The Mystery of Elizabeth Canning

Was she abducted by a brothel-keeper, or was it all one big lie?

On the night of January 1st, 1753, 18-year-old Elizabeth Canning went missing. Earlier on that New Year’s Day she had left her employer, Mr Lyon, who ran a carpentry business in the City of London, telling him she was going home, where she lived with her mother, but she made a detour to pay a visit to her Uncle Folley who lived near the London Docks, and he made such a fuss of his favourite niece that she didn’t get away from his home until 10 p.m., and even then he insisted he would have to accompany her on her homeward journey to Aldermanbury Street in the City. Her uncle and aunt escorted the teenager as far as Houndsditch, a mere ten-minute walk from her home, when Elizabeth said she would be all right from there on, and after kissing her, Uncle Folley reluctantly turned and headed home with his wife.

Over an hour later, Elizabeth’s mother, Bet, a widow with five children, stood on her doorstep, waiting anxiously to catch sight of her overdue daughter. As midnight came and went, Mrs Canning began to fear her eldest daughter had been murdered or abducted.

The following day the people of Aldermanbury Street quickly came to Bet Canning’s aid. The neighbours made a collection to finance a reward for anyone who could provide information about the girl’s whereabouts. Some of the collected money paid for a “missing” advert that was printed in the local paper. The advert gave a description of Elizabeth and offered a two guinea reward for information leading to her discovery. But four weeks passed without any news of the teenager.

Then, out of the blue, on January 29th, Elizabeth Canning turned up at Aldermanbury Street, limping and half naked. A bloodstained piece of torn cloth was tied around her head, and she sported a nasty gash on her left ear. She hobbled into the house, where her mother threw her arms around her battered and bruised daughter and sat her at the table.

Elizabeth explained how, soon after leaving Uncle Folley’s house, she had been brutally set upon by a couple of burly rogues. One of the scoundrels hit her on the head with a cosh, knocking her unconscious, then they ripped off her dress and apron and stole her half-guinea. When Elizabeth came…

Related posts:

There are millions of people who need help with their jobs, even if they don’t realize it. If you’re a writer, an editor, a translator, or any kind of expert in your field, there are people out there…

Investing in convertible bonds is appealing due to the potential to earn both corporate and fixed-income returns, but they are also risky.

iOS 11 is the next-generation version of iOS. Its the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. Its stable version for consumers was released in on September 19, 2017. Its next-generation…