A short transcription in Chamber’s ‘Nottinghamshire in the Eighteenth Century’ tells the truly terrible story of Mary Man.

“In 1720 Mary Mann, the mother of a bastard child “was barbarously and unnaturally” carried by the Constable and other officers of Hickling before Sir Francis Molyneux, at least seven miles away, on January 13 1720, in the hardest and severest weather, having lain in only a fortnight after giving birth to a bastard child. They did it “of their own heads and without any order from a magistrate, though they pretended they had an order from Sir Thomas Parkyns, for which slander they were bound over to good behaviour. During the examination regarding the paternity of the child, the mother had to be held up by two persons, for which “hard usage Mary Mann died”.

• There is an original baptism record; “John bastard son of Mary Man David Speed is assumed father baptised Jan 1^st 1720″.
  • (the NFHS transcriptions record: John son of David Speed and Mary Man baptised Hickling 01/01/1721)
• There is an original burial record: “Mary Man single woman buried Jan 21^st 1720″.
  • (the NFHS transcriptions record a burial for Mary Man, single woman, 21/01/1721)
• The anomalies in the dates can be attributed to the use/non-use of the Gregorian Calendar which was in variable use at this time; the old year ran from Lady Day to Lady Day and placed January towards the end of the year instead of at the beginning.
• There is no surviving headstone for Mary Man dated 1720 but this is not necessarily unusual. Many graves at this time were marked with a simple wooden cross rather than a permanent headstone and, of course, not all permanent headstones have survived the last 300 years. It is also possible that further research may reveal her name being mentioned on a family member’s headstone of a later date.

There are a large number of Man/Mann family records in Hickling at this time with the same names recurring frequently. However, there are some further parish records which may help to understand Mary Man’s story further:

• Mary Man: several possible baptisms
  • 29/5/1692 daughter of George and Elizabeth
  • 4/1/1708 daughter of George & Amy
  • 7/3/1703 daughter of John & Mary; this seems to be the most likely record for Mary – might Mary have given her child, her father’s name? If so, Mary would have been just 16 or 17 when she died.
    • If correct; it may be that Mary had an elder sister, Elizabeth (baptised 1698).
• No marriage records have been found in Hickling for John Man/Mann or John Speed in likely timeframes (not unusual since men tended to marry in the bride’s parish)
• Similarly, no clear burial records.

This is the extent of the research, so far, but a story of this kind raises so many thoughts and questions:

• The role of the village Constable at this time was a strange one and their activities were somewhat reliant on the personality of the individual. An unmarried mother was required to identify the father by law (for example, if she required parish relief) but not all of these cases were dealt with in Court. Marriages where the dates don’t quite add-up are reasonably common, for example. But there do also seem to be cases where the family and the community simply accommodate what has happened without it becoming ‘official’.
  • further research needed into the legal (Church & Civil) status of unmarried mother’s in this period.
• So, why did this case appear in Court? The terrible behaviour of the Constable and his officers is clearly noted in the official records – was this case personal in some way?
• The identity of the father is also noted in the Parish Registers; might the couple have married if they had been given the opportunity?
• Further research might also reveal what happened to Mary’s baby. Can we find future records of a likely individual with either the surname Man/n or Speed?
• Similarly, future records for David Speed. There are a number of Speed family records in the Hickling Parish records but none for David Speed.