Margaret Clark (arsonist)
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Margaret Clark (died 1680), also known as Margret Clark, was an English servant arrested and executed for the
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...
of her employer's house in
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, London. Her justifications were published posthumously in
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
form.


Career

Margaret Clark was born in Croydon, Surrey. She found work as a servant in various houses and by January 1680, she was serving the family of Peter Delanoy, a prosperous dyer who lived in
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, in London.


Arson

On 1 February 1680, the Delanoy family were at their country home in
Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
. Three fires were started in the Southwark house; they were put out by local people and Clark was arrested on the night after arousing suspicions by acting strangely. At first, she denied the charge but then quickly admitted
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...
. She claimed that she had been approached by John Satterthwayt in late January and he had asked her to let him into the house in order to set it on fire. Clark alleged that he had promised to pay her £2,000 (equivalent to £ in ). Satterthwayt was arrested the following day on her description. He was a soldier in the Duke of York's guard and initially investigators were suspicious because the duke (later to become
James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
) was Catholic and at the time religious tensions were running high as a result of the
Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate ...
. Clark and Satterthwayt were both detained and stood trial at Kingston assizes on 13 March. Clark was found guilty and sentenced to death. Satterthwayt persuaded the jury that he was Protestant and his fellow soldiers said they were drinking with him in various pubs on the night of the arson, so he was acquitted.


Death and legacy

Clark was put to death by hanging on 22 March 1680. She had declined to ask for a pardon. In her final hours, she was besieged by people asking her why she had done it. As she stood on the scaffold awaiting her execution, Clark announced to the onlookers that she had written a
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
arguing her case, claiming that her culpability was limited. This had probably been dictated by her and the high sheriff saw that it was published after her death. ''The true confession of Margret Clark'' was followed by a second pamphlet also published in 1680 and entitled ''Warning for Servants, and a Caution to Protestants''. Both texts expanded upon Clark's argument that she had been bribed by Satterthwayt as part of a Catholic plot to burn down London. She declared that "Pride and Sabbath breaking hath been my downfall". Satterthwayt set out his side of the story in ''A True and Perfect Narrative of the Tryal and Acquitment of Mr. John Satterthwayt''.


See also

*
Elizabeth Cellier Elizabeth Cellier, commonly known as Mrs. Cellier or 'Popish Midwife' (c. 1668 – c. 1688), was a notable Catholic midwife in seventeenth-century England. She stood trial for treason in 1679 for her alleged part in the 'Meal-Tub Plot' against ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Margaret 1680 deaths People executed by the United Kingdom by hanging English pamphleteers British arsonists British servants English female criminals Working class women Maids