Sarah Whitehead | |
|---|---|
 Engraving of Whitehead from The New Wonderful Magazine | |
| Known for | Reputedly haunting the Bank of England |
Sarah Whitehead is the reported name of a woman whose ghost is said to haunt the Bank of England; her ghost became known as The Black Nun.
Whitehead's brother, Philip, was employed by the Bank of England from 1797 to 1810. [1] During his employment at the bank, Philip Whitehead "adopted an extravagent lifestyle" and began to speculate on the Stock Market. [1] The directors of the bank allowed him to resign, avoiding dismissal, and he set himself up as a stockbroker. [1] Meanwhile evidence came to light, demonstrating that Philip Whitehead had defrauded Robarts & Co. by "forging an acceptance to a Bill". [1] He was charged with forgery in 1811, [2] then executed on 29 January 1812. [1] [3]
The news of her brother's conviction and execution was kept from his sister, Sarah Whitehead, as long as possible. [1] However, upon hearing the news, Whitehead's mental health became unstable and she visited the Bank daily, asking if he was there. [1] This continued until 1818, when the Directors offered Whitehead a financial grant on the condition that she stopped coming to the bank. [1] Whitehead wore black crepe clothing, which was a sign of mourning, and as a result became known as the 'Black Nun'. [1]
However, there is uncertainty over her identity, since there is no recorded 'Sarah Whitehead' in contemporary records. [4]
Whitehead's ghost reputedly haunts the Bank of England, as well as the area on Threadneedle Street nearby. [5]
The story of Whitehead and later on, her ghost, was repeatedly written about and serialised in newspapers in the nineteenth century. [1] The story was re-written as The Lady in Black, or, the Widow and the Wife by James Malcolm Rymer, as penny fiction from 1847-8. [4] Edith Sitwell reimagined Whitehead's story in her book English Eccentrics. [6] The myth of Whitehead's ghost appears in the poem New Year Letter by W H Auden. [4]
In 1861 her story was portrayed on stage at the Bower Saloon Theatre on Stangate Street, Westminster Road. [1]
Whitehead's story features in several publications and events/programmes about ghosts in London, such as London Ghost Walks; [7] 'Lates' by the Bank of England Museum; [8] and Reader's Digest 's List of '20 Most Haunted Places in London'. [9]
Whitehead's story has been repeated in many formats, across a large number of years and the story of her ghost needs to considered against the historical background of concerns about forgery in the 1810s. [4] The story of her brother first appears in The Criminal Recorder in 1815. [10] Whitehead's story was first reported in The Times on 22 February 1828. [4] It was repeated and illustrated in Streetology in 1837. [4] In 1841, a date of death for Whitehead is reported for the first time. [11]
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51°30′51″N0°05′19″W / 51.5142°N 0.0885°W
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