Mary Morgan was a young servant in the early 19th century in Presteigne

Presteigne

Presteigne is a town and community in Powys, Wales. It was the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, and is in the Diocese of Hereford...

, Radnorshire

Radnorshire

Radnorshire is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, convicted and hanged for killing her newborn child.

While Morgan was from Glasbury

Glasbury

Glasbury , also known as Glasbury-on-Wye, is a village in Powys, Wales which lies at an important crossing point on the River Wye, connecting the former counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire. The village is just outside the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains. The...

, her story has been associated with Presteigne since her execution in 1805. She was employed as an undercook at Maesllwch Castle, the seat of Walter Wilkins

Radnorshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Radnorshire was created in 1542 as a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918...

 Esq, the Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the county of Radnorshire.

The murder

Morgan was working in the kitchens in the early hours of a Sunday in September 1804 when she became unwell. She later went to her room in the servant's quarters of the castle. Early that evening the cook went to her room and accused Morgan of having given birth to a baby, which at first she strongly denied. Later, according to the evidence given by the cook, Morgan "owned that she had delivered herself of a child which was in the underbed cut open, amongst the feathers with the head nearly divided from the body supposed by a penknife which was found by the witness under the pillows of the same bed".

Inquest and Trial

The inquest on the baby was held at Glasbury two days later, and the Coroner's Jury found that:
Morgan was too ill to travel to Presteigne, where the Assizes were held, until 6 October. The trial eventually began in April 1805 before Mr Justice Hardinge, concluding on 11 April, when the jury found her guilty of murdering her child.

Death

On 13 April she was hanged, and was buried in what was then unconsecrated ground

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 near the church later that same afternoon. Her public execution

Public Execution

Public Execution is a Mouse and the Traps retrospective album that has been released in both LP and CD formats. The LP has an unusually large number of tracks , while the CD includes 4 bonus tracks and catalogues almost all of the released music by Mouse and the Traps and their associated bands: ...

 attracted large crowds, who watched as she was taken by cart from the gaol to the execution at Gallows Lane.

Myths and controversies

For some time after the execution, it was claimed the father of the murdered child was Walter Wilkins the Younger, the son of the Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 and High Sheriff

High Sheriff

A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...

 for the county and the "young squire" of Maesllwch Castle. Wilkins was a member of the grand jury

Grand jury

A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...

 which found Morgan had a case to answer. Although this theory is broadly discredited today, it has been key in cementing the popular characterisation of Mary Morgan as the helpless victim of an unscrupulous aristocrat. The father is now generally agreed to have been one of her fellow servants at the castle.

Revisionism

Since her execution, there has been a concerted effort to redeem Morgan's reputation. Her case became a causes célèbre for feminists who have presented her trial as a miscarriage of justice and suggested the Judge and jury were misogynistic

Misogyny

Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...

, although it has never been disputed that the murder happened and there is no reason to believe the verdict or punishment could have been different.