A case of mistaken identity
Drawing of Kent’s Cavern by John Marten in 1825, with two figures likely to be local female guides, possibly alongside Mrs Cazalet, who was known to have joined John MacEnery in his excavations (© Geological Society of London, LDGSL/400/22).
Dear Editors,
I read with interest Obscurity and notability (Geoscientist 36 (2), 10–12) and The lady of Kent’s Cavern (Geoscientist 36 (3), 22–23) on the subject of Mrs Cazalet, who was involved in the 1820s excavation of Torquay’s Kents Cavern by John McEnery FGS (sometimes spelled MacEnery, 1796–1841). Mrs Cazalet donated an important collection of fossils to the Geological Society, but retained a “very fine” personal collection, since thought to be lost. Having successfully traced this “lost” collection, I discovered the true identity of Mrs Cazalet and am therefore certain she was not Marianne Arnold (1787–1859), as recently suggested (Geoscientist 36 (3), 22–23).
Investigations into the identity of Mrs Cazalet were first made by William Pengelly FRS FGS (1812–1894), decades after her departure from Torquay. Relying on the memories of individuals who had lived in the town in the 1820s, Pengelly published some incorrect statements which have caused difficulties for later researchers. It transpires that Mrs Cazalet was not a “co-religionist” of McEnery, a Catholic priest (Pengelly, Transactions of the Devonshire Association 3, 1869, page 483). Perhaps during the intervening years people had confused her with another “Mrs C”: Bridget Cary (neé O’Farrell, 1764–1847), a member of McEnery’s congregation with a geological collection, but who is not known to have taken part in the excavations.
Pengelly also published a mis-transcribed letter of 1826 (Transactions of the Devonshire Association 10, 1878, 143–144) in which McEnery supposedly reported that a “Mr Cazalet” had “removed beyond Newton”. The original letter reads “Mrs Cazalet”, but the transcription error has led to the idea that “the Cazalets” worked alongside McEnery (Geoscientist 36 (2), 10–12). However, Mrs Cazalet was not accompanied by a husband in Torquay. Mrs Cazalet’s work with McEnery at Kents Cavern and elsewhere is the subject of a paper currently in preparation (Farmer, 2026. Who was Mrs Cazalet? (working title)).
Dr Christine Farmer PhD
Independent researcher currently investigating the early excavators of ‘bone caves’, based in Stourbridge, UK
