In the third part of Secret Isle of Wight, we look at the acrimonious divorce of Lady Seymour Worsley and her husband Sir Richard, who lived at Appuldurcombe near Wroxall.
Johnny Depp v Amber Heard, Kayne West v Kim Kardashian: these brutal modern divorces had nothing on the notorious break-up of Sir Richard Worsley and his wife Seymour over 200 years ago.
This was a divorce that scandalised 18th-century society. It was turned into a steamy BBC 2 costume drama The Scandalous Lady W in 2015, starring Natalie Dormer as Lady Seymour Worsley (Game of Thrones, The Tudors).
In 1775 the 17-year-old heiress Seymour Fleming married Sir Richard Worsley, 7th Baronet of Appuldurcombe. She brought a dowry of £52,000 to the union (over £7million pounds in today’s money).
Sir Richard used his wife’s fortune to transform Appuldurcombe into a sumptuous Palladian mansion. He filled it with Chippendale furniture and priceless artefacts and set it all in a vast ornamental park landscaped by Capability Brown. Richard represented the peak of the Worsleys’ wealth and influence: he was a privy councillor and – as comptroller of George III’s household – close to the king.
But the marriage between Richard and Seymour was unhappy from the start: it wasn’t consummated for 3 months. Although the couple had a son in 1776, according to Lady Worsley soon after the marital bed, “like the weather, had grown perfectly cool”.
6 years after the wedding, Seymour eloped with Captain George Bisset: a friend and neighbour of Sir Richard, who lived at Knighton Gorges near Newchurch. Lady Worsley had already borne George Bisset a daughter, whom her husband had adopted to avoid scandal.
When Seymour left Sir Richard, she had hoped her spouse would let her go. At that time women could not divorce their husbands, but instead of divorcing Seymour, Richard took revenge by suing Bisset for ‘criminal conversation’ (adultery). He claimed £20,000 in damages: around £2.5million in today’s money.
The trial was eagerly followed by the press, with pamphlets covering the salacious details snapped up by a curious public. Transcripts of the case became international bestsellers.
Unable to defend herself in court because she was a woman and worried that Sir Richard would bankrupt her lover, Seymour tried to prove she was not worth the £20,000 her husband had claimed. She used the sensational press coverage of the trial to humiliate him.
When it appeared that Sir Richard would win – the adultery was proven – the defence case began. Seymour revealed that she had had numerous lovers over the previous 4 years (rumoured to be as many as 27). At her request, 5 stood in the witness box and gave evidence that Sir Richard had encouraged her affairs and that he had been caught spying on his wife through the bedroom keyhole. As a final damning piece of evidence, it was revealed Sir Richard had once helped her lover Bisset climb onto his shoulders to peep through a window at his naked wife as she took a bath.
The judge declared the voyeuristic Sir Richard had not only helped procure his wife’s lovers but had also agreed to her adultery with Bisset. He told the jury: “Lady Worsley for 3 or 4 years has been prostituted with a variety of people: that is extremely clear.”
After an hour of debate, the jury accepted the charge of adultery but awarded Sir Richard the derisory sum of 1 shilling (5p) in damages.
Seymour never got her divorce. She and Bisset split, and she moved to France. Sir Richard died in 1805, leaving Seymour free to remarry and regain her fortune. She then reverted to her maiden name of Fleming and married a man 20 years her junior.
Captain George Bissett’s magnificent home – Knighton Gorges – burnt down in a mysterious fire in 1820. It is reputed to be the most haunted location on the Isle of Wight.
The story of Richard and Seymour Worsley’s unconventional relationship and subsequent court case is told in Secret Isle of Wight by Andy Bull.
Secret Isle of Wight can be purchased at Waterstones and all good local retailers and can also be bought directly from Amberley at https://www.amberley-books.com/secret-isle-of-wight.html.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikCKxql2ScU
I didn’t know the scandalous tale of Lady Worsley and Sir Richard, but for an island fourteen miles by seven miles, you certainly have an interesting history. I look forward to the fourth tale.
The island is actually 22.5 miles from east to west and 13.5 miles from north to south for your info Rupert.
A great article and a story worthy of a really top rank film with the right actors and producers.
There is a really interesting ebook on fanfiction website for children and adults we found based on the old haunted site of Knighton Gorges.
I can’t give link as site doesn’t allow such, but, if you type in “fanfiction Five go to the Isle of Wight”, it should not be too hard to source.
Based on the Blyton books of the Famous Five a really good local interest book.
Thanks for visiting. You’d know this ‘secret stuff if you were local. It’s called our history.
Nothing changes then
I think it’s terrible. Something should be done about it.
“Lady Worsley’s Whim” the book of the film, and written/researched by Halle Rubenhold, is another fabulous read. Described as “An Eighteenth Century Tale of Sex, Scandal and Divorce”.
And yes, Mr Marks – we do have an interesting history on the Island – many a good film in the making?
Nothing like that goes on around Wroxall these day’s.