Historical Notes for Those Who Trespass

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As in most historical fiction, I have taken liberties with the few characters in my story based on people who existed in 1818 England. 

There was a real Lord Salisbury who was Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire with an estate in Hatfield. At the time it was James Cecil, First Marquess of Salisbury, (1748-1832), who served in Parliament and became the Joint Postmaster General from 1816 to 1823. His wife was Lady Emily Mary, who was known as a sportswoman who hosted many sporting events on the grounds of Hatfield House. They had four children, including Caroline, who died at an early age. 

The character of Lord Salisbury in Those Who Trespass is very loosely based on the real man, and I hope that the slight honoring of Caroline in the story and the heroics of my fictional Lord will be seen in the respectful and entertaining light they were written to be.

There was also a real First Lord Admiral and Lady Melville of whom much has been written, both in non-fiction and fiction. His name was Robert Dundas, and he served under both Kings George III and IV. His main objective was to maintain the supremacy of the British navy after the victorious battle of Trafalgar. He served well in his various roles of government and he and his wife Anne had six children. 

The actual rector of St. Etheldreda’s church in 1818 was a well-respected man whose name was Reverend Francis Joseph Faithfull who was also as the founder and headmaster of the local preparatory school for boys. Faithful was a friend of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, the son of the First Marquess, and Reverend Faithfull was said to be the first person to play a match of tennis with the Marquess on the newly renovated 17th-century tennis courts at Hatfield House in 1842.

Though my character Rev. Henry Keate occupies the place of vicar in my story, he is only loosely based on Rev. Faithful, who sounds equally wonderful!

The Old Vicarage, or Old Rectory still exists, is currently an adult care home and is not open to the public.

St. Etheldreda’s Church in Hatfield dates to the 13th century, the tower being built in the 17th century. It is full to the ceiling with history and is well worth visiting. It was Queen Elizabeth I’s church before she became queen when she was in house arrest at the Old Palace which was just to the north of the church. There are many monuments and tombs there, and the Carillon, first installed in 1786, which has been restored, plays different tunes each day of the week on the eight bells in the tower. (Carillons are fascinating and worth looking up!)

The brief mention of the church warden is my heartfelt nod to my dear friend and historical consultant Malcolm Caie, who is the current church warden at St. Etheldreda’s Church in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, and I must tell the brief history of our relationship.

Those Who Trespass began rolling around in my mind sometime around 2004 and never gave up on being written down. During the Covid shutdown, I finally gave in and wrote the first draft during that time. The main difficulty was that I was precluded from doing in person research because a trip to England during that time was next to impossible. 

I finally resorted to contacting St. Etheldreda’s through their social media and soon received an email from Malcolm, who not only was church warden, but also a local historian. That began a fabulous codependence that became a warm friendship which was solidified when my husband and I were finally able to visit Hatfield in 2022. We spent a beautiful day with Malcolm and his equally knowledgably wife, Mae, exploring the church, including the tight spiral staircase of the tower where I found the perfect place to hide the body! My friendship with the Caies remains and God has blessed me so much to have them in my life.

The HMS Relentless is based on a British Naval frigate called the HMS Lively, which was the prototype of its class built and launched at Woolwich Dockyard in 1804. These small yet agile ships were the scouts and nimble work horses of the British navy and were highly valued by the Admiralty. They were very study in heavy storms, maneuverable and housed around 250 men. After the Napoleonic Wars they were often used in spying missions and to subvert pirate activity.  

The Royal Dockyard at Woolwich was a massive place teaming with constant activity. Many ships, including enormous ships of the line were built there. Woolwich, like other Royal Dockyards was overseen by the Admiral of the Dock. The history of dockyards on the River Thames is endless and it’s a shame that nothing remains of historical Woolwich but the Clock House, which still exists, but has been moved from its original place. 

St. Jame’s Church, in St. Jame’s Square in London is still there and often open to the public. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren, was dedicated in 1684 and was a crowning jewel set on the north side of this prestigious development in the west end of London. It has an impressive barrel vault ceiling held up by huge Corinthian columns, with large arched window down the sides, and was the perfect setting for Gresham’s breakdown and Braxton’s flicker of faith coming to life.

Finally, there is the Banqueting House, which is still on Whitehall in Westminster, London. Originally part of the Palace of Whitehall, designed by Indigo Jones and built in 1622, it was the only remaining building left after a terrible fire that burned down all the large structures of the palace. The magnificent ceiling is covered in Reuben paintings with gold embellished trim which can be better examined from the surrounding gallery walkway above and around the hall supported by Corinthian columns. Unfortunately, since Covid it has been essentially closed to the public, but there are still lavish events held there today.