The Mad Woman of Norton Conyers.

J W Hartley sent me an email with this story: The Mad Woman of Norton Conyers.

Norton Conyers is a medieval manor house at Wath near Ripon in North Yorkshire. The building has had later additions and has recently been restored winning the Historic Houses Association & Sotheby’s Restoration Award in 2014. The house has belonged to the Graham family since 1624 who had strong connections to the royals. Sir Richard Graham fought for King Charles I at the Battle of Marston Moor where over four thousand Royalists were killed. Sir Richard who fought until the battle was over was badly wounded and chased on horseback by Oliver Cromwell and a troop of cavalry back to Norton Conyers. On arrival Sir Richard was carried to bed where he soon died after which Oliver Cromwell arrived to find the dead body of Sir Richard Graham and ordered his men to ransack the house. Charles I stayed at Norton Conyers in 1633 and James II stayed at the house in 1679. 

It is perhaps most famous for being an inspiration for Thornfield Hall in Charlotte Brontë’s celebrated novel Jane Eyre. The novelist is believed to have visited Norton Conyers in 1839 and the family legend of a “madwoman” secretly confined to an attic room might have given her the idea for the crazed Mrs Rochester.

Charlotte was very interested in the Graham family legend of a mad woman who was held in an attic room during the 1700s. the woman was said to be imprisoned in an upstairs attic room at Norton Conyers which was only accessible from a hidden door and staircase on the first floor. The discovery of a blocked staircase at Norton Conyers in 2004 from the first floor to the attic confirmed that the house was the inspiration for Jane Eyre. It is believed that the character Bertha Antoinetta Mason in the novel Jane Eyre is based on the mad woman of Norton Conyers. 

It is possible the insane woman held at Norton Conyers was one of the Graham family or maybe somebody they gave pity as insane asylums were basically prisons. People suffering from mental illness were often treated unfairly as it was not recognised as a condition however progress was being made as people now generally believed it was a medical matter and not a supernatural event as in previous years. Family members would confine mentally ill people to, prevent them from being humiliated in public by others, protect them from harm, protect others from harm and keep them out of the prison like insane asylums where they would be treated harshly. Under these circumstances we can sympathise with the Graham family and Mr Rochester as this may have been the most humane option available at the time. 

Norton Conyers is open to the public 28 days a year, other nearby places to visit on a day out around Ripon could include Ripon Cathedral, Marmion tower, the Victorian Workhouse Museum, the Prison And Police Museum, the Courthouse Museum, Thornborough Henge, and even Lightwater Valley Theme Park. 

Read more and see a lot of pictures on: nortonconyers-RESTORATION AWARD