| Title | Correspondence from Taylor, Simpson and Mosley, solicitors, of Derby, to Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe, with related papers, concerning court case A'Court v Denny and Wife, involving a governess previously employed by Lady Crewe |
| Administrative History | In April 1900, Sarah A'Court, who had been governess to Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe's daughters a few years earlier under her maiden name of Sarah Elizabeth Hamp Adams, took her new employer, Mr Denny and his wife, to court for false dismissal and slander, after they dismissed her for coming to them as a governess with false references. The case rested on whether Sarah Hamp Adams had actually been working for a neighbour as a parlourmaid called Susan Adams, which she denied. Sarah A'Court lost her case on the second day of court, as she was unable to produce the 'real' Susan Adams. It was later proved that she had attempted to pay a young woman to come to court say that she was Susan Adams, but that the young woman had decided not to go through with the deception. Later that year, Sarah A'Court was sentenced to 18 months hard labour at the Old Bailey for perjury. |