A tale of Dorothy Matley, swallowed by the earth.

Dorothy Matley lived in Ashover during the 17th century. By all accounts she was known as a local character, friends and neighbours found her good company but she had a roguish side to her. 

She had an unusual job for a women, she worked at the local mine with her tub and sieve separating ore and breaking it with a hammer, before then separating other minerals like lead, calcite and fluorspar. This job was normally reserved for men and is maybe where Dorothy picked up her foul mouth and thieving ways. 

Apparently if Dorothy was caught pilfering from pockets, as she sometimes did she would use the same expression " I would make god the earth swallow me up if it be so!" 

This would be her protest to any accusation that was sent her way when things went missing.

On March 23rd 1660, she may have regretted uttering those words.

For whilst Dorothy was busy at the mine washing ore, a young lad working not far from her removed his trousers so not to get them wet whilst he worked. The young man accused her of stealing two penny's from his trousers after he returned to them to find them missing. 

Dorothy vehemently denied having anything to do the youths money, and as usual invited god to swallow her into the earth if she was telling a lie. 

As a local writer John Bunyan later recorded, "she also used the same wicked words other times that day..." 

As the argument between her and the youth carried on and voices were raised a local man, George Hodgkinson stopped with some local children to spectate. As they stood the two children started to feel uneasy and walked away from the scene, and as the remaining crowed looked on Dorothy started to scream. She began to spin and sink into the ground along with her tub and sieve at her feet. Hodgkinson stared frozen to the spot at the chaos in front of him as Dorothy disappeared into the ground sinking ever further. Her lifeless body was dragged from a 12 ft deep pit later that day, but her tub and sieve were never found. But in her pocket was found two Pennie pieces.

In the Ashover parish register their is an entry " 1660. Dorothy Matley, supposed wife of Jon Flint of this parish, foreswore herselfe ,whereupon the ground opened and she sank on March 23rd, and being found dead, was buried on March 25th" 

Reports of sinkholes have been in the news lately, along with reports of flooding in areas of the uk. Was Dorothy victim of a sink hole, part of and unstable 17th century mining operation? Or excess underground water making the ground unstable. Strange the earth picked the very person to tempt it so, by swallowing her up.