Jane Lewson (née ''Vaughan'') (1700?–1816), commonly known as Lady Lewson, was an eccentric woman who claimed to be a

supercentenarian A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...

. She claimed to be born in 1700 in

Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and is part of the A4 ...

. Early in life she married a wealthy man, who died when she was 26, leaving her with one daughter. When her daughter married she spent the rest of her years as an eccentric widow, living in Coldbath Square and rarely leaving her home despite her considerable wealth. She became well known during her era for the fact that, until her death at the purported age of 116, she continued to wear the fashions of the reign of George I, and hence she became known as Lady Lewson because of her fashion style. She was known for her extreme

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

and fear of getting a cold, which led her to only use one teacup, she smeared herself with pigs fat instead of washing and she would never have her windows washed in case they were broken and let in germs. By the time of her death, it was said they had become so grimy they no longer let in light. It is speculated that she was probably one of several people who furnished

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

with the model for his eccentric spinster Miss Havisham in the novel ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

''.Oddballs and Eccentrics, by Karl Shaw, Castle Books, 2004

References

* 1816 deaths Longevity claims People from London {{England-bio-stub