Lucy Lightfoot is the name of a fictional girl who supposedly disappeared mysteriously from the Isle of Wight in 1831. The story was fabricated by James Evans, the vicar of St Olave's Church, Gatcombe, in the early 1960s, as he himself later admitted.[1][2]
Lucy was born at a farm near Bowcombe. She was last seen around 10:30am on 13 June 1831. There was a near total eclipse of the sun that day, lasting about half an hour. A violent thunder storm also struck the island, causing flooding and crop damage. After the storm had abated, her horse was found tied to the gate at St Olave's ChurchinGatcombe. Lucy was nowhere to be found. Her parents offered a large award for her return, but moved away after two years searching turned up nothing.
Also of note is the detail that a steel misericord attached to a wooden effigy identified as "Edward Estur" was found shattered after her disappearance. A valuable chrysoberyl set in lodestone on the hilt was found to be missing.
The most prominent explanations involved a possible time slip. Supposedly research by the Rev Samuel Trelawney in 1865 unearthed a manuscript by Philippe de Mézières,[3] chancellor of Peter I, listing the names of the English knights recruited by Peter I of Cyprus in 1363. One Sir Edward Estur was listed as being accompanied by a girl with the same name as Lucy, from Carisbrooke Castle.
In the 1960s, the Vicar of St Olave's, James Evans, admitted to having fabricated the entire story.[1]
^Kingsford, C. L. (1898). "Philippe de Mézières, 1327–1405, et la Croisade au xive siècle by N. Jorga". English Historical Review. 13 (49): 159–161. JSTOR547723.
^Veighey, Cicely (1999). The Grass beyond the Door. Frontenac House. ISBN0-9684903-0-1. [1]
