Early Life and Criminal Beginnings
It might seem incredible to us today that a relatively uneducated woman who was a career criminal could successfully convince a large number of people that she possessed supernatural powers and healing abilities, but Mary Bateman succeeded in doing so in Leeds in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Mary was born Mary Harker around 1768 to a farmer at Asenby, some four miles south of Thirsk in North Yorkshire, and even as a child exhibited criminal tendencies.
Like many girls of her era, she went into domestic service as a teenager, initially working for a family in Thirsk, but was soon sacked for stealing from them.
She continued her criminal career with a series of minor thefts and scams, and by 1778 had moved to Leeds as she had become too well known locally.
In 1782, after knowing him for just three weeks, she married John Bateman, who was a wheelwright. Marriage did not curtail her activities, however, and the couple had to move regularly to avoid arrest.
They had four children, including a son also christened John.
By 1799, Mary was living in Marsh Lane, Leeds. She started dressmaking and also took to telling fortunes, claiming to have supernatural powers which she used to great effect.
She made and sold potions that were supposed to cure various ailments and ward off evil spirits. There was still a widespread popular belief in the power of witchcraft at this time, and Mary found she could cash in on it.
It was far more profitable and certainly less risky than stealing, a crime for which she could easily be hanged.
Early Poisonings and Fictitious Personas
It is generally thought that Mary poisoned three people in 1803, although she was never tried for or convicted of these murders.
The victims were two Quaker sisters who lived above their draper’s shop with their mother in St Peter’s Square in Quarry Hill, Leeds.
Mary sold them medicines which were in fact poison mixtures, and having killed them, she robbed the house and shop. When neighbours asked why the three women had died, she told them that they had caught bubonic plague.
Amazingly, there was little suspicion as to the true cause of death and no inquest into them, so Mary walked away with her booty.
Mary frequently used a fictitious persona named “Mrs. Moore” to help her in her scams. This non-existent lady was the initial fount of all Mary’s “wisdom” and was always consulted on behalf of Mary’s clients.
They were told that money she took from them was to go directly to Mrs. Moore.
In 1806, Mary invented a new alter ego called “Mrs. Blythe” to assist in her increasingly lucrative extortion plots.
The Perigo Extortion Plot
Living in the Bramley area of Leeds at this time were a comfortably off, childless middle-aged couple, William and Rebecca Perigo.
Rebecca was suffering from a fluttering in the breast whenever she lay down and was also experiencing psychological distress, claiming to be haunted by a black dog and other spirits.
She was told by her doctor, one Dr. Curzley, that she was under some sort of spell and that he was unable to help her.
At Whitsun 1806, the Perigos were visited by their niece, who suggested obtaining help from Mary Bateman, claiming she would be able to rid her aunt of the spirits that were possessing her.
As a result, a meeting was arranged between the Perigos and Mary outside the Black Dog pub.
Mary asked for an item of underclothing which she could send to Mrs. Blythe in Scarborough, who would be able to help. William Perigo took a flannel petticoat to Mary, who promised to send it to Mrs. Blythe and instructed William to return the following week.
When he did, Mary showed him a letter purportedly from Mrs. Blythe. The imaginary Mrs. Blythe directed that Mary should go to the Perigos’ house and sew four guinea notes (£1.10) and some gold coins into each of the four corners of Rebecca’s bed, where they were to be left undisturbed for eighteen months.
William was instructed to give Mary four genuine guinea notes in exchange to return to Mrs. Blythe. The notes were duly sewn into the bed, and William was instructed to visit Mary regularly to receive further instructions.
The next command was that William should nail two horseshoes to the door.
William soon received another letter from Mrs. Blythe instructing him to take Mary a further two guinea notes and to purchase a cheese to be sent to her. The letter was ordered to be burnt immediately after being read.
The next letter requested that a quantity of china and silverware be sent to her, along with tea and sugar, and that letter was likewise burnt.
A subsequent demand was for a bed and bedclothes, as Mrs. Blythe claimed she was unable to sleep in her own bed due to the ferocious spiritual battle she was waging against the demons possessing Rebecca.
Again, the letter was destroyed immediately after being actioned.
The Poisoned Honey and Puddings
The next letter predicted that an illness would soon strike the Perigo household, affecting one or both of them.
It instructed Rebecca to take half a pound of honey to Mary, who would mix it into special medicine that Mrs. Blythe had prepared.
The Perigos were also instructed to eat puddings for six consecutive days, mixing into each a daily marked packet of powder that Mary would provide.
Rebecca went to see Mary, complied with the instructions, and left with the honey and the packets of powder.
On the 5th of May, another letter arrived instructing the Perigos to begin eating the puddings on the 11th of May.
Crucially, it stated that only sufficient pudding was to be prepared for each day, that no one else was to be permitted to eat any of it, and that any leftovers had to be destroyed immediately.
It also insisted that should William or Rebecca fall ill, they were not to consult a doctor, as medical men would be powerless to assist. Like its predecessors, this letter was burnt.
The scene for the final act was now set: the Perigos would unknowingly poison themselves and destroy all physical evidence of Mary’s involvement.
Fatal Illness and Discovery
To begin with, eating the puddings produced no ill effects, but on the sixth day they tasted distinctly different, causing both William and Rebecca to suffer excruciating stomach cramps and violent vomiting.
As directed, a doctor was not immediately consulted. Rebecca, who continued to eat the poisoned honey, died in agony on the 24th of May 1807.
William did eventually consult a doctor, who suspected poisoning, but no post-mortem examination was carried out. William began to slowly recover because he ceased eating the puddings.
Mary had been extraordinarily cunning up to this point. Through Mrs. Blythe, she continued to demand valuable items from William, carefully calculated not to exceed what his prosperous business could bear.
Her fatal miscalculation, however, was that William survived rather than died alongside his wife.
William at length decided to examine the silk purses containing the guinea notes and gold coins that Mrs. Blythe had allegedly sewn into Rebecca’s bedding.
Upon cutting them open, he discovered that the gold coins and banknotes had been replaced with cabbage leaves and copper coins.
Realising he had been duped, William arranged a meeting with Mary on the pretext of purchasing another bottle of medicine, bringing along Constable Driffield.
Mary arrived carrying a bottle of liquid containing oatmeal and arsenic, with which she presumably intended to silence her accuser. As soon as she spotted the constable, she claimed that William Perigo had bought the bottle for her.
The constable was unimpressed by the charade and took Mary into custody. A subsequent search of her home recovered many of the personal possessions and valuables sent to the fictitious Mrs. Blythe by the Perigos.
The Assize Trial at York Castle
Mary appeared before the magistrates the following day charged with Rebecca Perigo’s murder.
She was committed for trial at the Yorkshire Lent Assizes of 1809, which opened at York Castle on Friday the 17th of March before Mr. Justice Sir Simon Le Blanc.
Evidence was produced showing that the handwriting on Mrs. Blythe’s letters was identical to Mary’s. It was revealed that Mary had sent the letters to contacts in Scarborough to be mailed back so that they would bear authentic postmarks.
A search by constables in Scarborough confirmed that no Mrs. Blythe existed.
Forensic evidence was provided by a Mr. Chorley, who analysed the remains of the honey jar and discovered that it contained mercuric chloride (corrosive sublimate), a lethal chemical poison directly consistent with the violent gastrointestinal symptoms suffered by the Perigos.
Mary’s defence was a straightforward, flat denial of any involvement in the death.
Sir Simon Le Blanc summed up and instructed the jury that to return a guilty verdict, they had to be satisfied on three specific points:
- That Rebecca had died from poisoning;
- That the poison had been administered with the knowledge and contrivance of Mary;
- That it had been given with the intention of causing Rebecca’s death.
He added that while there was clear proof of systematic fraud against the Perigos, that alone did not automatically prove murder.
The evidence of intentional poisoning was overwhelming, and the jury required only a short deliberation to return a guilty verdict.
Pleading the Belly and Sentencing
In accordance with criminal procedure, Mary was asked if she had any reason why sentence of death should not be pronounced.
Breaking into floods of tears, she pleaded her belly, claiming to be pregnant in an effort to secure a reprieve.
The judge ordered the courtroom doors locked and immediately empanelled a jury of matrons to physically examine her. The matrons determined that she was not pregnant.
Sir Simon Le Blanc then donned the black cap and sentenced her to be hanged and afterwards dissected on the following Monday, under the mandatory terms of the Murder Act of 1751.
She was forty-one years old and had kept an infant child with her in prison up until her condemnation.
Over the weekend, Mary wrote a letter to her husband enclosing her wedding ring for their daughter. She admitted some of her extensive frauds but continued to deny the murders.
The Leeds Intelligencer reported that she maintained her deceptive habits even in the condemned cell, telling the fortune of one of her female warders for a guinea.
On the morning of the execution, she rose at five o’clock to attend a communion service in the prison chapel.
Public Hanging at York Castle
Mary was executed on Monday, the 20th of March 1809, by William “Mutton” Curry, the resident Yorkshire hangman, alongside Joseph Brown, who had been convicted of the murder of Elizabeth Fletcher.
Curry was nicknamed “Mutton” because he had twice been convicted of sheep stealing and reprieved on both occasions—the second time on the condition that he remain an inmate at York Castle and carry out executions, which he did from 1802 to 1835.
The “New Drop” gallows was erected in the area behind the castle, and a crowd of some 5,000 spectators gathered to witness the execution.
Despite the persistent exhortations of the prison chaplain, the Reverend George Brown, Mary refused to confess to the murder, dying under the short drop “with a lie on her lips”.
Many in the crowd still held a superstitious belief in her magical powers, and some spectators genuinely expected her to be saved from the rope at the final moment by demonic or divine intervention.
A broadside was printed and sold detailing the crimes and deaths of Mary Bateman and Joseph Brown.
Dissection, Public Exhibition, and Legacy
Following the execution, Mary’s body was sent to the Leeds Royal Infirmary for anatomical dissection in accordance with the Murder Act.
Her corpse was placed on public display, with visitors charged three pence each to view it, raising £30 for the hospital.
Strips of her skin were tanned and sold as macabre souvenirs and curios.
Her skeleton was used for medical lectures and was later mounted alongside a plaster death mask of her skull. Her remains were later displayed at the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds, on loan from the Infirmary.
Bateman’s ability to operate unhindered for years stemmed largely from the dread she inspired in local communities, where fear of her supposed witchcraft discouraged victims from reporting her predations to the authorities.
Statutory post-mortem dissection of murderers remained in force until the Anatomy Act of 1832, featuring in later notorious cases such as William Corder in 1828 and Jane Jameson in 1829.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Mary Bateman?
Mary Bateman (born Mary Harker) was an English career thief, con artist, and fortune teller known as “The Yorkshire Witch,” who operated in Leeds in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, pretending to possess supernatural powers while extorting and poisoning her clients.
How did Mary Bateman murder Rebecca Perigo?
Bateman persuaded William and Rebecca Perigo that Rebecca was cursed by evil spirits and could be cured through the guidance of an imaginary clairvoyant named “Mrs. Blythe.” Over several months, Bateman extorted money and household goods before instructing the couple to eat puddings and honey mixed with lethal doses of mercuric chloride (corrosive sublimate).
What happened when Mary Bateman “pleaded her belly” at trial?
After being found guilty of murder at York Castle in March 1809, Bateman claimed she was pregnant to avoid the death penalty. The judge empanelled a jury of matrons—a panel of local married women—who examined her in private, declared she was not pregnant, and cleared the way for her execution.
What happened to Mary Bateman’s body after her hanging?
Under the Murder Act 1751, Bateman was denied burial and transferred to the Leeds Royal Infirmary for dissection. Her corpse was exhibited to thousands of paying spectators, strips of her skin were sold as curios, and her mounted skeleton was preserved for medical study, later going on display at the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds.
Where and when was Mary Bateman executed?
She was hanged on the New Drop gallows behind York Castle on Monday, 20 March 1809, by executioner William “Mutton” Curry.
Support the Archive
If you have found this article useful and would like to help preserve and maintain this historical archive, please consider supporting the site.