A talk by Tom Sanday on 10 February 2025. Report by Stan Morrissey.
On 3 April 1817, just before Easter, a strangely dressed woman appeared in Almondsbury. She seemed to speak no English and explained through interpreters that her name was Caraboo and was a princess who had escaped from pirates. She was feted by local Society.
Tom Sanday first came across the story when he was 15 and was amazed that someone so famous had lived in his little village. He’s been talking about her ever since and gave us a fascinating account.
This stranger called at a cobbler’s cottage in Almondsbury, then as now a small village. By law, all vagrants had to be reported so the Overseer of the Poor was called, and he took her to Knole Park, the home of Samuel Worrall, who was a magistrate and effective Lord of the Manor. She was not a typical homeless vagrant; she apparently spoke no English, wore a black turban, had thick black hair and had good teeth. Warrell didn’t know what to do with her, so he sent her to the Bowl Inn in Almondsbury. She didn’t know what a bed was for and slept on the floor, refused all food but drank tea. She saw a sketch of a pineapple and named it, so the mystery grew.
The next day the vicar arrived and took her to Knole House. Here she was offered a hot cross bun, which she ate but left the cross untouched, from which they gathered that she was not a Christian. The vicar and Worrall tried various languages on her but with no responses.
On Easter Saturday, they took her to Bristol to consult the mayor, John Haythorne. They took her to St Peter’s Hospital near the river, which was an establishment in very poor condition – the girl refused to even enter it. Eventually the Town Clerk let her stay in his house. On the Monday, Elizabeth Worrall visited. She was Worrall’s wife, an American younger than him who had brought money into their estate. She took pity on the stranger and found her a room of her own. Word spread about the mysterious visitor and the local gentry paid visits to see her
One visitor, a Portuguese, attempted conversation and gathered that she was a foreign princess. Samuel Worrall, seeing the interest in the girl, renewed his own interest. Worrall, like most political post-holders, was corrupt and saw this as a money-making opportunity. He owned a bank in Bristol and reputation was all important, so he took the stranger back to Knole House to retain control over her.
The stranger showed many talents. She asked many questions, she could row, use a bow and arrow and swim (which she did naked). She shot, prepared and cooked a pigeon showing a range of capabilities. She was very different to other girls of the era (think Jane Austen’s heroines). She recognised pictures of Chinese junks, and it was assumed she came from the Far East. She told them numbers and various words she used at home and could consistently repeat them, so they seemed genuine.
Gradually she revealed her story. She said her father was a Chinese prince and she a princess. Her mother was Malay. She said that her father had black teeth, which seemed strange, but investigation showed that this was fashionable in China.
She was sat in their garden when a passing junk landed, grabbed her and took her away. After a long voyage the ship reached Europe and sailed up the Bristol Channel. Here she managed to jump ship, swam ashore and walked inland, reaching Almondbury.
In those days Barbary pirates from North Africa commonly raided coastal villages and kidnapped whoever they could enslave. Around 1.25 million Europeans alone were abducted in this way, including from British villages. This only ended in 1860 when the British fleet bombarded Algiers and freed some 4500 slaves, so her story matched known conditions.
Other visitors came to view her. Dr Charles Wilkinson, owner of the hot baths at Bath, fell in love with her and asserted that she was totally genuine. An announcement was made to the papers that she had passed all tests and was a genuine Princess. The papers spread the story, and she became a national celebrity.
Then in early June, she disappeared. She was seen and recognised in Bath, wearing her ‘national dress’ of turban with a shortish dress. A collection was made for her, of about £60K in present value and she eventually returned to Bristol.
On June 8th there was a caller at Knole House. A lady with a lodging house in Bristol had recognised and quizzed her and Caraboo had admitted that she was English and her name was Mary Willcocks, a cobbler’s daughter from Devon. Worrall was very upset to lose his protégé, but most people thought that this was a great turnup and the papers had a field day.
So who was she? Her father was an impoverished cobbler. She was a tomboy, holding her own against brothers. She was very independent, getting jobs as a maid then moving on so as not to get settled. She bought a dress from her earnings; her father thought she had a ‘protector’ and thrashed her, so she left home and travelled alone to London, staying in Kennington Workhouse as an itinerant. They wanted to send her back to her own parish, but she got a job locally, working as a cleaner in a hospital for ‘penitent prostitutes’. Eventually she met a Mr Baker and gave birth to a boy who died, moved on to Bristol and lodged in Lewins Mead where she invented the Caraboo character and attracted a lot of visitors.
How did she do it? As no-one knew that she spoke English she picked up a lot of details from conversations. Men were easily taken in as she was very attractive. She invented her ‘language’, sustained her story consistently and was never caught out. Worrall of course now wanted rid of her and arranged a job in Philadelphia, well out of the way. The ship, it was said, was blown off course and landed at St Helena where Bonaparte was imprisoned and she was introduced to the ex-emperor, who took a great liking to her. But this was all made up by the press to keep the story running!
When she did arrive in America she was greeted as a celebrity and crowds followed her. She was advised to go on the stage rather than work as a maid and joined a company but she didn’t have ‘stage presence’ so her concerts were cancelled and she eventually returned to England. There she lived in Bedminster, married a Richard Baker and had a daughter Mary.
In 1864 she died in Bedminster. She had a house, family, and ran a business selling leeches to doctors. She left a respectable amount, and a good reputation so could be said to be an eventual success. She is buried in Bedminster and now has a statue marking her grave. A fascinating story of a unique person.