I came upon an account of the
life of Hester Hammerton, the once celebrated female sexton of Kingston-upon-Thames
in Kirkby’s Wonderful and Eccentric Museum. For those unfamiliar with this
publication it is an early 19th century compendium of the marvellous and the bizarre;
it contains biographies of the singular characters of the age (the Chevalier D’Eon
and Joseph Merlin for example), accounts of calamities, (shipwrecks, volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes etc), details of monstrous births, (four legged cockerals, two
headed calves and numerous conjoined twins), prodigious eaters (a polish man
who regularly ate 5 pounds of raw beef and 10 tallow candles at one sitting)
and stories of miraculous escapes from death (Elizabeth Woodcock of Impington
who survived 8 days buried alive in snow). Whilst written to appeal to the sensation
seeker it has to be conceded that its articles are generally well informed and
that its contributors often took pains to establish their facts.
Kirkby’s tells us that Hester
Hammerton was baptised on March 16 1711. Her father Abraham performed the
office of sexton of All Saints Church “in which his daughter was accustomed to
assist him.” Hester and her brother-in-law Thomas German were both with their
father on the 2nd of March 1730, digging a grave for a Mr George Hammond of
London. Also present were Richard Milles and Sarah Smith. They were digging too
close to one of the main pillars of the Chapel of St Mary; the vicar Dr
Rawlinson, explained in a letter to a friend exactly what happened next:
On Monday last, our sexton,
with his son and daughter, being employed in digging a grave, part of the
ancient chapel of St Mary’s fell in upon them, killed the sexton and one other
man, Richard Mills, on the spot, bruised and wounded several others and buried
in the grave both the son and daughter for above three hours, during which time
many were employed in digging out the rubbish, in order to get at the bodies
that were buried. After the removal of the timbers, and several loads of
rubbish, they heard very plainly some loud groans and cries in the grave. Soon
after, they came to the heads of two persons: the man was speechless and almost
dead, having his head closely confined between two stones; the woman was not so
much pressed; but being immediately taken care of by Dr. Cranmer, they are both
in a fair way of recovery. The Bailiffs and Churchwardens by their great
humanity and diligence on this occasion had a great share in preserving the
lives of the two persons abovementioned, by the speedy removal of the rubbish
and by keeping off the crowd who pressed in upon the labourers in great
numbers. The damage besides the lives already lost is computed to amount to
above £1000.
 |
| The entry from the parish register at All Saints showing the burial of Abraham Hammerton and Richard Milles on the 5th March -'killed by the fall of the church' and Sarah Smith on the 15th. |
Abraham Hammerton and Richard Milles
were both killed on the spot but the vicar was writing too soon to know that Sarah
Smith would also eventually die of her injuries. Abraham and Richard were both
buried on the 5th March, Sarah was not buried until the 15th. Hester and her
brother-in-law Thomas both survived and Hester inherited her father’s position as
sexton to the parish though luckily her injuries prevented her first job being
the melancholy one of digging her own father’s grave. Kirkby’s describes Hester
as a ‘strong, lusty woman of a comely countenance.’ It claimed that injuries
received in the accident prevented her from ever wearing stays again and says
that ‘her usual dress therefore was a man's waistcoat and hat, a long loose gown
and a silk handkerchief tied round her neck.’ On Sundays she would bow to
convention and ‘dress extremely clean and neat, in a gown of the then fashion,
a mob cap with frilled border and ribbon, and a nosegay in her bosom.’ The writer says that Hester ‘was very fond of
all kinds of manly diversions, such as cricket, football, bull baiting, also of
smoaking and associating with men but nevertheless, she preserved her moral
character unimpeached. If any person offered to take liberties with her, she
never failed to resent the affront and her fist inflicted merited chastisement
on the offender. She possessed great bodily strength and would dig all the
graves and ring the great bell herself. She died at Kingston and was buried
February 28 1746 in the 35th year of her age.’
 |
| Hester's burial recorded in the parish register for 28 February 1746 |
Hester was instrumental in apprehending Philip Wilkinson and William Sweet, two Londoners who came down to Kingston with the intentions of robbing the communion plate from the church. Hester wandered into church to ring the two o’clock bell and found the two men ripping off the gold lace and fringe of the pulpit hangings. Incensed the doughty Hester grabbed one of the men by the collar and threw him over the reading desk and into the pew below. Whilst she was occupied the other thief crept up on her from behind and hit her over the head with a blunt instrument, stunning her and allowing both robbers to flee the scene. A few days later a boy was caught lurking around the church and suspected of being somehow being involved in the robbery. He denied this but said that if he was released, he would tell the authorities who had robbed the church. His information led to the capture and arrest of Wilkinson and Sweet. The pair were tried at Kingston Assizes on 10th April 1735 and being found guilty of sacrilege, sentenced to death. The Derby Mercury of 17th April gives this account of their execution;
On Thursday, soon after One
o'Clock, Philip Wilkinson and William Sweet, were executed in the Market-Place
at Kingston. They said they forgave the Boy and the Woman who were instrumental
in their Death; desired the Prayers of the Spectators; and just before they
were turn'd off, declar'd, as they were dying Men, that they were innocent of
the Fact for which they suffer'd, nor had they been guilty of any Robbery
whatsoever; and that they never saw the Boy or Woman before they came to appear
against them.
Kirkby’s gives the following
postscript to the story;
The bodies of the above two
men, after execution, were carried into the Castle Inn yard, and no particular
account was given of them afterwards. As christian burial was refused them, on
account of the crime of sacrilege, of which they had been convicted it was not
till above seventy years afterwards that a discovery was made, which seems to
clear up this matter. August 25 1807 - As some workmen were digging a hole in
the garden of Mr. John Smallpiece the butcher, near Clattern-bridge (late Mr.
Laming's garden) the skeletons of two men lying together were discovered. These
were conjectured to be the remains of Wilkinson and Sweet. The garden in which
they were found was a bowling green, and belonged to the Castle Inn, at the
time when the bodies of those two men were left in the yard, and there is no
reason to doubt that, as it was generally supposed, they were buried in that
bowling green.
 All Saints, Kingston-Upon-Thames){kind=link}
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