Mary Heaton spent 41 years in a Wakefield asylum for challenging a cleric. Finally, her life and suffering are being recognised
She caused a disturbance in church, challenging the vicar over an unpaid bill. For that, Mary Frances Heaton was declared insane and sent to a lunatic asylum in 1837.
She never emerged into the world again, spending the last 41 years of her life locked up. But this weekend her life has been acknowledged with a blue plaque to “the tragic patient” unveiled in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. It highlights her small collection of needlework samplers, a legacy of her life in stitches.
