The Queen's Proctor Intervening

The motorway roars past today but the Oxfordshire village of Waterperry was once a silent place. Ancient Waterperry Church, dedicated to St. Mary, stands in the grounds of Waterperry Park. In the Victorian years, the Henleys owned the estate and its magnificent Queen Anne mansion. In 1867, John J. Henley M.P. presented the vicarage to the Rev. Frank Shewell. A graduate of Oxford's Worcester College, Shewell was 39 and married with a small family. A new vicarage was being planned but, in the meantime, Shewell would have to room at a nearby farmhouse and his wife remained in London.

Alas, word soon reached the quiet lanes of Waterperry that Mrs. Shewell had taken a lover, one Capt. John Fox, of the 56th (Essex) Pompadours. It was easily proven that Fox had moved into the Shewell's home in South Kensington. Mrs. Shewell had given him a latchkey and there was no doubt they shared a bed. Thus, adultery having been proven, on 17 June 1868, the Rev. Mr. Shewell was granted a decree nisi.

But, wait, there's more. Six months would have to pass between that decree nisi and the final, decree absolute. In the interval, the Queen's Proctor might intervene if any irregularities arose, such as, though not limited to, connivance or condonation on the part of the petitioner, in this case, the Vicar of Waterperry. Upon new evidence, in April 1869, the case was reopened, "the Queen's Proctor intervening."

The second trial revealed that the Rev. and Mrs. Shewell had known Capt. Fox and his unmarried sister, Caroline, for several years. They had socialised and traveled together quite a bit. But the foursome fractured in 1866. In fact, Capt Fox accused the clergyman of seducing Miss Fox, which Shewell denied, counterclaiming that Fox had been taking liberties with Mrs. Shewell. The world already knew about the captain and Mrs. Shewell. The Queen's Proctor now presented evidence tying Rev. Shewell to Miss Fox. She was often seen sitting on the clergyman's knee. A shoemaker recalled Mr. Shewell and Caroline came in often. She advised him on what shoes to buy. From the looks they shared, the shopkeeper assumed they were husband and wife. Of more serious moment was the Queen's Proctor's suggestion that - given Shewell's previous suspicions about his wife and Capt Fox - it was unwise for him to go off to Waterperry and leave her alone in London. It seemed to demonstrate “a degree of indifference and neglect."

The Rev. Shewell's counsel dismissed the new evidence as servant's gossip. It was the "levity of conduct" among a group of (then) friends. The only opposition to the divorce had been raised by his (ex) wife, a “jealous & violent woman,” especially once Capt. Fox abandoned her. Lord Penzance, chief of the Divorce Court, overruled the Queen's Proctor. While there had been naivete and neglect upon the part of the Rev. Shewell, it was not sufficient to prevent him from ending his marriage. 

Still, it was one divorce trial too many for the vicar of Waterperry. He resigned and went into hiding, of sorts, for a few years. Shewell had been adjudged the innocent party in his first marriage and he was able to find new church employment. In 1875, he married again; a clergyman's daughter, in fact. He died in 1886 while vicar of Loddiswell in Devon.

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