Martha Ray (1746 – 7 April 1779) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
singer of the
Georgian era
The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Willi ...
. Her father was a
corsetmaker
A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms corsetier (male) and corsetière (female).
Stay-maker is an obsolete name for a corsetmaker.
The best corsetmakers are highl ...
and her mother was a servant in a noble household.
Good-looking, intelligent, and a talented singer, she came to the attention of many of her father's
patrons
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
.
She is best known for her affair with
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (13 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life ...
. She lived with him as his
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...
from the age of seventeen, while his wife was suffering from mental illness. She gave birth to nine children, five of whom survived, including the lawyer and philanthropist
Basil Montagu
Basil Montagu (24 April 1770 – 27 November 1851) was a British jurist, barrister, writer and philanthropist. He was educated at Charterhouse and studied law at Cambridge. He was significantly involved in reforms to bankruptcy laws of Britain. H ...
. During this time, she conducted a successful singing career, for which she became well known, as well as completing her education with Lord Sandwich's support.
Life and career
Sandwich set Ray up in a residence in
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, and gave her a generous allowance,
allowing her a place to stay during periods in which she did not wish to remain at his home. In public, although Sandwich was married, the two acted as husband and wife.
During this period, Ray was introduced to a soldier,
James Hackman
James Hackman (baptized 13 December 1752, hanged 19 April 1779), briefly Rector of Wiveton in Norfolk, was the man who murdered Martha Ray, singer and mistress of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Rawlings, Philip, ''Hackman, James (bap. 1752, ...
, by Sandwich. Hackman became a frequent visitor, and is thought to have proposed marriage to Ray on several instances, but she declined each time. Also by this time, Sandwich was deeply in
debt
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
. It is believed that while Sandwich was financially generous to Ray, he did not offer her any long-term financial security, which may have been what led Ray into tolerating Hackman's advances.
In 1779, Hackman left the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
to join the church.
At some point, believed to have been around 1778, Ray and Hackman had become involved romantically, but this affair was short-lived, by most reports due to her believing he lacked the financial means and social status to support her. However, Hackman was completely infatuated with Ray, becoming increasingly jealous, and continued to pursue her.
Murder
On 7 April 1779, in the company of close friend and fellow singer
Caterina Galli
Caterina Galli (c. 1723 - 1804) was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano. She first rose to fame in England in the 1740s and early 1750s where she was particularly admired for her performances in the works of George Frideric Handel. She then enjoyed ...
, Ray left her home to attend a performance of
Isaac Bickerstaffe
Isaac Bickerstaffe or Bickerstaff (26 September 1733 – after 1808) was an Irish playwright and Librettist.
Early life
Isaac John Bickerstaff was born in Dublin, on 26 September 1733, where his father John Bickerstaff held a government posi ...
's comic opera ''
Love in a Village''.
She had been approached by Hackman earlier that evening, but when she declined to tell him where she was going he followed her to the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
at
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
, where he murdered her. Hackman believed that she had taken another lover,
William Hanger, Baron Coleraine, whom Hackman witnessed her meeting at Covent Garden. Whether she and Coleraine were involved in an affair has never been clearly established. Sandwich was devastated by her death. Hackman attempted to shoot himself following the murder, but only wounded himself, and was arrested. Two days after her 14 April burial, Hackman was sentenced to hanging, and the sentence was carried out on 19 April in front of a large crowd in
Tyburn
Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Ox ...
, London.
The events surrounding her murder were used in the popular 1780 novel ''
Love and Madness
''Love and Madness'' is a 1780 English novel by Sir Herbert Croft. It was based on the 1779 murder of Martha Ray, the mistress of Lord Sandwich, by James Hackman. Its full title is ''Love and Madness, a Story too True: in a Series of Letters betwe ...
'' by
Herbert Croft.
Ray was buried in a vault under a
pew
A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom.
Overview
...
in St Nicholas church,
Elstree
Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of t ...
. During renovations of the church in 1824, the vault was re-discovered and Ray's remains moved to an unmarked grave in the churchyard. In 1920, the then
Earl of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...
had a tombstone erected over the grave.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Portraits from National Portrait GalleryDetails of her murder from a biography of James HackmanBritish History Online, Martha Ray*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Martha
1746 births
1779 deaths
English courtesans
British murder victims
People murdered in Westminster
18th-century British women singers
Violence against women in London