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Hannah Courtoy mausoleum, Brompton Cemetery.

14 Wilton Crescent is to the right of the post box in the picture.

Hannah Courtoy (1784 - 26 January 1849), born Hannah Peters, was a London society woman who inherited a fortune from the merchant John Courtoy in 1815. Her distinctive Egyptian-style mausoleum in London's Brompton Cemetery has been the subject of considerable curiosity and speculation ever since a report by Reuters in 1998 repeated claims that it contained a working time machine.

Life

Hannah Courtoy was born Hannah Peters^[1] in 1784.^[2] She never married but had three daughters, Mary Ann (1801),^[3] Elizabeth (1804-1876),^[4] and Susannah (1807-1895).^{[citation needed]} In 1830, Susannah married Septimus Holmes Godson,^[5] a barrister of Gray's Inn.^[6]

In 1815, Courtoy inherited a fortune from the elderly merchant John Courtoy (born Nicholas Jacquinet in France, 1709) through a Will that was disputed in court.

Death

Courtoy died on 26 January 1849,^[7] at 14 Wilton Crescent, Belgrave Square, one of the most expensive areas of London. Her Will is held in the British National Archives.^[1]^[8]

Courtoy's distinctive Egyptian-style mausoleum of 1854^[9] in Brompton Cemetery, where her unmarried daughters Elizabeth and Mary Ann are also interred, has been the subject of considerable curiosity ever since a report by Reuters in 1998^[10] reported on rumours that it might be or contain a working time machine, a speculation that has been fuelled by various articles written by the musician Stephen Coates of the band The Real Tuesday Weld^[11]^[12]

The Egyptologist Joseph Bonomi the Younger is buried nearby.

References

^ ^a ^b Will of Hannah Courtoy otherwise Hannah Peters, Single Woman of No 14 Wilton Crescent... National Archives. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^ FIFTY NOTABLE PERSONALITIES. Archived 2016-10-13 at the Wayback Machine The Friends of Brompton Cemetery. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^ Westminster Baptisms Transcription. findmypast. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)
^ England & Wales deaths 1837-2007 Transcription. findmypast. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)
^ Westminster Marriages Transcription. findmypast. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)
^ "Barristers Called. Michaelmas Term, 1837." The Legal Observer, Vol. XV, No. 438, p. 170.
^ "Deaths" Bell's Weekly Messenger, 19 February 1849, p. 63. British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)
^ Index to Death Duty Registers Transcription. findmypast. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)
^ Meller, Hugh, & Brian Parsons (2013). London cemeteries: An illustrated guide and gazetteer. Stroud: History Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-7524-9690-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ London's coolest gravestones. Sandra Lawrence, CNN, 17 October 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^ Brompton Cemetery: The sealed mausoleum believed to be a fully-functioning time machine. Richard Jinman, The Independent, 12 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^ Is the secret of time travel lurking in an old London cemetery? Helen Smith, Daily News, 29 October 1998, p. 4A. Google News. Retrieved 25 December 2015.

External links

[BNA-1] Will of Hannah Courtoy otherwise Hannah Peters, Single Woman of No 14 Wilton Crescent... National Archives. Retrieved 24 December 2015.

[2] FIFTY NOTABLE PERSONALITIES. Archived 2016-10-13 at the Wayback Machine The Friends of Brompton Cemetery. Retrieved 24 December 2015.

[3] Westminster Baptisms Transcription. findmypast. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)

[4] England & Wales deaths 1837-2007 Transcription. findmypast. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)

[5] Westminster Marriages Transcription. findmypast. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)

[6] "Barristers Called. Michaelmas Term, 1837." The Legal Observer, Vol. XV, No. 438, p. 170.

[7] "Deaths" Bell's Weekly Messenger, 19 February 1849, p. 63. British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)

[fmp-8] Index to Death Duty Registers Transcription. findmypast. Retrieved 25 December 2015. (subscription required)

[Meller-9] Meller, Hugh, & Brian Parsons (2013). London cemeteries: An illustrated guide and gazetteer. Stroud: History Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-7524-9690-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[10] London's coolest gravestones. Sandra Lawrence, CNN, 17 October 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2015.

[11] Brompton Cemetery: The sealed mausoleum believed to be a fully-functioning time machine. Richard Jinman, The Independent, 12 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.

[12] Is the secret of time travel lurking in an old London cemetery? Helen Smith, Daily News, 29 October 1998, p. 4A. Google News. Retrieved 25 December 2015.

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 The Egyptologist [[Joseph Bonomi the Younger]] is buried nearby.
-The true story of John Courtoy and Hannah Peters can be found in the book by David Godson entitled 'Courtoy's Complaint' available from Amazon.co.uk.
 ==See also==