A shocking murder was committed at the beginning of May 1819, that of a woman from the parish of Wendy, Cambridgeshire. About a year prior to this awful event, a man named Thomas Wyms or possibly Weems, was married to the deceased woman at the parish church of Goldington, Bedfordshire on 3 January 1818, but this was no marriage based upon love though, rather it was a compulsory marriage instigated by the parish officers. His bride being a Mary Ann Dixon who claimed to have been pregnant, hence the parish officers insisting they married to ensure that the child would be provided for.
Thomas, however, having ‘done the right thing’ and married her, immediately left her and returned to his own village, leaving her to be looked after by her friends.
Afterwards it transpired that Mary Ann was not pregnant. On Monday 3 May, he left Edmonton, where he had taken employment and headed for Godmanchester, Huntingdonshire, where his wife lived, but with whom he hadn’t lived. On his road from Caxton towards Godmanchester he managed to wave down a post chaise and got in it to ride to Godmanchester, and there was a man in the chaise who was known to him.
The pair engaged in conversation and Thomas stated that he was going to Godmanchester to fetch his wife and take her to live with him at Edmonton, but that there was a girl at Edmonton that he was acquainted with, a very nice girl, whom he preferred to his wife and that he would actually like to marry this girl.
When his companion said that it was impossible given his current marital situation, Thomas replied that ‘when he had got his wife at Edmonton, he should soon be able to get rid of her.’
When the chaise arrived at Godmanchester, Thomas remained with his wife until the Friday, when they both left early in the morning to walk to Edmonton, which was some fifty miles away. About sixteen miles into the walk, they eventually stopped, and it was here that Thomas seized his opportunity whilst Mary Ann lay down on the grass by the side of the road, about a mile from the village of Arrington.
Whilst they were resting there, a woman named Susannah Bird, of Wendy, Cambridgeshire, who was on her way to Royston in neighbouring, Hertfordshire spotted them sitting on the roadside. After passing them, she turned around and noticed that they had headed into a farmer’s field.
The couple were looking around, as did Susannah, as she thought their behaviour unusual. When she reached the white gates of the Wimpole Estate which belonged to Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke, she lost sight of them.
As Susannah returned from Royston, she met Thomas again, but this time, he was without Mary Ann. She asked him what he had done with the young woman he had with him in the morning. He said, ‘I left her behind’ and that she was exhausted and wouldn’t walk any further. Thomas said he left her to get on the coach. Susannah walked on, but then she saw the coach and there was no sign of Mary Ann on it either inside or out. She said that something odd struck her about Thomas and was concerned that Mary Ann had come to some harm or worse still, that he had killed her.
As she continued to walk, she came to the field where she had seen them earlier and went to investigate and sure enough, she came across Mary Ann’s battered body lying in a ditch. Her shawl was covering her face and her bonnet on the shawl. Her boy had been covered in grass, which was strewed over her in handfuls, only her foot and one of her fingers was visible. There were marks on the grass by the ditch, as if there had been a great struggle. Susannah called out to Mr Wilkinson who was working in the neighbouring field, who immediately came to her assistance. They removed all the grass and examined her body; her garter was found around her neck tied very tightly. The other garter was still around her other leg.
Information was immediately sent to the coroner, who arrived early evening to examine her body. Thomas was almost immediately arrested. After hearing all the evidence Thomas was charged with wilful murder and committed to the county gaol to await trial at the next assizes. Apparently, Thomas made a full confession and was sentenced to death.
Mary Ann was buried at Godmanchester on 9 May 1819, at the tender age of just 21.
Sources
Westmoreland Gazette 22 May 1819
England Marriages 1538-1973
All Things Georgian 
Poor Mary Ann. Why didn’t Thomas just sell her instead? I understand wife-selling was common practice at the time to end a marriage if it wasn’t going well.
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Two lives wasted. Thomas could turned to wife-selling instead of murder to get out of his compulsory marriage.
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It certainly was, and yes, selling his wife would have been a better option at that time.
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Wife-selling may be abhorrent to us, but it was better than killing a wife to end a bad marriage.
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