Cuthbert Bede (pseudonym of Edward Bradley). English novelist and illustrator. Author of 'Verdant Green'.
ALS. 3pp. Leigh, Worcester. November 2nd, no year [1854]. To "Dear Sir" [almost certainly Thomas Miller].
"The subject of your picture by West of Clifton struck me as bearing a resemblance to one of Westmorland's waterfalls for which I had made memoranda. You will perhaps be able to judge from the enclosed diagrams whether your picture is a Welsh or English subject. Of course if the Skelwith Force drawing had been taken from below the chief fall, the upper fall (which is at some distance) would have been completely out of view. I should have sent you the enclosed before this, but my sketch books were not at hand - as I have been obliged to turn out of my lodgings in consequence of the sudden death of my landlady. The day you gave me at Preston was a most delightful one, and I have to thank you for so kindly showing me the many sides of the place. Your pictures will long live in my memory - but your most beautiful pictures are your charming children. I hope that they and Mrs Miller are well. Have you read 'Verdant Green' the Second? I am glad to think that people consider it superior to the first part. They have sold the first edition of 10,000, and are now printing the 2nd edition. I hope 'Emily' has disposed of plenty of copies - give my love to her! I hear from Mr Rees that he was not able to take Preston in his way home. My account of your pictures has apparently made him much regret this. With compliments to Mrs Miller, Believe me dearest Sir, Very truly yours, Edward Bradley."
Together with his two sketches of waterfalls (Skelwith Force and Colwith Force) referred to in the letter.
8vo bifolium. 18 x 11.5 cms (7 x 4.5 inches). The second leaf (particularly the verso) very browned from old mounting paste, else very good. The two drawings, each 18 x 11.5 cms are in fine condition.
Edward Bradley (who took the pen name 'Cuthbert Bede' from the two patron saints of his adopted town, Durham) had struggled to find a publisher for 'The Adventures of Verdant Green' but eventually it appeared in three parts. The first part was published in October 1853 and the 2nd part appeared in 1854, with the final part printed in 1856. The letter, therefore, must be dated 1854. By 1870 the one volume edition had sold 100,000 copies but the first editions of the separate parts are very scarce. The novel was a wicked and humorous lampoon of the life of an Oxford undergraduate with thinly disguised portraits of real people. Part of the novel's charm were the celebrated illustrations which were by Edward Bradley himself. He was a skilled illustrator and draftsman (he was taught wood engraving be George Cruikshank), as is apparent from these rough sketches of Westmorland which accompany this letter.
Provenance: From the 19th century album of Emma Marshall of Penwortham Lodge, Preston. Emma was the daughter of William Marshall, landowner and cotton manufacturer and was related by marriage to the Miller family of Baronets, MPs and landowners. Thomas Miller (to whom this letter is almost certainly addressed) was a noted art collector. His purchases had included Millais' 'The Peace Concluded' and other works. It appears from this letter that he was also the owner of one of William West's (West of Clifton) landscapes.
Be your genuine self and do so fearlessly. Though our interests are different and our passions spread far, we empower each other to be who we are.
OWN IT WashU is a women's leadership summit designed to encourage WashU women and women in the St. Louis community to be their best selves and to encourage each other to do the same. It is our goal to bring to campus successful, driven, and inspiring women from all walks of life. By bringing together these like-minded women, we believe all attendees will leave with both knowledge and leadership skills to amplify their personal and professional success. Our first annual summit was held in 2015, and our second annual summit was held on November 12th, 2016. Last year, sixteen inspiring panelists spoke on their trials and successes in the fields of Business, Impact, Create, and STEM. The day also included engaging and interactive breakout sessions, office hours with speakers, a round table luncheon to connect with peers and professionals, an Empowerment Exchange marketplace with women-led initiatives and businesses within the St. Louis community, and countless opportunities to connect, engage, and grow, both personally and professionally. We welcomed over 250 attendees last year, and can't wait to see how we can grow our outreach in years to come.
OWN IT started to address the leadership gap. Women have filled the education gap. In fact, they are graduating college at higher rates than men. However, there is still a dearth of women sitting on corporate boards, in science and technology, in C-level positions, representing us in government, and in general leadership roles. We all know you cannot be what you cannot see. OWN IT seeks to provide young women with an opportunity to not just see, but learn from and connect with women who are living out leadership in a variety of fields and positions. Similarly, OWN IT seeks to provide well-established women with an outlet to give back and share what they have learned with future leaders.
OWN IT was started by Helen Brosnan and Kendall Ciesemier, then sophomore and junior in college, respectively, during their time at Georgetown University in 2014. The inaugural OWN IT Summit was held in April 2014. Visit their website to learn more.
OWN IT WashU is a Partner Summit, an expansion of this incredibly successful movement started by Helen and Kendall. Ellen Kaushansky and Claudia Vaughan worked closely with these two to establish the first OWN IT WashU Summit in 2015. Abby Kay and Emily Schienvar continued and expanded our initiative in 2016. In 2017 our Summit was directed by Ariel Kravitz and Ariadne Bazigos. This year, the 2018 summit is lead by Regina Sterge.
Ferrers [married name Fanshawe], Catherine (1634–1660), alleged highwaywoman, was born on 4 May 1634, reputedly (although there is no evidence for this) at Markyate Cell in the parish of Caddington, near Dunstable, Hertfordshire, the only surviving daughter of Knighton Ferrers (bap. 1607, d. 1640) of Brayfordbury, Hertfordshire, and his wife, Catherine (bap. 1610, d. 1643), daughter of Sir William Walter (or Walters). Following the death of her two brothers in 1639 Catherine became the sole heir, first of her father and then of her grandfather Sir John Ferrers (d. 1640) of Markyate and of Pulesborne, Hertfordshire. After five months of widowhood, on 21 September 1640 Catherine's mother married Simon (from February 1641 Sir Simon) Fanshawe (d. 1680) but she in turn died, at Oxford, in February 1643. Catherine's wardship then seems to have passed to members of the Fanshawe family. Prominent royalists, as the 1640s progressed the Fanshawes ran into sequestration and general financial difficulties, and it may have been these that lay behind Catherine's marriage, on 1 or 3 April 1648, at the age of thirteen, to Simon Fanshawe's nephew Thomas Fanshawe (1632–1674) [see under Fanshawe, first Viscount Fanshawe of Dromore (1596–1665)]. Ann Fanshawe, wife of Sir Simon's other brother, Richard, attended the wedding and remarked in her memoirs that the bride had 'a very great fortune and [was] a most excellent woman' (Memoirs, ed. Loftis, 121).
Details of Catherine's married life are uncertain. She and her husband held a manorial court for the manor of Parkbury in Kimpton, Hertfordshire, on 5 April 1649 but, given her age, it is likely that she did not initially live with her husband; it is possible that she lodged instead with her husband's aunt Alice Bedell at Hamerton, Huntingdonshire. When her husband came of age the Ware Park estate was made over to him in exchange for the sale of Catherine's inheritance, the proceeds of which were to go towards discharging the elder Thomas Fanshawe's debts; property including the manor of Markyate was duly sold in 1655. Since the younger Thomas Fanshawe was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1657 and was imprisoned in the Tower, following his implication in Booth's rising in 1659, Catherine may well have spent periods of time alone in the country, probably at Ware.
This possibility, together with her early marriage, the Fanshawes' exploitation of her inheritance, and her husband's dissolute reputation, appears to have contributed to the association of Catherine Ferrers—at a date which is unclear—with the legend of a gentlewoman or noblewoman who, neglected by her spouse, led a double life and operated by night as a highwaywoman. Neither Alexander Smith, in Complete History of the Lives of the most Notorious Highwaymen (1714), nor The Newgate Calendar, nor Richard Clutterbuck, in The History and Antiquities of the County of Hertford (1815–27), mentions the story but J. E. Cussans notes it in his History of Hertfordshire (1870–81), observing that there may have been confusion with Laurence Shirley, fourth Earl Ferrers, hanged for murder in 1760. None the less the identification of Catherine Ferrers with 'the wicked lady' and the legend itself endured into the twentieth century.
The story generally goes that Catherine met a farmer and highwayman, Ralph Chaplin, who taught her the art of highway robbery. Money does not seem to have been her motive; rather, she robbed for 'the sheer love of adventure and the exercise of manly attributes' (Puttick, 40). After Chaplin was shot dead during a hold-up on Finchley Common she robbed alone, her crimes increasing in brutality and violence. She became known as a ruthless killer, murdering both those who resisted and those who did not. She is alleged to have shot and killed a parish constable at Caddington, on his doorstep as he answered a call, and was also held responsible for arson attacks and cattle slaughter in the area. Her last hold-up took place in June 1660 on Nomansland Common, near Wheathampstead, St Albans, when she ambushed a wagoner. Catherine shot the driver without compunction but was unprepared for two other men who had been given a lift by the driver and who were obscured by bales at the back of the cart. One returned her fire and she was mortally wounded. According to legend she fled back to Markyate Cell, where she died.
There is no doubt that Catherine Ferrers died childless in June 1660. However, there is no evidence that she was at Markyate Cell, which had been sold five years earlier. Ann Fanshawe's memoir suggests that she may have been staying in the Strand, London, at the end of May and beginning of June, during the celebrations surrounding the restoration of Charles II. She died a few days later and was buried on 13 June at St Mary's, Ware. The popular story places this event at night, in secrecy and outside the Fanshawe vault. Thomas Fanshawe, who was knighted on 23 April 1661 and who succeeded his father as second Viscount Fanshawe on 26 March 1665, married on 2 April 1665 Sarah, daughter of Sir John Evelyn and widow of Sir John Wray. He sold Ware Park in 1668.
The legend of ‘Lady’ Catherine Ferrers continues to flourish despite its flaws and despite the existence of alternative candidates for the role of 'wicked lady'—such as Martha Coppin (bap. 1640, d. 1681), whose family bought Markyate Manor in 1657. Numerous books on haunted Britain tell stories of Catherine's ghost accosting workmen, swinging from the branch of an old tree, disrupting village fêtes, and haunting and setting fire to her former home. Two popular novels, The Life and Death of the Wicked Lady Skelton (1944) and Bright Tapestry (1956), were loosely based on Catherine's life; a film version of the former, The Wicked Lady (1945), with Margaret Lockwood in the lead (remade in 1983 with Faye Dunaway), broke all British box office records.
W. B. Gerish, The ‘wicked Lady Ferrers’ a legend of Markyate Cell in Flamstead: an attempt to solve the mystery of ‘the lady highwayman’ (1911)