A case of Canning

"NO AFFAIR that was ever determined in a judicial way did, perhaps, so much excite the curiosity, or divide the opinion of the public, as that in question."

Thus wrote the Newgate Calendar about the notorious Elizabeth Canning case of 1754, a tale of kidnap, prostitution and perjury in Enfield.

On January 29, 1754, an 18-year-old servant girl, Elizabeth Canning, unexpectedly turned up at her mother's house in Aldermanbury in a dishevelled and emaciated state.

Claiming to have been kidnapped, she said that after leaving her mother's house on January 1, she had been attacked by two men in Moorfields who took her money, gown, apron and hat and, when she tried to scream, tied her hands and gagged her mouth.

She was then dragged to "a house of ill repute" where a gipsy woman, Mary Squires, took her personal items and the men tried to force her to become a prostitute.

But, when Elizabeth refused, she was locked in a room with no toilet, nowhere to wash and with only a jug of water and a quarter-loaf of bread. It was 28 days later when she managed to pull the boards off the window and jump to the lane below to escape.

At first, Elizabeth's story was believed. The house was identified as Mother Wells' House in Enfield, a pub and brothel that used to stand on the corner of Ordnance Road and Hertford Road.

Mary Squires was convicted of assault and robbery while Susannah Wells, the mistress of the house, was found guilty of harbouring and concealing Elizabeth Canning. Several country gentlemen who had provided Mary Squires with an alibi were also found guilty of perjury.

But the tables soon turned against Elizabeth. People with greater social importance than the hapless servant girl objected to the conviction of the country gentlemen. Rumours began to circulate that the kidnapping story was merely a ruse to hide some act of debauchery Elizabeth had engaged in.

And so in a dramatic turn of events, Mary Squires was pardoned while Elizabeth found herself in the dock accused of perjury. In May 1754, after a sensational trial full of scandal and intrigue, Elizabeth Canning was found guilty and deported to New England.

The truth, however, was never discovered. Elizabeth Canning's tale became yet one more sensationalist story in the popular 18th century collection of moral crimes recorded in the Newgate Calendar.

To find out more about the borough's history consult Graham Dalling's Enfield Past.

12:33 Wednesday 2nd October 2002

Printer Friendly Format

Send This Page To A Friend

• Wild weekend
• Good hunting in Trent Park
• Teens robbed at gunpoint