Theresa Mary Doughty Tichborne

Theresa Tichborne, c. 1871.

Theresa Mary Doughty Tichborne (1866–1939) was the daughter of Arthur Orton, a claimant in the 19th-century Tichborne case, who continued her father's claim to the Tichborne estates into the 1920s. Her life became entangled with the Tichborne family through a series of legal disputes, blackmail charges, and allegations of defamatory libel, reflecting the complex and contentious legacy of her father's long-standing claim.

Blackmail

In June 1913, Theresa Mary Doughty Tichborne was remanded on a charge of threatening to murder Miss Denise Fulke Greville, the fiancée of Sir Joseph Tichborne, then a baronet. The charge stemmed from a letter she sent to the Earl of Granard, in which she wrote:

"I have just seen the announcement of the approaching marriage of my cousin, Joseph Tichborne. I have asked you to use your influence to make them give me some of the money they stole from us, but you do nothing. It is nothing to you if I starve, as long as you and your wife can give parties and flaunt about with people who, if they knew the truth, would be ashamed to know you.

You cannot hide any more, for I am making you an accessory before the fact by telling you that I am going to shoot that girl rather than Joseph shall marry her and they shall live on my money. I am going to do it. Now hide, and pretend you think I don't mean it."

A second letter, in the same handwriting, warned 'Colonel Stratton Bates' that 'the ladies of his family' should not attend the wedding and would 'be safer elsewhere'. During the remand hearing at the Bow Street Police Court in London, Theresa Mary Doughty Tichborne protested that she did not intend to harm Miss Greville and claimed her motive was to draw attention to her legal case. She also clarified that she had referred to herself as 'Sir Roger Tichborne' during the hearing, rather than her father's name, Arthur Orton, and explained that 'Alexander' was her stage name, not her legal name.

The court remanded her until the following Friday and granted her bail. A second charge of blackmail was added in early July 1913. At her trial later that month, it was revealed that she had 'for years past... annoyed the Tichborne family' and had sent begging letters to members of the family that 'verged on blackmail'. Sir Henry Tichborne, Sir Joseph's father, had previously given her £25, which she accepted as an acknowledgment of her familial connection. She later demanded £10,000 from Sir Joseph, claiming she would cease her harassment if he complied. She also accused Sir Joseph's mother of destroying Sir Henry's will.

Theresa Mary Doughty Tichborne was found guilty of blackmail and sentenced to six months in prison. The following year, under the name 'Theresa Alexander', she successfully applied to the court to have her sister stand surety on a £100 twelve-month good behavior bond.

Defamatory Libel

In September 1923, Theresa Mary Doughty Tichborne appeared at the Clerkenwell Police Court charged with 'publishing a defamatory libel concerning Sir Joseph Tichborne'. She had previously been charged with 'writing a letter threatening to murder Sir George Lewis, the solicitor' and was expected to face further charges of demanding money by menace. Described in a news report as a 'tall woman of dignified appearance', she had sent a series of letters alleging that Sir Joseph Tichborne had bribed her to commit suicide. In one letter to the Coroner of Brockenhurst, where she was living, she wrote:

"A man named Draper came to see me last Saturday, and told me he was from Sir Joseph Tichborne. He said he wondered I did not feel suicidal with all these debts hanging over me. I said I often did. He then told me my cousin, Sir Joseph, had told him he would pay anything to know I was dead.

I asked if he thought he would pay my debts if I were dead, and he said, 'Rather.' I wrote to my cousin, Sir Joseph, last week, and I said I will accept his offer and take my own life."

Theresa Mary Doughty Tichborne served a 12-month sentence in HM Prison Holloway in 1924. After her release, she wrote to Sir Joseph Tichborne, stating she had applied to the Magistrates to protect herself from him and requesting that he provide her with an income in exchange for relinquishing her claim to the Tichborne estates. She also wrote to the solicitors Lewis and Lewis, demanding £50, and threatened to go to the Tichborne estate and commit suicide if no settlement was reached. In a letter to George Lewis, she warned that if she were to shoot someone before committing suicide, 'there wouldn't be much chance of the matter being hushed up again'. She also wrote to the actress Gladys Cooper, repeating the suicide claim and asking for a loan.

At her trial in October 1923, she was sentenced to one year in prison for 'writing threatening letters' and attempting to 'extort money from the Tichborne family by threats to kill them'. Upon her release, she was given a twelve-month good behavior bond requiring £300 of her own money and two sureties of £100 each. She was unable to secure the sureties and was returned to jail.

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