A Doomed Romance In the Wavertree area of Liverpool, on Church Road, there is a church called the Holy Trinity, which dates from 1794. Facing this church on the other side of the road, there are four ancient stone steps known locally as the mounting stone. Since the late 1790s, churchgoers used to stand on these steps to mount their horses. Around 1800, a love affair began on those stone steps. Catherine Mayfield, the 22-year-old daughter of a local merchant named Alfred Mayfield, left Holy Trinity, and returned to her horse, which was tethered by a row of posts on Church Road. Her fiance Joshua Quiller, a hard-headed businessman who owned paper factories in Liverpool and London, was neglecting Catherine as usual and talking shop with several other businessmen who had just left the church service. Catherine stood on the mounting stone, but the horse trotted off and she clung to it. A youth of about eighteen suddenly appeared and seized the horse's reins and steadied her. He brought her back to the mounting steps, and Catherine was able to get into the saddle with some dignity. She thanked the boy, who had a mop of black curly hair. He smiled at Catherine and then walked away, but it was one of those examples of 'love at first sight' that you hear about. Something connected between them. Catherine made secret enquiries about the youth, and discovered he was an orphan named Joel. He'd been raised by a Jewish family who had given him the name, but he ended up running away from home and had been living rough on the streets of Liverpool. He'd been in trouble for hunting wood pigeons and other foul on the various estates of Wavertree. In short, he was a vagabond. But, when Jill's in love with Jack, his pockmarks seem like dimples, and so a well-to-do lady saw beyond the grimy image of the young vagrant, and she fell rapidly in love with him. She persuaded her father Alfred to hire Joel to work on the sprawling acres of the family homestead near what is now Menlove Avenue. That summer, Catherine Mayfield started a love affair with Joel that was absurd. The young man had a limited vocabulary of words, and was almost slow-witted, and yet Catherine came to notice his gentle side. He collected a rainbow arrangement of wild flowers for her, and on the summer nights, the two of them would sit hidden away under an old oak tree, gazing at the Milky Way and the occasional shooting star. Joel was in tune with Nature, unlike Catherine's fiancee Joshua Quiller, who spoke about nothing but money. In August, Catherine discovered that she was pregnant with Joel's child, and she visited an old friend of the family named Mrs Plaistow for advice. Mrs Plaistow unfortunately revealed Catherine's secret to a relative, and within a few days, the shocking news of the pregnancy of Catherine Mayfield reached the ears of her boyfriend Joshua Quiller. He was devastated and turned to drink, but didn't let on to anyone about his sweetheart's infidelity. He bought an expensive wedding ring, and visited Catherine late on night and proposed. She accepted, and intended to pass off the child she was carrying as Joshua's. Catherine Quiller, as she now became moved to London with her husband, who had purchased an enormous home on Hampstead Heath. Joel was invited down to London to work on the estate by Joshua Quiller. One day, Joel went missing, and Catherine was devastated at the disappearance. She asked her husband if he knew what had become of the young man, but Joshua simply shook his head. Catherine suspected that her husband knew something about Joel's absence, and had probably had something to do with it. On the following day, Catherine and Joshua were travelling across the old London Bridge in a carriage, when the vehicle was forced to a halt because of the huge crowds blocking the bridge. Joshua left the carriage to see what was causing the disturbance. The crowds were looking over the bridge at something below. Curiosity got the better of Catherine, and she too left the carriage to see what was happening. An old woman told her that a pirate had been chained to the walls below London Bridge. The tide was coming in and soon the pirate would be drowned. Catherine shuddered at the thought, but it was a common spectacle. She peeped over the bridge - and saw Joel in shackles - chained to a wall. The waves were up to his neck. Catherine almost passed out. Joshua chuckled and gloatingly said he had framed the youth and had bribed the authorities to state that Joel had been found guilty of piracy. Catherine asked her husband why he had done this, and he pointed to her stomach and said: 'That child is not mine; it is his.' Catherine ran into the crowd, and scrambled over the wall. There was a great commotion as she plunged into the murky freezing waters of the Thames below. Witnesses say Catherine swam to Joel, and tried desperately to pull off the manacles. The water rose steadily until it covered his head. Catherine took deep gulps of air and dived under the water to blow the air into her drowning lover's mouth, but it was useless, and they died holding hands. She died from shock and hypothermia from the freezing Thames. There's a gruesome footnote to this story. Joshua Quiller was buried in Highgate Cemetery, and in 1960, his grave had to be exhumed because of subsidence. His coffin had been split open by the strong root of a Yew tree which had coiled itself around the corpse's neck. The end of the root came out of the mouth, and it just looked as if Quiller's tongue had wrapped itself around his neck. The story of Catherine and Joel's doomed romance later reached the ears of one Emily Bronte, and she loosely based Heathcliff on the character of Joel when she wrote Wuthering Heights. Bronte even states in the novel that Heathcliff was found wandering in the streets of Liverpool. ©Tom Slemen 2002. From Haunted Liverpool 6 (Bluecoat Press). --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.319 / Virus Database: 178 - Release Date: 28/01/02

Thanks Marj, that was very interesting. Roz > A Doomed Romance > > In the Wavertree area of Liverpool, on Church Road, there is a church called > the Holy Trinity, which dates from 1794. Facing this church on the other > side > of the road, there are four ancient stone steps known locally as the > mounting > stone. Since the late 1790s, churchgoers used to stand on these steps to > mount their horses. Around 1800, a love affair began on those stone steps. > Catherine Mayfield, the 22-year-old daughter of a local merchant named > Alfred > Mayfield, left Holy Trinity, and returned to her horse, which was tethered > by > a row of posts on Church Road. Her fiance Joshua Quiller, a hard-headed > businessman who owned paper factories in Liverpool and London, was > neglecting > Catherine as usual and talking shop with several other businessmen who had > just left the church service. Catherine stood on the mounting stone, but the > horse trotted off and she clung to it. A youth of about eighteen suddenly > appeared and seized the horse's reins and steadied her. He brought her back > to the mounting steps, and Catherine was able to get into the saddle with > some dignity. She thanked the boy, who had a mop of black curly hair. He > smiled at Catherine and then walked away, but it was one of those examples > of > 'love at first sight' that you hear about. Something connected between them. > Catherine made secret enquiries about the youth, and discovered he was an > orphan named Joel. He'd been raised by a Jewish family who had given him the > name, but he ended up running away from home and had been living rough on > the > streets of Liverpool. He'd been in trouble for hunting wood pigeons and > other > foul on the various estates of Wavertree. In short, he was a vagabond. But, > when Jill's in love with Jack, his pockmarks seem like dimples, and so a > well-to-do lady saw beyond the grimy image of the young vagrant, and she > fell > rapidly in love with him. She persuaded her father Alfred to hire Joel to > work on the sprawling acres of the family homestead near what is now Menlove > Avenue. That summer, Catherine Mayfield started a love affair with Joel that > was absurd. The young man had a limited vocabulary of words, and was almost > slow-witted, and yet Catherine came to notice his gentle side. He collected > a > rainbow arrangement of wild flowers for her, and on the summer nights, the > two of them would sit hidden away under an old oak tree, gazing at the Milky > Way and the occasional shooting star. Joel was in tune with Nature, unlike > Catherine's fiancee Joshua Quiller, who spoke about nothing but money. > In August, Catherine discovered that she was pregnant with Joel's child, and > she visited an old friend of the family named Mrs Plaistow for advice. Mrs > Plaistow unfortunately revealed Catherine's secret to a relative, and within > a few days, the shocking news of the pregnancy of Catherine Mayfield reached > the ears of her boyfriend Joshua Quiller. He was devastated and turned to > drink, but didn't let on to anyone about his sweetheart's infidelity. He > bought an expensive wedding ring, and visited Catherine late on night and > proposed. > She accepted, and intended to pass off the child she was carrying as > Joshua's. Catherine Quiller, as she now became moved to London with her > husband, who had purchased an enormous home on Hampstead Heath. Joel was > invited down to London to work on the estate by Joshua Quiller. > One day, Joel went missing, and Catherine was devastated at the > disappearance. She asked her husband if he knew what had become of the young > man, but Joshua simply shook his head. Catherine suspected that her husband > knew something about Joel's absence, and had probably had something to do > with it. > On the following day, Catherine and Joshua were travelling across the old > London Bridge in a carriage, when the vehicle was forced to a halt because > of > the huge crowds blocking the bridge. Joshua left the carriage to see what > was > causing the disturbance. The crowds were looking over the bridge at > something > below. Curiosity got the better of Catherine, and she too left the carriage > to see what was happening. An old woman told her that a pirate had been > chained to the walls below London Bridge. The tide was coming in and soon > the > pirate would be drowned. Catherine shuddered at the thought, but it was a > common spectacle. She peeped over the bridge - and saw Joel in shackles - > chained to a wall. The waves were up to his neck. Catherine almost passed > out. Joshua chuckled and gloatingly said he had framed the youth and had > bribed the authorities to state that Joel had been found guilty of piracy. > Catherine asked her husband why he had done this, and he pointed to her > stomach and said: 'That child is not mine; it is his.' > Catherine ran into the crowd, and scrambled over the wall. There was a great > commotion as she plunged into the murky freezing waters of the Thames below. > Witnesses say Catherine swam to Joel, and tried desperately to pull off the > manacles. The water rose steadily until it covered his head. Catherine took > deep gulps of air and dived under the water to blow the air into her > drowning > lover's mouth, but it was useless, and they died holding hands. She died > from > shock and hypothermia from the freezing Thames. > There's a gruesome footnote to this story. Joshua Quiller was buried in > Highgate Cemetery, and in 1960, his grave had to be exhumed because of > subsidence. His coffin had been split open by the strong root of a Yew tree > which had coiled itself around the corpse's neck. The end of the root came > out of the mouth, and it just looked as if Quiller's tongue had wrapped > itself around his neck. > > The story of Catherine and Joel's doomed romance later reached the ears of > one Emily Bronte, and she loosely based Heathcliff on the character of Joel > when she wrote Wuthering Heights. Bronte even states in the novel that > Heathcliff was found wandering in the streets of Liverpool. > > ©Tom Slemen 2002. From Haunted Liverpool 6 (Bluecoat Press). > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.319 / Virus Database: 178 - Release Date: 28/01/02 > > > ==== GEN-FRIENDS Mailing List ==== > Please delete unwanted taglines and signatures before > sending your message to avoid over-long messages. > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com