lucy thorpe

[roly]

Have been researching Norfolk murders and executions and am looking for information on one Lucy Thorpe who, apparently, murdered her infant child.  I have a date of September 13th 1844 for her execution but the particular source has proved to be in error on other occasions.

If, then, anyone can confirm or disprove the information I'd be grateful.

I haven't found been able to find any newspaper accounts of the case (Norwich Mercury and Norfolk Chjronicle)...May, of course, have missed some.  It would be nice to have such 'independent' confirmation...


roly

[Indaloman]

The follow site provides a report by a local printer of Lucy's execution and gives details of the crime. It confirms the date you have. Its a long article covering printers reporting s of executions in the Norfolk area. Hope it is of help

www.mustrad.or.uk/articles/bbals_27.htm

[roly]

Sorry, Indolaman.  That article was by me!  In it you'll see that I wasn't able to provide newspaper confirmation (or other confirmation) of Lucy's death.

Thanks, anyway.

roly

[Indaloman]

I looked on another site and could find no execution for her in that year, or the years either side. There was nothing, public or private, seems strange

[roly]

Quite.  It isn't unknown for ballads to perpetrate a fictitious account but this one is, as you say, strange.  I haven't located any other such in Norfolk.

Onwards and sideways.

roly

[lizdb]

There is no death for a Lucy Thorpe registered in Jul/Aug/Sep or Oct/Nov/Dec 1844 - so I think we can safely say that we have disproved Sept 13th 1844 - but now we need to find when she did die.

[lizdb]

I have looked through full death indexes 1840-48 (incl) and the only Lucy Thorpes to die in that time are:

Apr/May/Jun 1840 Loughboro area ref XV 110

Oct/Nov/Dec 1842 Spalding area ref 14 332

Apr/May/Jun 1844 Ely area ref 14 52

I dont know whether they were likely to have carried out the execution at another place - but IF she was executed around that time, then one of these will be her! And the death cert should show cause of death to be execution.
So .. I guess it is a case of are you feeling rich! or enough to start sending for certificates.
Unless you live in thatsort of area and can get to the Record office to view the parish records, though of course we dont know what parishes within these reg areas these Lucy's died in, so that is probably a nonstarter.

All the best with the search

[roly]

Thanks to lizbd and (again) Indaloman.

Lucy Thorpe could have been held in prison until, say, 1845; but your researches, lizbd, appear to have revealed no deaths of Lucy Thorpes between 1840 and 1848.  I don't think that she'd have been transferred elsewehere - this didn't seem to happen in Norfolk as far as I can make out.

But, given the crime of infanticide, it is possible that Lucy was respited (reasons of mental unbalance, perhaps) and committed to a term of sentence.  That's the only explanation I have at the moment.  Hence the usefulness of newspaper accounts.  Should anyone, therefore, be pursuing news through Norfolk Chronicle and Norwich Mercury for 1844-6 and finds a mention, please let me know.

Meanwhile...

roly

[lizdb]

Do you have a name for the child she murdered? Perhaps the death cert for that would shed some light - if there was an inquest, trial etc it might say death by 'murder' or by 'manslaughter',  or give some more information, either just interesting or pssibly useful!