Vicar Sir Thomas Butler of Much Wenlock
For all those interested in the story of Alice Glaston, Sir Thomas Butlers story is as interesting as it is significant.
Thomas Butlers served as the vicar of the Holy Trinity Church (located immediately to the left of the cell where Alice was imprisoned) in 1546. We believe that Thomas Butler would have been present throughout the process of Alice's trial and on site at her death.
What is particularly interesting about the case of Thomas Butler, is the records he left.
On or just after the 13th April 1546, Butler made an entry into his logs. It read:
Here was buried John Dodd of the parish of Little Wenlock who was hanged here, as also Alice Glaston, 11 years of age of the parish of Little Wenlock, and Wm. Harper, a tailor.
Further down the page, Mr Butler writes a second entry which reads:
13th Apr. Three convicts buried; one a girl of 11 years old.
In the margin before his initial statement, Mr Butler wrote a side note,
"buried in our parish church, before the door of our Lady's chapel".
If this be true and taken literally, Alice may have been unlawfully buried upon consecrated ground. It is quite likely, especially given that two entries were made emphasizing Alice's age, that her death was not popular and quite possibly something that Vicar Butler was vehemently opposed to (or at least in secret).
Extracts from the register of Sir Thomas Butler
The extracts from Thomas Butlers records give us huge amounts of detail in just a couple of short paragraphs. We are able to learn where she lived, that she was hanged with two other convicts (John Dodd and Wm. Harper, but crucially it gives us the date and year. This helps us unpick her surroundings hugely. But his records also help us understand the local goings on around the Much Wenlock area, and give a voice to so many others mentioned.
Click below to read from his log.
