Margaret Catchpole

Margaret Catchpole is a Suffolk folk heroine, subject of books and plays and an opera. Although some aspects of her story have been fictionalised, it is known that she lived in Nacton village where she had demonstrated her bravery in fetching help for a local child by riding into Ipswich.

She became a servant to Elizabeth Cobbold who is considered responsible for encouraging her reading skills. Margaret was said to have had an involvement with a smuggler, Will Laud, and infamously rode a stolen horse from Ipswich to London where Laud had been imprisoned. She was captured, tried and sentenced to death although this was later commuted to transportation to Australia. She escaped from Ipswich gaol but was recaptured and sentenced to death but again this was commuted to transportation.

In Australia she initially worked in service but later supported herself as a small-holder and midwife. She wrote about Aboriginal communities, wildlife and continued corresponding with Elizabeth Cobbold.

The Blue plaque was unveiled by members of the Ipswich Women’s Festival Group which aims to research and celebrate local women’s achievements, organising events and developing resources.

The Group started in the 1980s when it held various women’s festivals in the town. It built on the work done by a Community Education Local Women’s History Group in the 1990s, which compiled the first leaflet, and held an exhibition of Women and Work.

This plaque was unveiled on 11th December 2019.

This is the second Blue Plaque to be placed on the Manor House, the other is to Nathaniel Bacon. A rare event but one which indicates the historical importance of this eminent building.