Sarah Valentine, No Great Expectations
Part 2
by
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Then finally, the day after Ann Pontin’s sudden death, on Thursday 10th February 1842, it all came to a head in the Workhouse kitchen. The heavily built Sophia Crafts had been taunting Sarah Valentine and started pushing her. Sarah was cleaning some crockery in one of the sinks and tried to ignore her. Meanwhile, Jane Navarri was taking a pan of hot water off the stove when Mary Murphy deliberately barged into her. Jane Navarri dropped the hot pan back onto the stove, but not before hot water had splashed down her front, causing her to howl in pain. Taking advantage of the distraction Sophia Crafts seized Sarah’s head and thrust it into the sink water. Sarah struggled to pull her head out of the water, but Sophia Crafts was a very big, strong girl and held her firmly under. Sarah started to panic, she couldn’t breath, she was drowning, Sophia Crafts seemed intent on killing her. Meanwhile, with her hands on fire from the scolding water, Jane Navarri’s resolve snapped. It was the final straw, she had had enough, she whirled round and went for Mary Murphy. Jane was only of slight build, but she was fuelled by pent up anger, and Mary Murphy was caught unawares; she had not expected Jane to fight back. But, fight back she did. She locked her hands in Mary Murphy’s hair and pulled with all her might. The two of them crashed around the kitchen, knocking pots and pans to the floor in their struggles. Mary Murphy was screaming with pain as Jane ripped handfuls of hair from her head. While Jane and Mary Murphy were fighting, Sarah was choking on dirty dishwater as she tried to take a breath, in desperation she kicked back her heel into Sophia Crafts's shin. Sophia Crafts let out a howl of pain and stepped back, releasing her hold on Sarah’s head. Sarah pulled her head out of the sink, coughing and gasping out dishwater. One of the cooks had seen Sophia Crafts try to drown Sarah and grabbed hold of her. This proved to be a very big mistake, as Sophia Crafts, enraged by Sarah’s kick, turned round and punched the cook full in the face. Blood spurting from her crushed nose, the cook fell back onto the floor. Sarah meanwhile was regaining her wits and had grabbed the nearest weapon, which turned out to be a large pan. Raising it above her head, she brought it down as hard as she could on Sophia Crafts's head. Sophia Crafts's eyes glazed over and she fell to the floor alongside the cook. Seeing her nemesis lying on the kitchen floor, Sarah smiled grimly, then turned to see what was happening around her. Jane Navarri still had hold of Mary Murphy’s hair and they were both still staggering about, but Maggie Orme and Kate Copeland were descending on her. Kate Copeland had a knife in her hand and was waiting for an opportunity to stab Jane Navarri with it. Sarah threw the pan she was holding at Kate Copeland and was happy to see it strike her in the eye. With a yelp, she dropped the knife and clutched at her face. Then, Sarah saw Maggie Orme seize hold of a large ladle and step up behind Jane ready to strike her with it. She shouted. “Don’t you dare!” And grabbed the back of her hair to pull her back. Maggie Orme screamed and dropped the ladle. Falling back under Sarah’s assault her arms swung about wildly as she tried to keep her balance. She fell to one side knocking a large pile of plates onto the stone floor. Broken crockery scattered everywhere. Pandemonium broke loose. The cooks were shouting at the tops of their voices trying to restore order. Meanwhile, one of the cooks had run to the Master’s office to report the trouble. The Master, accompanied by three large men, stormed into the kitchen. The men waded into the fracas; Sarah found her arms gripped in two strong hands and she was forced to the floor. Maggie Orme started to kick her as she lay there, but was also grabbed and restrained. The men quickly broke up the fighting. A few minutes later, they were all gathered in the Workhouse Master’s office. In front of his desk were the six girls: Jane Navarri, Mary Murphy, Maggie Orme, Kate Copeland, holding her face, Sophia Crafts, looking dazed and Sarah, with wet bedraggled hair; they did not present a pretty sight. Just behind them were the two senior cooks, one with a bloody nose. The Workhouse Master was seated at his desk, the three men standing behind him; they all wore fierce expressions. The Master asked the cooks to explain what had happened. They reported that the fight had started between Jane Navarri and Mary Murphy and that Sophia Crafts had tried to drown Sarah and punched a cook. They also stated that Sarah had grabbed Magdalene Orme’s hair and that Kate Copeland had been involved but, lucky for her, no one had spotted the knife she had dropped. It seemed clear to the Master that Jane Navarri, Mary Murphy and Sophia Crafts were the root cause of the fight but, despite his intense questioning, none of the three girls seemed anxious to say anything. With an angry grimace, he turned his attention to Maggie Orme, Kate Copeland and Sarah, but they had also decided to say nothing. However, he had decided that the main miscreants were to be severely punished as an example to others. So Jane Navarri, Mary Murphy and Sophia Crafts were dispatched to the Magistrates who sent them to the House of Correction. Sarah Valentine, Maggie Orme and Kate Copeland were sent to the Robert Street Station House where they were locked up. Sarah lay down in her cell and contemplated the sorry position in which she now found herself.
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About the Book
This is the second book of a trilogy of books on the life and times of Sarah Valentine. Sarah Valentine was my great-great-grandmother, and I first heard her story, as a little boy, from my grandmother. She intrigued me so much that in later years, I researched her and was astounded to find her in old London records. She was born in 1819 in the deprived East End of London, and her story is filled with heartache and adversity. This was, of course, in the time of Charles Dickens, and he would have known the area well. In later years, it would become the haunt of “Jack the Ripper.” She suffered much anguish and sorrow—events that were amplified as her life touched that of other tragic people. The fact that she survived at all is quite remarkable. She was a rebel, and, at only twelve years old, her parents threw her into the Shoreditch Workhouse where she fell foul of a number of feral girls, who were quite happy to inflict serious harm to any who got in their way. She was raped by a trusted friend and was forced to give up her much loved illegitimate son; it almost drove her to suicide. Her family was decimated in a slum clearance, but she determinedly struggled on. My objective in writing her biography is to give a remarkable insight into the daily struggle of a real-life penniless young girl to survive in the early depraved East End of London, and readers must bear in mind that this no work of fiction. These events actually happened.
About the Author
This is the second book for general public release written by Philip Valentine Coates. However, it is certainly not the second written article he has produced. He spent many years as a highly qualified professional technologist specializing in advanced thermal imaging and image processing systems. He has written many comprehensive technology papers for publication in specialist journals and has presented technical papers at many prestigious international conferences. He even has acclaimed technical papers held in the British Library. He is also the holder of many patents registered in a wide variety of countries. This experience has given him a unique skill in the in-depth researching of topics, which has enabled him to produce a unique and revealing detailed insight into the remarkable life of a poor woman who was born two hundred years ago in a deprived and dangerous Dickensian London. He was born in Sheffield, England, and attended the University of Surrey where he gained his master’s degree. He is married. He and his wife, Jennifer, have five children and fifteen unruly grandchildren who are the loves of his life (if more than a little demanding).