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Buttermere Lake
© Cumbria County Council, Carlisle Library
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Putting beauty on the map |
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With the unsuspecting secluded community at Buttermere ignorant of his deception, he set about wooing Mary Robinson. On 2 Oct 1802, the pair wed. Shortly after the marriage took place, news of it reached those acquainted with the genuine Augustus Hope who was in Germany. 
John Hatfield
© Cumbria County Council, Carlisle Library |
On further investigation, the deception was uncovered in the London press and John Hatfield went underground, leaving Mary to find out the awful truth. An initial search of Hatfield’s dressing case revealed nothing except the traditional trappings of a gentleman. However when Mary herself carried out a second search, she discovered a hidden compartment containing a letter addressed to Hatfield from his wife and children. A “wanted” poster produced whilst Hatfield was still on the run described him as a “Notorious impostor swindler and felon”.
After leading the authorities on a merry dance across the country, Hatfield was eventually captured near Swansea. He faced trial at Carlisle and was given the death penalty, hanging by the neck until he was dead on 3 September 1803. In the eyes of her contemporaries, the scandal emphasised the innocence and purity of the Maid of Buttermere as opposed to the worldly duplicity of those prepared to take advantage of her. During the trial, she wrote a letter to the court, reaffirming her ignorance of his fraud. A leaflet published in 1863, 'The Life of John Hatfield, commonly called the Keswick imposter', details the effect of this letter on the courtroom. Quoting from an unspecified local chronicle, it says:
"The simplicity of this letter, which, though it breathes the soft murmer of complaint, is free from all virulence, excited in the breast of every person present, an emotion of pity and respect for the unmerited sorrows of a female who had in the whole matter manifested a delicacy of sentiment and nobleness of mind infinitely beyond her sphere of education."
Engraving, c1803
© Cumbria County Council, Carlisle Library |
Mary Robinson’s treatment at the hands of Hatfield also engendered sympathy among her literary fans, as testified by Wordsworth’s 'The Prelude'. In Book VII he writes: “in cruel mockery;/Of love and marriage bonds.”
Irony underlines the story of Mary Robinson. Her simplicity was the catalyst for the fame which ultimately destroyed that simplicity. Discovered and included as part of the well-trodden Lakes tourist trail, the Maid of Buttermere was prevented from living the kind of life for which she was famed. It is particularly ironic that those who celebrated her natural, simple way of life were actually responsible for destroying it.
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