Book tells the story of Victorian prostitute from Whitehaven

Claire Richardson is a historian and writer who has penned a book titled 'Exploring the Lives of Victorian Prostitutes.'

It includes case studies, examinations of the lives of these women, and contemporary sources.

The book features a case study from Whitehaven in which a wayward prostitute bit a chunk out of a prison warder's leg. 

Richardson tells the story of Rosy Clarke who is described in the book as 'one of the noisiest and rudest women who ever lived in Whitehaven.'

Rosy was born Rosanna but was known by numerous names including Rose and Anna.

It is unclear when exactly she was born but the first record of her appears in the 1841 census, where she is said to have lived with her family on Charles Street. 

The census claims she was two years old and born in Ireland, making her birth year 1839. 

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At this time there was a large Irish migrant population in Whitehaven of around 4,000, making up about 20 per cent of the population. Far more than was seen in Carlisle and Cockermouth in this era. 

Rosy's two younger sisters died at a young age along with her father, James, who was a labourer. 

Her widowed mother was then left with five children to raise and began to work as a charwoman. 

Life in Whitehaven in the Victorian era. Workmen pass by the Royal Standard pub on the harbour (Image: Newsquest)

By the age of 20, Rosy made her first appearance in The Whitehaven News. 

Whilst living with her family in the town centre, she went out for the night and got drunk. 

This resulted in her breaking into a sweet shop and later attacking another woman, when the police arrived she was 'wrestling the bonnet from the woman's head.' She avoided jail but was fined for the two incidents. 

After some further thirteen arrests, she was sent to jail in Carlisle in 1862. 

She had gained a reputation for public drunkenness and her abusiveness to the police. 

It was on her next appearance in court following her release that she was first identified as a prostitute and dubbed by the court 'the eminently notorious Rosy Clarke.'

Following this she repeatedly appeared in front of the bench, resulting in her either being jailed or jailed at Carlisle. 

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By the age of 25, she had appeared before the court approximately 27 times. 

It was in 1870 that she committed her most serious crime of biting a piece of flesh from a warder's leg whilst being punished during her sentence. 

She went on to serve time at a jail in London and also across the north. She married a man in Sunderland but continued with her drunken behaviour. 

As Rosy reached her 100th conviction, the magistrates began to realise she was clearly in distress - but little help was available in this era.

There are no records of her after 1894, and it is not known when or where she eventually passed away. 

This article was based on the story of Rosy Clarke as told in Exploring the Lives of Victorian Prostitutes by Claire Richardson. Available now on Amazon, published by Pen & Sword History.