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Notes
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In spring 1827, British society was all aflutter at the excitement and intrigue surrounding the trial of British diplomat Edward Gibbon Wakefield and his brother William at Lancaster Castle. Driven by financial gain, in 1826 they hatched a daring plan to abduct fifteen-year-old Ellen Turner. Ellen was the sole heir of William Turner, the wealthy owner of a calico printing business in Blackburn. Ellen was taken from her school near Liverpool under the false pretence that she had been summoned home to attend to her ill mother. She was met by Edward Gibbon Wakefield at Manchester who claimed he was a friend of her father come to escort her. During a 600 mile journey Edward used all of his skills to weave a convincing web of lies: that her father had lost his fortune due to the collapse of his bank and the security of her family was dependent on her marrying him.
Ellen, who is depicted in this portrait, married her father's neighbour Thomas Legh of Lyme Park, one of the magistrates involved in the trial. Tragically she died in childbirth in 1831. Edward went on to live a long and productive life. He is remembered as one of the key figures involved in the colonisation of New Zealand, along with three of his brothers.
Museum of Lancashire
Preston
Title
Ellen Turner of Helmshore (d.1831)
Date
1837
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 67.7 x W 59 cm (E)
Accession number
LANMS.1977.83.6
Acquisition method
bequeathed by Irene Ackroyd Hardman, 1977
Work type
Painting
Inscription description
H Wyatt Pinxt
Museum of Lancashire
Stanley Street, Preston, Lancashire PR1 4YP England
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