The Mystery of Sarah Garrow
BBC’s Garrow’s Law is a great piece of drama. And Lady Sarah contributes to the fun of the story. Lyndsey Marshal is intriguing as Lady Sarah. I wouldn’t want to change a thing.
In an historical drama, such as Garrow’s Law, the writers must create fiction – putting words into characters' mouths. Situations are created to carry out historically accurate themes. Real characters, with new words and created situations, become morphed into new creatures. And the new creatures become remembered as the authentic ones. Known or knowable facts sometimes get in the way of a good story, and are quickly overlooked and forgotten.
Much mystery surrounds the real Sarah. And yet much is known about her. Her name was Sarah Dore. She had a serious relationship with Sir Arthur Hill. They had a child, named William Arthur. By all accounts Sarah was an elegant lady. This is made clear by her portrait by John Russell, which is a part of the Rothschild Collection at the National Trust estate at Waddesdon Manor. She is thought to have had an aristocratic Irish background, and colorful stories have been passed down the subsequent generations of her extended family.
However there are some awkward facts that are overlooked in the “Garrow’s Law” dramas.
Garrow started working as a barrister in the Old Bailey in early 1784. Yet by this time Sarah had birthed the child by Sir Arthur Hill. A son, William Arthur Dore Hill, was born sometime in 1778. It is interesting to note that the father, Sir Arthur Hill, upon the death of his of his own father, Wills Hill, became the 2nd Marquis of Downshire, and soon became one of the richest men in England.
But Sarah’s relationship with Arthur Hill did not last and an early relationship with William Garrow was begun. David William, her first child by William Garrow, was born on 15 April 1781 while Garrow was studying law. Her second child by Garrow was Eliza Sophia, born 18 June 1784, during the first year of Garrow’s practice as a barrister in the Old Bailey, and certainly ordered before he started his practice there. What is true is that there was an ongoing supportive relationship between Sir Arthur Hill, and his son, William Arthur Dore Hill, with the son being supported as a gentleman by the Hill family throughout his entire life – with Sarah in the middle between the Garrows and the Hills. The facts of a case are sometimes just as intriguing as fiction.
This all gets personal with me. Sarah was my great great great great grandmother. And I am intrigued by both Sarahs – the one played by Lyndsey Marshal in Garrow’s Law, and the one that comes down through family stories. In addition to being an elegant lady in both version of the story, Sarah was a good mother, raising healthy productive children, and was a much respected member of her community in Pegwell.
But mystery remains. She is buried in the St. Margaret churchyard near Darenth, Kent. Resting next to our Sarah Garrow is Elizabeth Strutton Munn (1693-1741), Margaret Munn Dore (1714-1801), and George Dore (1745-1805). This appears to be a clue into the family background of our Sarah. Who are these people? I am hoping that some competent genealogists will be challenged to discover Sarah’s family background. Was she Catholic? Was she Irish? Was her background truly aristocratic? Please help all the fans of our Sarah with answers to these mysteries.
Richard Braby
八卦一下，真晕，和电视剧里不一样，Sarah生于1752年，garrow生于1760年，比garrow大8岁。他们两生第一个孩子时，garrow只有21岁还在学习法律.........我刚和我母亲说完，我母亲还不知道是一部英国电视剧时，她说那肯定是国外，中国不大可能。我加了几句，还是在乾隆年间的英国。
1736年是乾隆元年，他们两1781年生第一个孩子，相识肯定更早，假设是1780年乾隆四十五年相识。.....我真晕，这换在现在中国也是新闻。.而且Sarah前老公（事实婚姻），就是电视剧中那位的父亲是什么侯爵，他是长子，若干年后继承爵位成为当时英国非常富有的人士之一。挺感慨的，要是在中国够爆炸性新闻的了。这就是东西方文化的不同吧。就像电影传教士中说的相爱就是相爱。何必牵扯那么多。
又感慨于当时英国的司法体系，虽然现在看来还很粗糙。看过之后就想说那些爱国人士何必对子鸦片战争以来中国受到的侵略耿耿于怀，整天一副受害者要讨回公道的样子。了解英国的历史会心平气和。我们早就输了。
演员和历史上的garrow长相相差不少，去Google一下吧。
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