The Early Music Show - The Story of Ann Cargill

Lucie Skeaping vists the Scilly Isles to trace the life of the notorious actress and singer, Ann Cargill, who drowned in a dramatic shipwreck there in 1784, and whose ghost is said to have haunted Rosevear Island ever since. Ann Cargill, made her London stage debut in 1771 at the tender age of eleven, playing the role of Titania in George Coleman's Covent Garden production of Thomas Arne's opera "The Fairy Prince". She soon became a huge box office hit as a child star, and took on more and more roles as she grew into womanhood. By the time she was fifteen, she was a very attractive young lady indeed, and used her feminine wiles to attract a string of rather undesirable suitors. After she eloped with a married man eighteen years her senior, her father eventually washed his hands of her. She continued to be a popular draw at Drury Lane, in productions of John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" and Thomas Linley's "The Duenna", but her love-life became more and more scandalous as the years progressed. She married the son of a wealthy diamond merchant, but they separated after just three days, when she discovered he was flat-broke and evading his creditors! Eventually, she fell in love with a handsome merchant seaman - Captain John Haldane - and, carrying his illegitimate child, left London altogether to start a new life with him in India. In Bombay, however, she received a mixed reception. Some were delighted that such a charming and talented young woman was providing entertainment by giving performances of her famous arias; others, however, were distinctly unimpressed that an English strumpet was parading around far-flung corners of the Empire, flaunting her bastard son and bringing shame and embarrassment to the nation. One such, was the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, who sent word via the East India Company that Mrs Cargill and Captain Haldane should return to Britain forthwith. So, in December 1783, they boarded their ship - the Nancy Packet - and set sail for London once again. The journey was long and arduous, and they finally arrived in British waters in February 1784, amidst a horrific gale. In the middle of the night, the ship became hopelessly lost, and struck one of the many treacherous rocks off the western reaches of Scilly. Ann Cargill, still wearing her nightclothes, managed to scramble into a lifeboat with her infant son, heading for Rosevear Island, which appeared to be the nearest safe haven. The Nancy Packet broke apart and sank in the tumult, and it wasn't for another seven days that the weather abated enough for locals to venture out to the wreck site to see if there were any survivors. They discovered the upturned lifeboat just off a small bay on Rosevear Island, and underneath, found Ann Cargill, floating in her nightgown, with her head resting on her baby's, as if in sleep. It was a melancholy scene to break any heart. All the dead were buried in makeshift graves on top of Rosevear Island, until a wealthy businessman offered to pay for Ann Cargill, John Haldane and their son to have a proper burial at the Old Town Church on St. Mary's. It's said that those who have visited Rosevear Island since the disaster struck, have heard an unearthly singing. Lucie Skeaping meets Todd Stevens, a wreck-diver and treasure hunter, who found the wreck of the Nancy Packet in 2007, and has since written a book about his findings and about the life and death of Ann Cargill. Playlist: Thomas Arne: Seek you Majesty (The Fairy Prince) Rachel Nicholls (soprano) Robin Tritschler (tenor) Pawel Siwczak (harpsichord) BBC recording Thomas Arne: Melt earth to sea (The Fairy Prince) Rachel Nicholls (soprano) Pawel Siwczak (harpsichord) BBC recording SEGUE Thomas Arne: Nay, nay, you must not stay (The Fairy Prince) Rachel Nicholls (soprano) Robin Tritschler (tenor) Pawel Siwczak (harpsichord) BBC recording Thomas Arne: Airs 37, 38 & 39 (The Beggar's Opera) Bronwen Mills (Polly) HYPERION CDA 66591 Disc 2 Trs 16 - 19 Frederick Lampe: The Coquet Emma Curtis (contralto) The Frolick AVIE 2102 Disc 1 Tr 8 Thomas Arne: The charge is prepared (The Beggar's Opera) Adrian Thompson (Macheath) HYPERION CDA 66591 Disc 2 Tr 48 Purcell: Celia has a thousand charms (excerpt) Emma Curtis (contralto) The Frolick AVIE 2102 Disc 1 Tr 2 Henry Holcombe: The Syren of the stage Emma Curtis (contralto) The Frolick AVIE 2102 Disc 1 Tr 15 Thomas Linley: By him we love offended (The Duenna) Rachel Nicholls (soprano) Pawel Siwczak (harpsichord) BBC recording SEGUE Thomas Linley: When Sable night (The Duenna) Rachel Nicholls (soprano) Pawel Siwczak (harpsichord) BBC recording Thomas Linley: Adieu, thou dreary pile (The Duenna) Rachel Nicholls (soprano) Pawel Siwczak (harpsichord) BBC recording Anon: Scilly Rocks (excerpt) Tony Snell (vocals) FOREST TRACKS FT 3016 Side 2 Tr 7.