Sarah Lowndes married the Rev. David Garrow on 5 June 1748, a marriage that would last 40 years. In this marriage Sarah gave birth to ten children, but only five survived to adulthood. William Garrow, their eighth child, was the youngest to achieve adulthood.
Continue reading “Sarah Garrow (Sir William Garrow’s Mother)”
Arthur Hill, the chief antagonist in the BBC award-winning historic drama, “Garrow’s Law,” was an actual person. For those readers interested in the real story behind this character, the following biographical sketch will fill in some of the facts, especially as it relates to the storyline in “Garrow’s Law.” Indeed, Arthur Hill’s real story is a drama of historic interest on it’s own, and does touch the lives of William Garrow, and “Lady” Sarah. Continue reading “Arthur Hill in Life and in “Garrow’s Law””
The Reverend David Garrow (1715-1805) was born and raised near the village of Aberlour in northern Scotland. He studied at King’s College, Aberdeen, graduating in 1736 with a Master of Arts degree, and was then ordained into the Church of England. In 1747 he started at Monken Hadley in Hertfordshire The Priory, a boarding school which prepared boys for commercial careers such as the East India Company, and served as headmaster for the rest of his working life. He married Sarah Lowndes (1723-1789) in 1748 and together they raised a family of 5 children to adulthood, Edward, Eleanora, Jane, Joseph and William. Eleanora stayed home and cared for her parents, and the others had highly successful careers in England and India. It is interesting to note that the person who became Sir William Garrow was their third child to be named William, the first two dying as infants.
Continue reading “The Reverend David Garrow (Sir William Garrow’s Father)”
I have now been through all my Garrow papers and I am afraid I cannot find from where where I got Sarah’s name!
However, at the plaque unveiling yesterday I was put on to the following.
Continue reading “How Do We Know Garrow’s Wife Was Called Sarah?”
The Sarah Dore Detective Club invites you to help solve some of the mysteries surrounding Lady Sarah in “Garrow’s Law”.
The issues: Who was the mysterious Sarah, Sarah Dore who eventually married William Garrow? What was her family background? Was she Irish? Was she Catholic? Was she high born? What was her true relationship with Arthur Hill? What was the true relationship between Sarah and William Garrow before they married? Is it true that……? While there is a chapter on Sarah in the biography, “Sir William Garrow, His Life, Times and Fight for Justice”, there remain unanswered questions.
BBC’s Garrow’s Law is a great piece of drama. And Lady Sarah contributes to the fun of the story. Lyndsey Marshal is intriguing as Lady Sarah. I wouldn’t want to change a thing.
In an historical drama, such as Garrow’s Law, the writers must create fiction – putting words into characters’ mouths. Situations are created to carry out historically accurate themes. Real characters, with new words and created situations, become morphed into new creatures. And the new creatures become remembered as the authentic ones. Known or knowable facts sometimes get in the way of a good story, and are quickly overlooked and forgotten.
