Kidnapped from her prestigious Liverpool boarding school on March 7, 1827, 15-year-old Ellen Turner was led to believe her family would be financially ruined if she didn’t marry her 30 year-old abductor, Edward Gibbon Wakefield.

Before she was able to deduce that his story was a sham, Turner was whisked off to Gretna Green and inadvertently passed over the keys to her father’s estate, Shrigley, to her assailant - until an intervention from the House of Lords, and a trial that captured Britain’s imagination. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly divulge the loopholes to England’s marital age limits; explain how ‘impure’ marriages were a get-rich-quick habit for Wakefield; and reveal the extraordinary next chapter for this conniving scamster …  

Further Reading:

• ‘10 of History’s Worst Marriages’ (History Collection, 2018): https://historycollection.com/10-of-historys-worst-marriages/5/ 

• ‘Gretna Green: The bit of Scotland where English people go to get married’ (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28679430 

• ‘Wakefield & the NZ Company’ (CBHS History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We-VfjxHbRA 

Ten minute daily episodes bringing you curious moments from this day in history, with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll: The Retrospectors. New episodes Mon-Wed; reruns Thurs-Fri.

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: 

Ollie Peart

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

This episode originally aired in 2023

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