to use it as a location, so Blickling Hall in Norfolk was used instead, a house associated with another famous ghost, that of Anne Boleyn - but that is another story...
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