The Sleeping Angel

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In 1813, fellow Quakers encouraged her to visit Newgate Prison, infamous for appalling conditions. She found it overcrowded with no separation of men from women, leaving women at risk of rape. Many had not even been to trial. Many would be shipped to Australia in vessels Ms Fry described as no better than slave ships, some dying on the way. Disease was rife; hanging common, even for trivial offences; the system foul. She determined to see change. In 1817 she helped found the ‘Association for Reformation of the Female Prisoners in Newgate’. She persuaded senior politicians to spend nights in Newgate to experience the horrors, and one year later became the first woman ever to give evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee, a century before women got the vote. Her campaigns touched the nation’s heart. All photographs by Robert Freidus, who also provided names and dates. Text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. Photographs reproduced here by kind permission of Highgate Cemetery. Related Material In 1780, Elizabeth Gurney had been born into a Norwich banking family. She lost her mother when only 12, and helped bring up her siblings. Her brother, John, became a well-known philanthropist, sister Louisa Gurney Hoare a pioneering education advocate. When she reached 20, Elizabeth married banker Joseph Fry. They and their 11 children lived in East Ham and later moved to West Ham; 44 years an east Londoner. The story goes that the angel was covered in ivy for many years and discovered by a photographer. The ivy was removed and she was on display for a while but now she is usually covered with planks of wood as the cemetery management don't want people to know she is there in case of vandalism and questions about her came to an abrupt end. Hmmmm....I love getting to the bottom of a good mystery! Are there any specific musical techniques or instruments that enhance the emotional impact of the song?

In modern days, also, has it not been at the shrine of death that the highest efforts of the Michael Angelos, the Canovas, the Thorwaldsens, and the Chantreys, have been elicited and exhibited? The tomb has, in fact, been the great chronicler of taste throughout the world." [John Claudius Loudon 13] includes the alleged offences of named individuals unless it is considered to be already common public knowledge Justyne, William. A Guide to Highgate Cemetery. London: (printed by) J. Moore, c.1865. Hathi Trust. Web. 19 August 2013.

Quakers believe everyone has a ‘light within’ that will shine if given the opportunity, and try to bring that out by campaigning for social justice wheresoever they live. That belief gave Elizabeth (or Betsy as she was known) the passion she carried into prison reform work. In 1823, the Gaols Act was passed. It was limited, but did require women be segregated. She pressed for more, holding meetings with Princess, later Queen, Victoria who endorsed and funded her work. In 1835 the Prisons Act was approved, introducing central control of prison policy and the appointment of Prison Inspectors. New prisons were designed with single cells.

The narrator emphasizes their need for the other person's presence because it allows them to breathe, suggesting that their relationship brings them a sense of life and vitality. However, they also caution against taking their love lightly, as it may jeopardize their ability to stay in the relationship. Writing in her popular God's Acre: Or Historical Notices Relating to Churchyards (1858), Mrs Stone described angels as playing important roles in human life, and especially at the time of death, as heavenly messengers whispering "of faith, of hope, of comfort, in that Divine expiation made for all sin." [405]Three views of the sleeping angel on the grave of Mary Nichols. The inscription reads: “In Ever Loving Memory of Mary, the darling wife of Arthur Nichols and fondly loved mother of their only son Harold who fell asleep 7th May 1909. Also of Dennis Arthur Charles son of Harold and Winifred who died 28th April 1916 aged 18 months.” Jeane Trend-Hill explains that Mary's husband was a bank manager, so he could afford this kind of splendid and unusual monument. In this case the implication seems to be that the deceased is herself a sleeping angel.