The Archetypical Poisoning Woman: The Cases of Sarah Chesham

Abstract

Sarah Chesham was a working-class, illiterate woman from Clavering, a small and inconsequential village in north-west Essex, closer to Cambridge than to London. For centuries its major industry was agriculture — it was one of many villages dotted around England that was the site of no manufacturing industry during the Industrial Revolution. Many of its inhabitants left to try to eke out a living for themselves and their families in bigger towns, such as Chelmsford, or even large cities like London. The first national census, compiled in 1841, reveals some aspects of life in Clavering. It shows that 1153 people were living in the village at this time, the majority under the age of 20. The surrounding land was predominantly arable, with about 200 agricultural labourers between the ages of 10 and 85 working on farms. Over time the role of cottage industries had diminished and by this point the situation in Clavering was difficult, with little food, warmth or work to go round. In the 1830s the appalling conditions had led to riots; as in quite a few rural villages, arson continued to be a problem right through to the late 1840s, often targeting the sheds and barns of those who employed agricultural labourers. Employers who refused to pay a decent wage would have their sheds burned to the ground, but there was an abundant supply of labour, meaning that wages remained very low.